With the wrap of HBO’s first season of Rome comes the inevitable debates over historical accuracy vs. Hollywoodized storytelling. In the rhetoric over Julius Caesar’s looks, mannerisms, and political acuity, one key scene near the end of the series has been consistently overlooked: the gladiator games. Once again, costumers and production designers won out over the reality of arena combat and fighters. As with Ridley Scott’s brilliant, yet historically flawed, masterpiece “Gladiator,” the pairings, equipment, and battles within the arena were woefully wrong.

Here are five of the most common misconceptions about gladiators that should, perhaps, be required reading by all feature film directors. ...