Gladiator battles were primarily a Roman invention. At first they were solemn affairs held at funerals as a blood offering for deceased heros inspired perhaps by the Etruscans who sometimes sacrificed slaves and prisoners during the burials of kings. The first Roman gladiator contests were hand-to-hand combats performed at funerals for prominent Romans to, according to Meijer. celebrate “the virtues that had made Rome great, virtues demonstrated by the deceased during his lifetime: strength, courage and termination.