22. Retired gladiators could enjoy lucrative second careers as celebrity officials, known as summa rudis
In some cases, these elite former gladiators turned officials, the summa rudis, became superstars in their own right. Crowds would flock to see these old legends of the arena. That meant that many could charge large sums to officiate contests. Indeed, the histories of the time note that many rudis earned themselves wealth and power in their second careers. An inscription uncovered in modern-day Ankara, Tukey, tells how one summa rudis, called Aelius, was granted citizenship by several Greek towns due to his bravery and generosity.
