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Role of gladiators in roman society
Romans gladiators and roman society
Importance of chariot racing in ancient rome
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Recommended: Role of gladiators in roman society
A Chariot Racing Day in the Roman Times
The Circus Maximus was the oldest and the largest of all the circuses
where chariot races took place holding up to 250, 000 spectators. It
was traditionally founded in the sixth century BC by Tarquinius
Priscus, the fifth king of Rome. In 329 BC, permanent starting gates
were constructed and, in 174 BC, that they were rebuilt and seven
large wooden eggs were set up to indicate the completion of each lap.
The track was originally formed by the low ground of the valley.
Inside, the track was covered with a bed of sand which sparkled with
bright mineral grain. The lower seat tier was made out of marble, the
second was made out of wood and the third seemed to have offered
standing places only.
[IMAGE]
This is a model of Circus Maximus in completion. All around it is the
seating and there is a tiny building in between where the judges must
have been. The charioteers must have started on the left in the
starting gates; the Romans called it the Spina Metae. They would go
down where they would have to make a very sharp turn with other
charioteers in the way. It must have been hard unless they were very
skilful.
The races started with a procession of chariots through the
Processional Gate, the horses sleek and well groomed, the charioteers
splendid in their colourful costumes. Statues and Gods were paraded:
Jupiter, King of the Gods, Mars, God of War, and Venus, Goddess of
Love and beauty and Neptune. People in the crowd wore the colours of
the team they supported.
Most drivers were proud of their horses if they won the races. They
were very highly trained, probably more than today, s...
... middle of paper ...
...ew of the
spectators. Often escorted by outriders and riders on lead ponies, the
horses are positioned in individual stalls within the starting gate,
located at the starting line. When the field, as the entrants are
collectively called, is evenly aligned, the starter presses a button
to open the stall gates. This is rather similar to Roman chariot
racing.
Bibliography
'Gladiators - the basics' by Claire Gruzelier
Chariot Racing Sources
'http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/circus_sources.html'
'Daily Life in Ancient Rome' Chapter III'The Races'
'Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome' Chapter 10 'The Races'
'Sidonius, Apollinaris, Poems 23.323-424
'Ovid, Love Affairs' 3.2.1-14, 19-26, 33-38, 43-59 and 61-84
'Pliny the Younger' Letters 9.6
CIL 6.10048/10050
'Martial, Epigrams' 10.53, 50 (5-8)
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Gladiator fights were first introduced to Rome in 264 BC, when the sons of Junius Brutus paid honor to their father's funeral by showing three pairs of gladiators fight. This ritual caught on and was performed to honor significant men. As the years passed, the ceremonies became more promoted and emperors began to present the games to symbolize their power.
Gladiatorial events were a token of the Roman civilization. A brutal form of sacrifice adapted from the earlier civilization of Etruscans, who believed when a person dies, his spirit relies on a blood sacrifice to survive in the afterlife. The first event to take place in Rome was in 264 BC, when Decimus Brutus held a sacrifice to honor his dead father (Roman Gladiator). Soon after these events became an undeniable part of the Romans lives, used for political power and general entertainment.
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held in what was called The Circus Maximus. The chariot races held in the Circus Maximus were
The terms ‘civilized’ and ‘barbaric’, while being paradoxes in themselves, seem to go hand in hand and inseparable in all aspects of society, both in the current ‘developed’ world and its contemporary distant past. While one may easily laugh at the idiotic, yet violent simpleton of a caveman offspring in comedy cartoons, and similarly decline all backward practices of distant tribes of a faraway land, it cannot be denied that even the most advanced of our kind seem to embrace similar barbaric methods and means of entertainment in our everyday world. From violent movies filled with murders and gruesome scenes to bloody organized sports, the modern world still seeks entertainment in the form of violence and cruelty, not very different from that enjoyed by the ‘glorious’ world of Ancient Rome. Back then, people from all classes and age would look forward to weekend games. They would gather to see fighters, called gladiators, fight each other to the death in large arenas. This is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the Roman Empire and one that has deep influence on the entire Roman society
Roman gladiators are often recalled when thinking of the Roman civilization for several reasons, including the extreme brutality of the gladiatorial games that took place. These games took place at funerals and ceremonies, as an offering of blood.
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During the middle and late third century, the Roman republic era gave rise to the arena games and became a great phenomenon for the Romans. An amphitheater, also known as a coliseum, housed these dangerous games that potentially harmed the audience as well as those who participated in them. Gladiatorial combat originated as part of funerals for deceased influential Romans. These large gladiatorial games were held by emperors during funerals of important roman officials, but were also included during other occasions. Over time the connection among the gladiator games and funerals decreased, and the upper class put on the games mainly to raise their social standing and gain favor with the public.
The Circus Maximus has a lot of history due to all of the events that had happened over the years of the Circus Maximus, the concept of chariots speeding around a track to see which horse would come in first. A chariot was a two wheeled, horse drawn vehicle. It was invented in the west in about 2,000 BC. The Circus Maximus started in approximately 50 BC. The Circus Maximus was first used for public games and entertainment by the Etruscan king of Rome. He built the Circus Maximus and made it out of complete wood. It measured 621 meters in length and 150 meters in width. It was capable of holding about 270,000 spectators to watch the races ("Circus Maximus princeton.edu") In 81 AD, Emperor Domitian connected his new palace on the Palatine to the Circus Maximus so he could have an easier view of the races. This happened to be a large action because they had to change around the whole racing course to fit in his window where he could watch. In 64 BC, they had a fire started from ...
The Column of Trajan is a great example of why the Romans valued stability in the good society. The Column of Trajan was made in 113 CE in order to celebrate Emperor Trajan in his victory over Dacia, which is modern day Romania. The Column, which stands tall at 38 meters, is made of white marble. It shows many aspects of the Roman army, such as weapons, ships, equipment, and armour. Like any strong country, Rome showed their people that their army was strong. It also reassured them that they would not have to worry about their safety. The column was built after the victory over Dacia. Dacia was seen as a threat to Moesia, a province along the Danube frontier. Also, Dacia had many natural resources such as gold which intrigued Emperor Trajan.
dead was counted as a funeral rite. It is called munus (a service) from being a
Gladiatorial combat originated in 700 B.C. during the Etruscan Empire. “The origins of the sport may lie in Etruscan slave fights, which were fought to the death to please the gods and to enhance the reputations of the slaves ' owners. The Romans incorporated the tradition into their funeral ceremonies, beginning in 264 B.C. with that of Junius Brutus Pera 's” (Lidz n.pag). As the games became more popular, “the fascination of the games lay in the transformation of the despicable and the lowly into objects of admiration (since the socially outcast gladiators were held in high popular regard)” (Fagan 17). On the surface, gladiatorial combat in the Roman Empire demonstrated an artistic spectacle of brute dominance and great pride on the battlefield.
The Greeks actually had a sprint of about 190 metres called the stadion in the ancient Olympics, which was a sprint down a straight track and back again. The technology of the day consisted of nothing more than a wooden post at one end to help the runner on his return back up the track. Races originally began with the athletes standing upright, with their toes resting in grooves in a stone starting sill - hence the expression "toe the line". False starts were punished by flogging from a judge standing behind the athletes. Later it seems that a starting gate (called the husplex) was used, much like that used in horse-racing today.
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