... edicta demonstrate the contributions of elite sponsors and their role in the patronage of the games. Stelae dedicated by gladiatorial familiae celebrate individual gladiators, their training, and successes over worthy opponents. Epigraphs on tombstones hint at the social realities and daily challenges...

...Pompeii represents a special lens for understanding urban games during the Roman period, with its preservation of the daily surroundings, monuments, and artefacts of performers, organizers, and fans, as well as the notices (edicta), graffiti, paintings, and objects that attest...