... Campanians' military success over the Samnites, in which the Romans aided them. Marcus and Decimus Brutus held the first Roman gladiatorial games in 246 BCE in honour of their father, Junius Brutus, as a funeral gift for the dead. It was a comparatively small affair that included the combat of three pairs of slaves in the Forum Boarium (a cattle market). From their religious origins, gladiatorial games evolved into defining symbols of Roman culture and became a deep-seated part of that culture for nearly seven centuries. Eventually gladiatorial games reached spectacular heights in the number of combats and their monumental venues. For example, in 183 BCE it was traditional to hold gladiatorial games in which 60 duels took place. By 65 BCE, Julius Caesar had upped-the-ante by pitting 320 ludi, or pairs of gladiators, against one another in a wooden amphitheatre constructed specifically for the event. At this point, gladiatorial games extended ...

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