Were most gladiators volunteers? Nicholas Taleb's Antifragile continues to surprise me with interesting claims made as asides during bigger arguments. The following statement appears late in the book: > The great historian Paul Veyne has recently shown that it is a big myth that gladiators were forced labor. **Most were volunteers who wanted the chance to become heroes** by risking their lives and winning, or, when failing, to show in front of the largest crowd in the world how they were able to die honorably, without cowering—when a gladiator loses the fight the crowd decides whether he should be spared or put to death by the opponent. And spectators did not care for nonvolunteers, as these did not have their soul in the fight. Is this claim right? Were the majority of Roman Gladiators volunteers?

It depends on the time frame involved, and it is generally accepted that initially most of the gladiators that competed were slaves by virtue of being prisoners of war, criminals, or slaves bought for the proposes of being sent a gladiatorial school. However, it is estimated that by the end of the Republic that about half of the gladiators were free men that volunteered, primary for the money and glory involved.

Thus, while the claim might not be entirely accurate, it is possible that at some point there were more volunteers than not; however, over the the history of the gladiatorial games, the volunteers were in the minority.