The ancient Romans had a lot of respect for bravery and strength, and nowhere is this more evident than in their sports. Romans competed in horse, chariot, and foot races, hand-to-hand combat, gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, jumping, throwing a spear or discus, and pancratium — a combination of wrestling and martial arts.
The Romans were knowledgeable about exercise and how to develop the body for physical strength, but used this knowledge to train their soldiers. Roman games and sports focused much more on violence and spectacle.
You can learn about sports of the ancient world here — including sports of China, Greece, and Rome.
Gladiators and gladiator fights were popular forms of entertainment in ancient Rome.These two links have great information about gladiators!
The Romans also enjoyed watching naval battles, and would sometimes fill the Colosseum with water and watch the ships fight!
