Gladiators were like the celebrities of the Roman Empire! They trained fiercely and often fought to the death and were a vitally important tool for the Emperor to help keep the people happy. Read about the fascinating skills of Rome's gladiators, their fighting methods and their amazing and deadly weapons of choice. Further opportunities are available to discuss the issue of slavery and the impact on exotic animal populations. The story of the gladiators is set against the changing Roman Empire and the lasting impact it has on the world and especially, Europe. The European colonial expansion to the rest of the world was possibly a left-over empirical desire of the Roman period.