Roman Entertainment

1195 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Events in the roman games

Introduction
Ancient Romans, like the Greeks, loved entertainment. Their idea of entertainment was usually something involving death and drama. They liked to watch plays, watch gladiators, participate or watch games, and watch or participate in animal hunts.

Colosseum Events
The Colosseum is a famous arena that’s still partly standing today. This arena could seat over 50,000 people. On hot days, a canopy was raised over the Colosseum to protect the viewers from the heat.
In the Colosseum, many events were held for the Romans to watch. Watching was free so that everyone could come. The events held almost always involved death and destruction. There were the gladiators, the feeding of people to lions, animals fighting animals, animal hunts, animal circus acts, and mock sea battles, where the Colosseum was flooded with water. The animals used in these events were kept below the Colosseum and an estimated 5,000 animals were killed the day the Colosseum opened. The animals were kept under the Colosseum.

Gladiators
Gladiators are people who fight each other or wild animals for other people’s entertainment in ancient Rome. They usually fought in the Colosseum. People would gather from all over to see them fight until they die, since they usually didn’t survive. If a gladiator survived three to five years of fighting, he or she was released and allowed to go back home. Romans watched gladiators fight because they not only thought it entertaining, but also thought it would prepare them for war.
People did not usually volunteer to be gladiators. Gladiators were slaves, condemned criminals, or prisoners of war. Someone called a lanista, or owner of gladiators would purchase these people. However, a few free men volunteered to be gladiators, though this did not happen often. Depending on what the person did or who the person was, the gladiators had different training and weapons. For example, a criminal that had committed a capital crime fought weaponless, while a criminal who did not commit a capital crime had training in a private gladiator school.
In the private gladiator schools, gladiators trained every day and received medical attention and three meals a day to keep them healthy. They were allowed to pick the weapons and armor that best suited him or her. Different types of weapons resulted in different types of gladiators. The types of gladiators are: Andabatae, who wore helmets without eye holes, Catervarii, who fought not in pairs, but

Show More
Related

  • Main Functions of the Games in Ancient Rome

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    Consus where the opening sacrifices took place was located in the center of the Circus Maximus where the racing took place. Like racing, gladiators probably originated as funeral games, with religious significance attached to what in affect was the ritual sacrifice of the gladiators themselves. The first recorded gladiator fight was in 264BC, when 3 pairs of gladiators fought to the death during the funeral of Junius Brutus. The gladiator fights were known as munera as they were originally 'duties' paid to dead ancestors. They gradually lost their connection to funerals under the Roman Empire and became an important stage for emperors and leaders to put on spectacles for their own reasons.

    Read More

  • Gladitorial Combat in Ancient Rome

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    The essence of the bloodthirsty entertainment was in the form of the gladiator. The word gladiator comes from the Latin for swordsman, from gladius or sword. The first gladiators were part of a sacrificial rite adopted from the Etruscans in 264, BC, nearly 500 years after the founding of Rome (Johnston 238). The sons of Junius Brutus first displayed gladiatorial combat when they 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 his offering of blood (Johnston 286). Gladiators were generally condemned criminals, prisoners of war or slaves bought for this purpose. By the end o...

    Read More

  • Why Did Rome: The Fall Of Rome

    526 Words  | 2 Pages

    Rome originally saved a few days for games, but toward the end of the empire, game days totaled 170. Most poor spend money gambling and drinking. During the millennium festival, more than 100 people and exotic animals were killed. The poor didn’t care about the empire to the extent that they welcomed the Germanic and Barbaric tribes. With the lack of spirit from its citizens, Rome began to fall into the deepest ruins.

    Read More

  • The Roman games

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Gladiator", comes from the latin word "gladius", for sword. They were primarily made up of slaves, criminals, prisoners of war or even volunteer free men. The crimes that could lead one to the arena included treason, robbery, and murder, among others. Some free men became gladiators of their own free will in hopes of gaining notoriety and patronage amongst the wealthy citizens. By the end of 50 BC almost half of the gladiators fighting in the Colosseum were free men.

    Read More

  • Roman Gladiators

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    A gladiators life was far from easy. Most were slaves, prisoners of war, or hardened criminals, therefore they were not free men. Often times they were trained and forced to take part in the events, hoping for their freedom if they were to conquer their grim fate and survived for a few years (wik). This was depicted in the most recent movie GLADIATOR. In this film Russel Crowe ‘Maximus' starts out as an army general under Marcus Aurelius, until Commudus murders his own father out of spite for his fathers loyalty to Maximus and not him. He then inherits the title of king, and condemns Maximus to a gruesome fate as a slave/gladiator. Though this doesn't sound like the ideal life, to some at the time is was an appealing, so much so that some free men degraded themselves so they could battle in the games. Was it for basic living? Possibly but more than likely it was for the Fame and Prestige of a Gladiator. These free men were known as Professional gladiators.

    Read More

  • Roman Entertainment

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    seating and the easiest access to the Colosseum. Even though many people think that the

    Read More

  • The Spartacus War

    1783 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first chapter of Strauss’ work, titled “The Gladiator”, explores both Spartacus’ background as a gladiator and Rome’s fascination with the sport. Strauss outlines how a gladiator match worked in Rome, usually in carefully chosen pairs starting with a practice match with wooden weapons followed by the real officiated match that was generally to the death unless the crowd decided that the wounded deserved to live. The attention is then turned to where the Spartacus legend begins, Capua. Strauss gives a sweeping view of Capua’s history in the Roman Empire, from being punished for allying itself with Hannibal to returning to some prominence as a slave center, in particular for gladiators. Gladiators were usually slaves, and much like Spartacus, were foreign. Spartacus was a Thracian, feared by Romans for their fierceness on hors...

    Read More

  • The Importance of Gladiator Games

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alan Baker states in his book The Gladiator – The Secret History of Rome’s Warrior Slaves that, “attendance at the amphitheater was an essential part of being a Roman, a member of a powerful warrior state” (Baker 2000, 39). It is said that the Romans were known for their honor and glory as a reflection of the society they lived in. This may perhaps explain why the gladiator games were popular to the citizens, because the Romans enjoyed observing these characteristics throughout the battles. Most of the time the contestants were slaves, these individuals were bought and traded at the coliseum with the intentions of battling in these games until their death.

    Read More

  • The Private and Public Leisure Activities of Pompeii and Herculaneum

    1238 Words  | 3 Pages

    The private and public leisure activities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were largely abundant. Many activities could be participated in and were used often. These include Drama performances, gladiatorial games, drinking, gambling, brothels, exercise, gardens, baths and food and dining. All these were an important part of Pompeian and Herculaneum life. They were seen as important to keep the body and mind healthy in most cases. Though some opposed some of the activities like brothels, gambling and drinking. But all give a important look into the life of those in Pompeii and Herculaneum before the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius which completely destroyed both towns and all its inhabitants.

    Read More

  • Motivation In The Movie Gladiator

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gladiators were combatants equipped for arena battles. These battles were against other soldiers, conquered enemies, slaves, and criminals. Even wild beasts were added to be part of the bloody spectacle. Gladiators were a source of entertainment for Roman crowds, politicians and nobility at the Coliseum. It was the Roman equivalent to a Packer game at Lambeau field. A few gladiators were volunteers, but most were detested as slaves. Regardless of where they came from, gladiators allowed spectators to see an example of Rome 's military principles and, how to die an honorable death. The origin of gladiator combat is unclear, evidence supports that it became an important attribute of politics

    Read More

  • Research Paper On Gladiator

    1077 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story of Gladiator takes place in Ancient Rome and contains intense action, great acting, and fantastic storytelling. Although most of this action drama is mostly fictitious, some certain events and characters appear in the history books.

    Read More

  • The Symbols Of The Colosseum In Rome

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Colosseum, one of Rome’s most famous structures, is located east of the Roman Forum in Piazza del Colosseo in Rome, Italy. As a gift to the Roman people, Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty commissioned the Colosseum around AD 70-72. Titus, Emperor Vespasian’s son and successor, opened it officially in AD 80. The Colosseum is able to hold roughly 50,000 spectators, making it the largest amphitheater in Rome. The Colosseum is a symbol of how advanced Romans were in architecture and building. This monument represents strength, power, cruelty and violence. Thousands of people, most commonly criminals and professional fighters, even animals, have been killed inside the walls of the Colosseum.

    Read More

  • Roman Sports

    1896 Words  | 4 Pages

    140 to 150 metres at its widest point. The fact that it was built in a

    Read More

  • The Life of a Gladiator

    1998 Words  | 4 Pages

    But Gladiators competed much differently than professional athletes do today. Gladiators were forced to fight for the entertainment of others and were considered slaves. (“The Roman Gladiator”). Gladiators did not just fight for friendly sport either, they had to fight to the death. This made the gladiatorial games so exciting for the people watching.

    Read More

  • Ancient Rome's Animal Cruelty for Entertainment

    1830 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the history of the Republic, there was a difference between the gladiatorial contests and other forms of spectacular entertainment. The Romans did not invent the concept of gladiatorial fighting; there is some uncertainty as to the exact source. One ancient source says it was the Etruscans, a non-Indo-European people who lived directly north of the Romans.

    Read More

More about Roman Entertainment

Open Document