Gladiators Were Vegetarians

Plant-based diets high in carbohydrates made the Roman ‘barley men’ appear more spectacular.

Kathryn Hadley | Published in 09 Sep 2009

Musée Saint-Remi à Reims.
Gladiators depicted in a mosaic, c. second century AD. Musée Saint-Remi à Reims. Wiki Commons/Vassil.

According to a recent study, gladiators were mostly vegetarians and their diets consisted, above all, of barley and vegetables. They were neither too poor to buy meat nor staunch defenders of animal rights; instead, their carbohydrate-rich diets made them put on weight, which both protected them during fights and made them appear more spectacular, which pleased the crowds.

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