How common was death in the arena?

[M. Caecilius]

-Bump- Perhaps a reason could be that as Gladiator bouts became less common, the mob consequently expected even bloodier spectacles to make up for the infrequency of games. It would be like today, if football matches were held on a more infrequent basis. wouldn't you want the matches to be more exciting if they were held,say, only once a year? That's just my imput. I normally don't bump old topics, but I found this one to be interesting.

What is the evidence for reduction of combats? That sounds rather interesting: is there any reason why they would be reduced, as festival times went up - is it connected with the increasing reluctance of the elite to engage in euergestism in the days of the crisis?

Incidentally, I wonder whether the need for blood could not be sated by the public executions, either of combats between noxii (according to Seneca the light amusement during lunchtime) or the ingenious ways of putting people to death discussed by Katherine Coleman in her article on "Fatal Charades" (not a reading for for the faint-hearted). The gladiators at least had the training to defend themselves and win the admiration of the crow.

*GASP!!* You mean it wasn't like Spartacus: Blood and Sand??

And there I thought they used archive material from Domitian's widely televised opening games of the Colosseum for that series!