THE TRUTH BEHIND THE SPECTACLE... THE STORY THAT STUNNED THE WORLD.   These may be the only remains of a gladiator ever found. The evidence that they were female not only made history but changed it, giving a new understanding of the role of women in Roman society. Was it really possible for a woman to have embraced masculine virtues and acquired masculine skills--and to have been encouraged to revel in the blood-and-death spectacle of gladiatorial combat? Gladiatrix enters this startling new world for the first time. It also unearths the inspirations for these warrior women of Rome--the legend of the Amazons and the true story of Boudica, the Warrior Queen who almost brought the Roman Empire to its knees. And it recreates the startling life of a female outcast who lived and died like no other, to became history's most remarkable sister-in-arms.