The 22 members of this cast and an admirably inventive stage crew bring them to life with such energy that one has to wonder whether so much bloodletting has inspired so much cheerful applause since the heyday of the ancient gladiators.

His straight and perfect figure, muscled as the best of the ancient Roman gladiators must have been muscled, and yet with the soft and sinuous curves of a Greek god, told at a glance the wondrous combination of enormous strength with suppleness and speed.

The message flummoxed headquarters, until an officer familiar with Latin decoded it as the legendary phrase used by ancient gladiators to honour their Emperor: "We who are about to die salute you!"

And at the end of each of the six arms the spheres were clustered thick, studded with the pyramids--again in gigantic, awful, parody of the spiked gloves of those ancient gladiators who fought for imperial Nero.

The Roadblock on this leg had one team member act like ancient gladiators by racing horse chariots.

"Just something I think ancient gladiators used to say to their rulers before going into combat."

As deftly as he locates his pitches on a good day, Franco put his finger precisely on why the Dwight Goodens are dragged off baseball's scrap heap and tossed back into the arena like so many ancient gladiators.

The practice is similar to that of the ancient Roman gladiators, whose lives depended upon their ability to not only fight but also to win crowds.

At the end, the Rangers raised their sticks and saluted the fans, a kind of Roman Colosseum gesture of ancient gladiators.

Historians have discovered that ancient Roman gladiators, as a result of their immense public appeal, performed product endorsements.