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The gladiators fight of their own free will?

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The gladiators fight of their own free will?

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1) What are the punishments for citizens or slaves guilty of a serious crime?
You get sent into the arena to fight.
Damnatio ad bestias - condemned to die by wild beasts as noxi (condemned to death).
Damnatio ad gladium - condemned to die by the sword. You may be given a sword too, so you can fight to live a little longer.
Damnatio ad ludos - condemned to die in the arena, which means you might be given a chance to become a gladiator!

2) These punishments are used instead of?
Instead of crucifixion or the slave-mines

3) Could women also be gladiators? What are they called and what are they used for?
Yes, female gladiatrix. To fight purely as amusing novelty acts.

3) Do gladiators fight of their own free will?
In general no, but they can volunteer because they can become famous, to show or for money.

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Every major city has an amphitheater, with over 200 throughout the empire in all. - condemned to die in the arena, which means you might be given a chance to become a gladiator! - fight for money, such as debtors, lower-class country boys, or disgraced soldiers (disbarred from fighting for the army). They are socially-ostracized from decent society as negotiates a basic salary (the legal payment for your death in the arena is 4000 sestertii, with half paid upfront) under a four-year contract, but once food, bedding, training and medical expenses are deducted you may be little better off than the gladiator slaves. Ways you can get into the Arena -
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1. You are a Condemned criminal sent to the arena (instead of crucifixion or the slave-mines). A munerarius financing a gladiator show can apply to the courts for a supply of condemned prisoners to be disposed of in the arena.
Damnatio ad bestias - condemned to die by wild beasts as noxi (condemned to death).
Damnatio ad gladium - condemned to die by the sword. You may be given a sword too, so you can fight to live a little longer.
Damnatio ad ludos
Virtus causa

2. You are a Prisoner of war. From AD 160 onward, Marcus Aurelius defeated huge numbers of Germans, Parthians, Africans, and Britons. These warriors were ideal fighters for the arena. Most gladiator types are styled after the enemies of Rome.

3. You are a Disobedient slave. A punishment for bad behavior, and convenient way to cull out violent or recalcitrant slaves.

4. You are a Volunteer; attracted by the perverse glamour of the arena as an auctoratus (author of your own misfortune). - fight to show off their martial skill (like the emperor Commodus, or bad sons from good families). infamis and can't vote, hold public office, or a civil burial plot.
The
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5. You could also be a female gladiatrix, clown, cripple, or dwarf allowed to fight purely as amusing novelty acts.
Quaestus causa auctoratus
Choosing a Gladiator Name
Gladiators are in the entertainment business, so it helps to have a catchy name. Most gladiator-helmets conceal your face, so it is possible to fight anonymously, and if you are the rebellious son of a noble family disgracing yourself in the arena, then something besides Ovis Nero Familae ("Black sheep of the family") might be in order. For this reason too, many poorly-performing fighters have been laughed at by the audience and accused of being runaway-slaves in disguise using the arena as a hiding place. The most famous gladiator in history was a Thracian that fought as a Murmillo, but many assume that "Spartacus" was a Spartan, so it pays to be careful what you choose if you want to be remembered correctly.
Many names are taken from mythology, such as mighty Ajax, noble Hector, beautiful Narcissus, and invincible Achilles. Two female gladiatrices are recorded as "Achillia" and "Amazonia". The poet Martial writes about the gladiator "Hermes the Hurricane", named after the god Hermes that led dead souls to the Underworld, who seems to have lived up to his namesake. Other choices might be Victor, Felix (Lucky), Hilarus (Happy), Maximus (Greatest), and Lepidus (Nice) who ironically is really very mean!
Choosing a Gladiator fighting style
Most gladiators fight with solid enclosed helmets that make your head practically invulnerable, but severely restrict vision and breathing. You will also have manica plate-metal arm-protection, at least one shin-guard, perhaps a chest-plate, and various types of wrapped-wool padded limb-protections.If you are small and fast, then you should probably be a
If you are big and strong, but not so fast, then you probably want to fight as one of the heavies with a giant shield that gives good cover, but can also be swung to smash your opponent's face in. These types include the Provocator (Challenger), Secutor (Chaser), and Murmillo (Fishman) named for the fin on top of his helmet.
parmulari (small-shield) fighter that relies on speed and agility. These types include Hoplomachus (Hoplite-fighter) that has the advantage of a long-range spear, and Thracian, who has a Griffin on top of his helmet, symbol of Nemesis the goddess of vengeance.
If you are really quick and clever, then you can fight without a helmet or shield as a Dimachaerus (two-swords), or as a Retiarius (Net-fighter) using a trident (three-teeth) and throwing-net to catch your prey.
The main rules are to have fun, kill your opponent, or at least cripple them, and not die.
Joining a Gladiator School
Gladiator Schools are overseen by the imperial government office of procuratores familiae ludi to ensure all fighters are kept under strict control, as nobody wants a repeat of the Spartacus gladiator-slave-rebellion that occurred way back in 73 BC. In Rome there are imperial schools that funnel fighters straight into the insatiable Roman coliseum, but out in the provinces the schools are owned either by the local municipality, or by wealthy senators. Owning a school is rather prestigious, but being the lanista (manager) is disgraceful. Once you are adequately trained, you may feel it safer to join an independent-travelling gladiator troupe putting on theatrical displays in backwater towns for low pay (but without risk of death!). However, true champions prefer the blood and glory of the cheering crowds in the giant arena, where your death could win somebody that bet against you a lot of money!

Class 6 (5,000), 7 (4,000), 8 (3,000) gladiator cost. Your estimated value as a gladiator

Imperial decree has divided the Gladiator Games into four classes (based on expense) and set the maximum prices that the editor financing the games must pay to reimburse the lanista for any of his gladiators killed in the arena (from Class 8 beginner, up to Class 1 champion) as follows:
I. Spectacular, 200,000 sestertii or more. Class 1 (15,000), 2 (12,000), 3 (9,000), 4 (7,000), 5 (6,000) gladiator cost.
II. Magnificent, up to 150,000 sestertii. Class 2 (12,000), 3 (10,000), 4 (8,000), 5 (6,000), 6 (5,000) gladiator cost.
III. Good, up to 100,000 sestertii. Class 4 (8,000), 5 (6,000), 6 (5,000) gladiator cost.
IV. Cheap, up to 60,000 sestertii.
The slave-gladiators get paid 20% of their appearance fee, and the auctoratii (if you have any sense)
should have negotiated for more. Remember, about half of all gladiators get killed in their first year, so you have 50-50 odds. Not bad.
After hours work
You will probably only have three fights a year, with the rest of the time spent training. Retired gladiators don't make very good soldiers as they are unused to working as a team, long marches or campaign hardships, but they do make good teachers of soldiers for one-on-one combat situations. Gladiators also make fine bodyguards, enforcers, and debt-collectors since they know exactly how to beat someone to within an inch of their life without accidentally killing them - if you are being beaten by a gladiator, you are in safe hands. Rich patrons might hire gladiators to fight exhibition matches as after-dinner entertainment. Wealthy matrons too might hire gladiators as personal bodyguards for sexual gratification. Slave-gladiators sometimes have their genitals spiked before a big fight so that they do not waste any of their masculine virility on sexual emissions.

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Every major city has an amphitheater, with over 200 throughout the empire in all. - condemned to die in the arena, which means you might be given a chance to become a gladiator! - fight for money, such as debtors, lower-class country boys, or disgraced soldiers (disbarred from fighting for the army).

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The sentence 'Those who are about to die salute you' is correct?

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The sentence 'Those who are about to die salute you' is correct?

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1) How do they think the gladiators greet their emperor?
"Ave, Imperator: Morituri te salutant!"

2) Where is this sentence used nowadays?
In films and songs.

3) What is the origin of this sentence?
Some historians believe gladiators yelled this towards the emperor to greet him.

4) Who was an important commander in this?
Julius Caesar

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The Roman Gladiator Salute Ave, Imperator: Morituri te salutant

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strijders tegenover elkaar staan ​​over een meedogenloze cirkel van zand, wenden ze zich tot hun met lauweren omhulde eminentie, snackend aan druiven, en brullen: "Ave, Imperator: Morituri te salutant!"

Dit hoofdbestanddeel van aan zijn keizer, is in feite waarschijnlijk nooit gebeurd. Slechts een handvol Romeinse historici noemt, lang daarna, de zin - letterlijk: "Gegroet, keizer, zij die op het punt staan ​​te sterven, groeten u" - en er zijn weinig aanwijzingen dat het algemeen werd gebruikt in gladiatorengevechten of andere spellen in het oude Rome.

Desalniettemin heeft "Morituri te salutant" zowel in de populaire cultuur als in de academische wereld een aanzienlijke betekenis gekregen. Russell Crowe zegt het in de film "Gladiator", en het wordt keer op keer gebruikt door heavy metal bands (meest brutaal door AC / DC, die het aanpaste "Voor degenen die op het punt staan ​​te rocken, groeten we je.").

Waar kwamen de uitdrukking "Morituri te salutant" en zijn variaties (... morituri te salutamus, of "wij groeten") vandaan?

Volgens de historicus Suetonius ' Life of the Divine Claudius , komt het verslag van de regering van die keizer in zijn compendium , geschreven rond 112 na Christus, voort uit een bijzondere gebeurtenis.

had het bevel over een immens project voor openbare werken, het droogleggen van het Fucinomeer voor landbouwgrond. Het kostte 30.000 mannen en 11 jaar om te voltooien. Ter ere van de prestatie beval de keizer een - een nepzeeslag waarbij duizenden mannen en schepen betrokken waren - die op het meer zou worden gehouden voordat het werd geleegd. De mannen, duizenden criminelen die anders zouden worden opgehangen, begroetten Claudius aldus: "Ave, Imperator: Morituri te salutant!" waarop de keizer antwoordde: "Aut non" - "Of niet."

Hierna zijn de historici het daar niet mee eens. Suetonius zegt dat de mannen, die geloofden dat ze gratie hadden ontvangen van Claudius, weigerden te vechten. De keizer vleide en dreigde hen uiteindelijk tegen elkaar uit te zeilen.

Cassius Dio, die over de gebeurtenis in de 3e eeuw voor Christus schreef, zei dat de mannen alleen maar deden alsof ze vochten totdat Claudius het geduld verloor en hen beval te sterven.

Tacitus noemt de gebeurtenis, zo'n 50 jaar nadat het plaatsvond, maar noemt het pleidooi van de gladiatoren (of beter gezegd: ) niet. Hij vertelt echter dat een groot aantal gevangenen werd gespaard nadat ze hadden gevochten met de moed van vrije mannen.

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The Roman Gladiator Salute Ave, Imperator: Morituri te salutant

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strijders tegenover elkaar staan ​​over een meedogenloze cirkel van zand, wenden ze zich tot hun met lauweren omhulde eminentie, snackend aan druiven, en brullen: "Ave, Imperator: Morituri te salutant!" Dit hoofdbestanddeel van aan zijn keizer, is in feite waarschijnlijk nooit gebeurd.

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Defeating the Undefeated Gladiator | Gladiator | All Action

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Thumbs down is associated with killing someone?

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Thumbs down is associated with killing someone?

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Watch the clip up to 1:10 and read the text

1) Does the up- or downturned thumb originate from gladiator’s life in Ancient Rome?
no

2) What does a downturned thumb mean in the gladiatorial combats? thumbs down meant life.

3) What does a upturned thumb mean in the gladiatorial?
Thumbs up was actually the sign of dissaproval. So thumbs up meant death.

4) Is the use of the thumb correct in the trailer of the gladiator? NO

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Now You Know: Where Does the 'Thumbs-Up' Gesture Really Come From?

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Ancient Romans did use the thumbs-up gesture, but back then it didn't mean "good job." So where does the modern hand sign really come from?

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Defeating the Undefeated Gladiator | Gladiator | All Action

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The gladiatorial games is a Roman invention?

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The gladiatorial games is a Roman invention?

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1) The gladiatorial contests were first founded among?
The Etruscans.

2) When did the Romans first incorporate the gladiatorial contests?
Junius Brutus Decimus 43 BC

3) What was the initial use of the gladiatorial contests?
Honouring the dead but it became a cult of celebrity and entertainment.

4) How important were gladiatorial fighters?
They became celebrities although they were slaves. There even were non-slaves who joined the gladiatorial arena because of the fame.

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1) What is the red seating area?
a) These were seats for senators and the most important   priests
2) What was the green seating area?
a) military men
3) What was the purple seating area?
a) married men, boys and their teachers
4) How were the people seated in the colosseum?
a) The different classes were separated, the comfort of the seats was also different for the different classes

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For the Romans
the games weren't just a moment of leisure, but were also an occasion in which people, institutions and the powers congregated. Valerius Maximus tells that Senators and the common people, at least up to the year 560 b.C., assisted to the shows together, standing. Later on the division deepened, and the amphitheatre reflected this new order.
Roman society was tightly divided into classes, and this separation was observed also on occasion of the games. However, in the arena-mania that developed in Rome, the amphitheatre became the place were the common folks could meet the upper class - even the emperor - and sometimes could address him directly. The story of the emperors' relations with the arena is long and interesting, and it will appear on this site as soon as possible.
The games were strictly reserved to the citizens (slaves weren't admitted), but tickets were not on sale; instead, institutions, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, companies, corporations, associations, fellowships, leagues, unions et cetera had their places assigned in the amphitheatre, as a consequence of the role and the rank they had in the society. The ones who did not fit the above description tried to find a protector that could grant them the privilege of a seat by invitation. This custom lasted for a long time: only after the 4th century AD some seats started to be inscribed with the names of families, or of single senators.

In amphitheatres, circuses and theatres each rank was assigned a certain seating, which was considered a prized privilege. We know that in 490 BC Manius Valerius Maximus got the right, valid also for all his descendants, to place his seat in a particular place of the Circus Maximus. Scipio the African proposed in 194 BC that the senators, as such, had seats separated from those of the commoners. Around 90 BC Sulla allowed the women in the theatres. In 87 BC the Lex Roscia Theatralis assigned to the knights the first 14 rows of seats ( XIV Gradus proximi) in theatres. People were outraged by that, and strongly opposed this measure, so much that some think that this law was not enforced in amphitheatres.

The spectators had to dress up: the citizens who were entitled to it had to wear the toga, the robe Romans wore on the great occasions (Martial, IV, 2). Citizens who did not enjoy good reputation - bankrupts and profligate - were destined to sit with the plebs at the top, but in ancient times even unaccompanied women were allowed. Alcohol was forbidden: people were not supposed to drink alcohol during the games, and the writer Lampridius criticized the emperor Commodus because he used to drink in the amphitheatre. For more info on the practical organisation see this page.

On the day of the games people came very early, and sometimes even slept out of the amphitheatre. To enter, the spectators had to produce to the designatores, the ushers, a tessera, an invitation. The tessera - like today's tickets - reported the exact location of the seat: cuneus, gradus and locus (sector, row and seat). For example, CVN III GRAD IV LOC I corresponds to sector 3, row 4, seat 1. It seems, however, that if one spectator left his seat during the day he lost his right to it(Quintilianus, l.VI, c. III). Each locus was identified by lines cut in the seats. People sat on wooden planks placed on the marble stones, but the elite could be more comfortable: the senators had cushions at first, then they were allowed chairs called curules, and cushions were accorded to the equites.

We have a list of many institutions that had places assigned in the cavea: the tribuni and their viatores(summoners), the religious collegia (that were 8: Pontifices, Viri Epulones, Augures, Fetiales, Arvales, XV Viri Sacris Faciundis, Sodales Titii and Salii), the semi-official collegia ( Lupercorum, Mercurialum, Capitolinorum, Veneris Genetricis, Minervae), the sodalitates (kind of private religious associations: Sodales Matris Magnae, Augustales, Claudiates), the patres familias and the praetextati(the toga praetexta was the garment, bordered with purple, worn at Rome by the higher magistrates and by free-born children till they assumed the toga virilis).
There was place also for the kids from the nobiliores et honestiores familiae (distinguished and honorable families), and their teachers. The poor - and the women after Augustus - had to go up to the top, in the porticus, and they participated to the games under the banner of their tribes (yes: Roman citizens first and then the citizens from the surrounding regions were organised in tribes, that were basically the voting constituencies), furtherly divided by their civil state (married/unmarried).
At some point between 20 and 17 BC, Augustus introduced the Lex Iulia Theatralis, which brought order in this matter by regulating minutely the seating arrangement of all the classes in public places like theatres, amphitheatres and circuses. Of course the senators had the seats nearest to the action, then came the knights, military men, married men, boys and their teachers, non-citizens and the plebs. He also banned women from public spectacles, and these rules were enforced all over the Empire.

As Jonathan Edmonson wrote, "the full complexity of the social distinctions laid down in the Lex Iulia Theatralis became permanently enshrined in the seating plan of the Colosseum. Like all amphitheatres, it was planned to keep the different classes of spectators separated. They had different entrances and seats in the cavea. The entrance on the north side seems to have been connected with the Esquiline by a porticus. A wide passage led directly from this entrance to the imperial box (pulvinar) on the podium. A corresponding box on the opposite side of the podium was probably reserved for the Praefectus Urbi. The entrances at the ends of the major axis led directly into the arena. For more info on the seating, see the whole Edmonson essay on PUBLIC SPECTACLES AND ROMAN SOCIAL RELATIONS.
There were five orders of seats (see the pictures):

the podium, with wide and low steps where the privileged could place their personal chairs. It was reserved to senators, to most important priests, the clarissimi from senatorial families, viri consulares, magistrati etc.

the maenianum primum

the maenianum secundum imum (lower),

the maenianum secundum summum (upper),

the maenianum summum in ligneis, also called porticus (it's the top portico with wooden seats, not indicated in the picture on the right).

As an example of the division of places, we have a very important document: the minutes of the proceedings of the Fratres Arvales, which was an ancient college or priesthood of 12 members elected from the highest ranks, whose main original duty was to offer annual public sacrifice for the fertility of the fields.
96 of their Acta (minutes) of their proceedings, inscribed on stone, were discovered in the grove of the Dea Dia Temple near Rome. In the proceedings of 80AD there is a description of the spaces reserved to the Arvales in the different sectors of the Colosseum (in fact reserved to their friends, clientes and servants, since the 12 Arvales were probably sitting in the senatorial sector).
Many scholars during the centuries have tried to interpreted this writing, as it is difficult to explain the meaning of the digits, leaving alone the correspondence with a number of seats. According to modern interpretations of the stone, the Arvales had in total about 130 ft, corresponding to 37 metres. Considering 40-50 cm for each person, the Arvales could accommodate 70-80 people. Places were highly sought after, and we can imagine that the popularity of the Emperor Trajan reached a peak when - not long before the year 100 - he demolished the imperial tribune and donated 500 seats to the people, as an inscription reports.

Many fragments of the marble seats bear the indication of the class to which they were destined. Most of the fragments date back to the III or IV century, and some bear the names of Roman families and senators who were already known to the experts from different sources. Some fragments bear only the name of the family, and it seems that related families (we would call them clans) sat nearby, showing the unity of the group in front of the community. When seats were assigned to a different person or family the inscription was erased and the new name engraved in the stone. A recent research on the fragments shows that one of the seats could have belonged to Iobius Philippus Ymelcho Valerius, perhaps the same Valerius who was consul in 521, and this should prove that the amphitheatre was still in use in the VI century.

In the city of Rome, for the practical organisation of the games, the emperors set up in the first century an organisation for the production of the games. There was the Ratio a muneribus, a kind of Ministry of Games with organisational and financial powers over the venationes and the munera. The costumes and the pegmata, the machines that appeared on the arena from underground and instantly unfolded producing a scenery, were built, from the times of Vespasian to Hadrian, in the Summum Choragium on the Summa Sacra Via. When that place was destined to the grandiose temple of Venus and Roma, the Summum Choragium was transferred nearby, in the region of the city called after the temple of Isis and Serapis (now around Via Labicana). A knight of the equestrian order was at the head of the Ludus Magnus, the main gladiatorial school of Rome. The other schools in Italy and over the empire were directed by officers called procuratores familiarum gladiatoriarum.

The system of entrances and stairs of the Colosseum has also been studied. The image on the right shows one quadrant of the amphitheatre with the 5 paths a, b, c, d and e, which are repeated symmetrically all around the building. The 12 "b type" paths led straight to the lower senators' seats, and 16 "d" paths led to the upper senators' seats. 20 "a" paths led to the maenianum primum and to the upper ones.16 "c" and 16 "e" paths led to the same corridor of the "a" path. However, in the Colosseum a strict separation between the different classes doesn't seem to have been possible, and the only real division seems to have merely been between the senators and all the rest.

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For the Romans the games weren't just a moment of leisure, but were also an occasion in which people, institutions and the powers congregated. Valerius Maximus tells that Senators and the common people, at least up to the year 560 b.C., assisted to the shows together, standing.

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Total Length: 2517 words ( 8 double-spaced pages)

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Introduction"[footnoteRef:5] Out of this custom, the gladiator games emerged: "those, therefore, whom they had provided for the combat, and then trained in arms as best they could, only that they might learn to die, they, on the funeral day, killed at the places of sepulture."[footnoteRef:6] The gladiator contests, in short, were meant to have a spiritual significance-but as time went on, politicians who could afford to pay for the events saw that the public could basically be "bought" by being given access to the contests, and thus the politicians secured for themselves a strong following that they deliberately linked to the spiritual dimension of the games. [5: Tertullian, "De Spectatculis," Chapter XII, 1-2.] [6: Tertullian, "De Spectatculis," Chapter XII, 3.]

There was also another way that politicians used the games to communicate their message-and that was through the seating arrangements within the Coliseum itself. The seating arrangements in the Coliseum essentially communicated the different aspects of power because of how the richer politicians and members of the elite class sat in a special area while ordinary, lower class citizens sat far away. There was a dominant social hierarchy projected by the system of seating with in the Coliseum, and the games thus helped to support this class structure. And, of course, inevitably, the politicians and their friends were the ones with the best seats-and were therefore the ones seen by all the rest of the citizenry and believed to hold all the sway and power. This design reinforced the concept that the politicians were the real movers and shakers in Rome, the real people of influence and power. Roger Dunkle notes that "not surprisingly, senators, the most prestigious class of citizens at Rome, were first to be singled out for priority seating at spectacles...[they] had the best seats, closest to the action, in the orchestra of the theatre or in the lowest part of the amphitheatre."[footnoteRef:7] By being so visibly promenaded before the public, the politicians thus managed to perpetually appear larger than life, equal to the spectacle about to be displayed before the rest of the thousands of fawning fans. In this manner, the politicians of Rome communicated their own prestige, their own importance, and the main reason the ordinary citizens should look up to them: they alone had all the power. [7: Roger Dunkle, Gladiators, 263.]

Communication of Religion

Politics were not the only important theme conveyed by the gladiator games, however: the subtext of religion was also incorporated into them and made prominent so as to communicate the Roman religion to the people. Indeed, religious themes were everywhere within the games-from the gate of the Coliseum, which was called the Gate of Libitinaria (the goddess of Death) to the figure who would dress as Charon (the god of the underworld) to drag the dead bodies away, out of the........

In ancient Rome, the gladiator games were a popular form of entertainment-but they were also much more than this and served multiple purposes within the Roman civilization. The games were used both by Roman authorities and by the slaves of Rome (the gladiators) as a tool, wielded for a different aim respectively. The Roman religious and the politicians used the games as well for their own ends. While the combats that took place in the arenas dazzled audiences, the violence and spectacle was really but one aspect of the contests, and an examination of the underlying social, political, religious and economic subtexts of the gladiator games reveals much about the nature of ancient Roman society. This paper will identify the four main purposes of the gladiatorial games in ancient Rome-the expression of political influence, the expression of religion, a means of emphasizing the Empire's power, and grounds for slaves to have a reason to revolt-and show how these purposes were interwoven throughout the coliseums where these brutal contests were conducted.

Context

The gladiator games were not a Roman invention but rather a tool that the Romans borrowed (like so many other tools in their society) from other cultures. In this case, gladiatorial contests were first found among the Etruscans and the Romans first incorporated them into their culture at the funeral of Junius Brutus Decimus in 43 BC. Though initially the games were exercised as a form of honoring the dead, the contests and their subtexts began to take on deeper meanings for all involved. A cult of celebrity grew around the gladiators themselves so that they resembled modern day rock stars or professional athletes, even though they lacked status and freedom. The gladiators had their fan clubs and admirers. Graffiti could frequently be found around the city of Rome honoring them and their deeds in the arena. Their popularity prompted some who were not even slaves to sign up as gladiators-after all, it was a career that did not go unnoticed by the public, and if one was good at his job, he could enjoy the celebrity and fame that followed. Out of this environment, however, multiple purposes for the games emerged, as politicians, Roman leaders, religious and slaves all took to using the games for their own ends.

Political Power

Politicians in Rome understood the power of the gladiator games and used their appeal to curry favor with the electorate. By hosting the gladiator games, which "fell outside the ordinary games and thus had to be funded by private individuals,"[footnoteRef:2] politicians could throw these lavish spectacles for the public and in turn they would obtain the patronage of the public at election time. As Philip Thomas notes, "the aristocracy paid gladly as this excluded the less privileged from a political career."[footnoteRef:3] In other words, the games were used by politicians as a means of monopolizing political power: only those who could afford to host these lavish contests could woo the public's favor-and if one hoped to have a political career in Rome, he would have to be wealthy. While tickets were free-one still had to obtain a ticket, and these were often handed out as favors-an act which not all statesmen agreed with. Cicero, for instance, viewed this as a form of political corruption-nonetheless, it was a common form. Cicero even tried to get the hosting of gladiatorial contests banned by politicians who aimed to run for office within two years' time of the games being held.[footnoteRef:4] [2: Philip Thomas, "Gladiatorial Games as a Means of Political Communication During the Roman Republic," Fundamina, 16(2), 193.] [3: Philip Thomas, "Gladiatorial Games as a Means of Political Communication During the Roman Republic," Fundamina, 16(2), 193.] [4: Philip Thomas "Gladiatorial Games as a Means of Political Communication During the Roman Republic," Fundamina, 16(2), 194.]

Though many politicians used the gladiator games to communicate a political message and win the esteem of the public, others felt this went against the time-honored tradition of the gladiator games-which was that they were to be held to pay respect to the memory of the dead. Tertullian describes the belief that the ancients held with regard to this matter: "The ancients thought that in this solemnity they rendered offices to the dead...for formerly, in the belief that the souls of the departed were appeased by human blood, they were in the habit of buying captives or slaves of wicked disposition, and immolating them in their funeral obsequies.

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Bibliography

Dunkle, Roger. Gladiators.

Kyle, Donald. Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome.

Plutarch. "The Spartacus Slave War."

Tertullian. "De Spectatculis."

Thomas, Philip. "Gladiatorial Games as a Means of Political Communication During the Roman Republic," Fundamina, 16(2), 186-198.

Wiedemann, Thomas. Emperors and Gladiators.

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Ancient Roman Civilization and the Gladiator Games Essay

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Total Length: 2517 words ( 8 double-spaced pages) Total Sources: 6 Page 1 of 8 Introduction"[footnoteRef:5] Out of this custom, the gladiator games emerged: "those, therefore, whom they had provided for the combat, and then trained in arms as best they could, only that they might learn to die, they,