Though gladiatorial combat was cruel, the Romans believed it was a way to preserve their fighting strength.
Greek aesthetics and mythology became woven into Roman life. Of course, this also spelled disaster for Ancient Greek sculptures. Roman conquerors carried them back to Rome and used them to decorate their lavish residences.
Gladiators generally possessed impressively muscular physiques. On one hand, muscle protected vital organs and prevented real injury; the sight of blood was enough to drive the audience wild. On the other, it matched the audience's aesthetic expectations and understanding. How could a scrawny slave possibly have any strength?
Yet building muscle required more than exercise; it also required the right diet. Many professional bodybuilders consumed protein powder and plenty of protein-rich food. Gladiators had no way to eat much meat, partly because they were slaves, and partly because they were not building muscle merely to display it. Historical records referred to them as "Barley Men," because their diets contained large quantities of barley and legumes, which were also an important source of protein.
To digest these foods, gladiators drank a mixture made from charred wood or bone ash, which also increased bone density and strength.
Roman legions also enjoyed wheat porridge. Though the Greeks mocked them as "porridge-eaters," the Roman legions after Marius's reforms were superbly trained and kept neighboring nations awake at night. But before becoming soldiers, these men might have lived lives of hunger or highway robbery. They understood better than anyone what "failure" meant. So even when the heavy wooden shields used in training weighed twice as much as battlefield equipment, and they often had to carry their own baggage on the march, the "mules" endured.
For those with balanced nutrition, a cold was nothing serious. But for those lacking medicine and suffering from malnutrition, it