 17 concrete chances that you were going to die. Apart from extraction of the heart, they used a variety of other methods. They would drown you. They would starve you. They would decapitate you. Maybe they would burn you. Or they would bludgeon you. Sometimes they would throw you from great heights. You would also be forced into gladiatorial combat. Oh, nice. Which, by the way, Gladiator 2 trailer drops today sometime.