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During my recent travels through Rome, I decided to take in some of the Roman entertainment. I figured a gladiatorial show was the perfect place to do this since public slaughter is an important part of Roman culture. I heard about these gruesome shows the people put on in the Colosseum, which was originally Flavian Amphitheater. I had ideas about gladiators and the shows they put on, but I never, ever imagined the details of that life After talking to some of the locals, I was able to broaden my perspective on these games.
In Latin, the name swordsman does not do justice to the life of that professional combatant. The first gladiators were part of a sacrificial rite adopted from the Etruscans. First introduced to Rome in 264 BCE, the sons of Junius Brutus honored their father at his funeral by matching three pairs of gladiators. Gladiatorial combat was originally part of a religious ceremony that was intended to insure that the dead would be accompanied to the "next world" by armed attendants and that the spirits of the dead would be appeased with Traditionally, this ritual was performed to honor important men.
However, as the years passed, the ritual lost much of its religious significance and this sport became more popular. This class of public entertainment has passed from being a compliment to the dead to being a compliment to the living. Gladiators are generally condemned criminals, prisoners of war, or slaves bought for this purpose. Some free men and even women volunteer to enter this profession in hopes of popularity and patronage by wealthy citizens. The free men are often social outcasts, freed slaves or discharged soldiers. Gladiators are trained in combat at special, imperial schools.
The gladiator, by his oath, transforms what had originally been an involuntary act to a voluntary one, and so, at the very moment that he becomes a slave condemned to death, he becomes a free agent and a man with honor to uphold I among many other men, women, and children flocked to the Colosseum. (I am enclosing pictures because there is no way I can describe the details of this place. ) There arent any ethnic or financial prejudices when it comes to being a spectator. These games are among the bloodiest displays of public amusement I have ever seen or even heard of. It is hard to explain or even contemplate the excess that these people go to. At dawn we packed ourselves into the amphitheater, talking of little else, anxiously waiting to participate and watch the games. After a loud and trumpeted announcement, gladiator teams entered the arena.
A team of lightly armed men faced a team of heavily armed men jousting with dull weapons at first until the crowd yelled and encouraged the fights to finish. Sharp swords and daggers were then brought in. These fights are so serious that the weapons have to be presented to the Emperor to test their sharpness. With each and every type of game, the crowds are merciless, crying for more gladiators and bloodshed. In the morning, battles between wild beasts are presented.
The beasts that are to fight varies from day to day. It could be bears fighting buffaloes, buffaloes against elephants, elephants against rhinoceros. What I saw were ostriches, which were brought in to amuse us. After dashing around the arena, they were killed by arrows from archers who were located in the stands. Then fights between men and tame beasts were called, and held to demonstrate man's power over even the strongest of beasts.
In the afternoon I saw gladiators appropriately paired; evenly matched, but not identical so there wasnt any competitive advantage. Depending on the emperor of the day, there might be dwarfs fighting women, Amazons, or even senators and emperors. Also criminals of all ages and both sexes were sent into the arena without weapons to face certain death from wild animals that would tear them to pieces. The mornings show was merciful compared to this. There was no escape, the slayer was kept fighting until he could be slain.
Spectators cried out, Kill him! Flog him! Burn him alive! Why is he such a coward? Why wont he just rush on the steel? Why does he fall so meekly?
Why wont he die willingly? This one gladiator had been wounded and he wished to concede defeat. He held up his index finger and waited for the crowd to respond. We could either throw handkerchiefs in the arena for him to be spared or throw our thumbs down to have him killed. You guessed it, the thumbs went down. The gladiator was to be killed, he was expected to accept the final blow in a ritualized fashion, without crying out or flinching.
Once the fighter was down, a slave went out to make sure he was dead. He then dragged the body with a hook through a gate called the Porta Libitinensis (Limiting was a death goddess). When the day's events were just about over, barred doors were opened and hundreds of half-naked Jewish prisoners, of all ages, brought back from the Jewish war and the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, were driven into the center of the arena. The crowds screamed for more barred doors to be lifted so that starved, man-eating lions and tigers could be released to attack the unarmed prey. This sight was so atrocious I could barely After all the events of the day were finally over, mounds of corpses were removed and armies of slaves prepared the arena for the next day. I will never forget this gruesome experience of butchery in the Colosseum.
I am still absorbing the events that have taken place. I cant say I agree with this idea of such slaughter and from my observations, I am sure I am not alone. Whether they serve to appease the masses, provide entertainment, or even condition people against death, the gladiatorial games are an important part of this Roman society. Being just a passer by, who It pleases me to know that I will never have to be in that arena fighting for my life so others will be entertained. You are my love and I count the days until we are one. Bibliography: Adkins, Lesley, and Roy A.
Adkins. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Arena: Gladiatorial Games, Encyclopedia Britannica Online. web February 5, 2001. Spielvogel, Jackson J.
Western Civilization: A Brief History Volume I. Belmont, CA: West/ Wadsworth, 1999.
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