Thing is if the Emperor gave you thumbs down after fight, it meant you were sparred, meant for the winner to put down his weapon, to thumb up means raise your weapon and finish him.

There is no actual records of how they did it so it is actually just speculation on if thumbs up means to be spared or killed. There is actually even arguments that they did not even use thumbs up or down just motions that look similar to it.

I always thought it was the other way around, where down means the loser was killed.

well, i never saw that movie/show, so i wouldnt know.

Well I dont know if they actually got it right in the show. Thats just how it was historically.

I saw a movie about christians having to fight a bull and if they survived they could be spared, this really old fat one whooped the bull's ass somehow and the emperor thumbed down and they burned them all so I dunno.

gladiator was apparently one of the most historically inaccurate movies ever made.

at least according to drew carey. never actually fact checked, just he said that in an episode of whose line, so, you know.

Lol wat? "thumbs up meant they died, thumbs up meant they were spared."