A Gladiator Dies Only Once is a collection of short stories by American author Steven Saylor, first published by St. Martin's Press in 2005.

It is the eleventh book in his Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery stories set in the final decades of the Roman Republic.

In this second collection of short stories from the life of Gordianus the Finder, the reader gets more glimpses into the backstory of the protagonist, as well as meetings with famous historical characters such as Quintus Sertorius and Lucullus.

[2] Kirkus Reviews criticized it for lack of mystery, but wrote that the stories "engagingly evoke the last days of the Roman Republic".

[3] Alice Logsdon, writing for the Historical Novel Society, commented that the stories were easy to read and had "clever dialogue".