The gladius cut through the air, seeming to slow the continuation of time. It was a momentous scene, an oddly simple action that bore the fate of life or death for thousands. Yet, it commenced with no disregard for either future. The death of one life for thousands more, or the life of one for a thousand miserable ones was the theme that rang, reverberating like a bell, through Rome. It’s citizens, impervious to the meaningful lives lost in the gladiatorial arts, failed to hear the ringing and could only gaze into the sky, pleading for clarity from their gods.
The man swinging the gladius thought back to the events that had led him to that very moment. As though death claimed him, his new life flashed before his eyes, debating whether
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He felt his blood racing. He did not feel the pain in his head from the shield or the merciful injuries from the taunting. He was sure he was going to die and at that moment, he felt alive.
Pulling the sword from the dead gladiator’s chest, he slowly advanced upon the shieldsman. Coming to terms with his current situation and relying on his experience, the gladiator attempted to gain momentum and struck first. The sword struck only air as the man easily sidestepped and then plunged his own into the gladiator’s abdomen.
The crowd had gone silent. Nothing moved except for the crippled gladiator, trying to get away while his fellow combatants died. The moment seemed surreal and the man was ready to end this horror.
He walked over to his original gladius as though to make the statement that he only ever wanted to be where he started. To him, the gladius felt much lighter, easier to swing and he advanced toward the still-alive gladiator.
Unbeknownst to him, the crowd was not silent. They were louder than ever, but he could not hear them. He could not hear the man pleading for his life, shouting for surrender, shouting for the orator to stop the match. It was like a dream. In one moment, he made eye contact with the fallen fighter, and then he raised his gladius, and here he
“The noise was so terrific, and the concussion so great that I was thrown to the ground and had no idea where the damage was. I flew through the chest and abdo wards and called out: ‘are you alright boys?’ ‘don’t bother about us’ was the general cry.”
He may have been physically ready for his first battle, but emotionally he was not. I don’t think he really. knew what killed the person involved. All of his life he watched the people he cared about be taken away from him. First, it was his parents, then Johnny, then Noreen and now.
The author of Gladiator uses sequence to organize his ideas and tells about events in the order they happened, which helps readers understand what brought about the beginning and end of the gladiator tradition in Rome. Usually, history is best written with events in the order they occurred. Imagine reading about a handful of events with dates ranging from 264 b.c. to a.d. 404 out of order.
...for success, he robs his audience of the right to make certain determinations about characters such as Tarquin Superbus and Romulus because of his bias toward the motivation behind their actions. Livy’s The Rise of Rome was a grand effort and an amazing undertaking. Cataloguing the years of Roman history consolidated rumor and legend into fact, creating a model for Rome to follow. Livy’s only error in this vast undertaking was in imprinting his own conception of morality and justice onto his work, an error that pulls the reader away from active thought and engaging debate. In doing so, Livy may have helped solidify a better Rome, but it would have been a Rome with less of a conception of why certain things are just, and more of a flat, basely concluded concept of justice.
Roman civilization is more reputable and far more established then the Gothic culture at this time. Because of this Roman superiority is used as an excuse of behavior and action due to the fact that this notion of civility somehow correlates with just action. As the play progresses the question of true civility is more and more convoluted. Horrific events unfold at the hand of “justice” and “fairness.” The most blatant example of this is the murder of Alarbus and captivity of his mother, Tamora. “Give us the proudest prisone...
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.
The crowd chanted fiercely as the horses pranced in excitement, the chariot drivers holding the beasts back with everything they had. Knowing that every minute more they could wait would be another minute they lived before the death that may come in a matter of moments. For chariot races were deadly and some of these chariot drivers may not return to the stable of the Circus Maximus.
about to thrust him between the shoulder blades was far more dreadful than death about
While the Aeneid does outline the future of Rome, it also highlights the pains of war, and also exposes his audience to a culture of violence, which they may be unfamiliar with. The act of balancing one’s duty towards others and his or her personal desires was a conflict that many people struggled with. By presenting the struggle between balancing inner desires and and personal responsibilities, Virgil offers his audience a framework that enhances their overall understanding of the poem.
going on but his life was in fact destroyed at the same moment because of the battle.
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.
N.p., n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 25 Apr. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard The "Life of a Gladiator.
The river tore through the earth like a hungry worm, ripping its way to the ocean. Along the shore of the river stood an army’s camp, the war tents and gathering tents stood well-kept, but empty. Not a soul could be found in the camp, even the lowly camp followers had left. The men who inhabited the camp stood on a small hill nearby, they encircled the base of the hill as a man on top read a letter. “The Senate and People of Rome address you, Gaius Julius, and the men under your service.
Gladiator (2000) is an action drama about a Roman general that is betrayed by his country and is forced to fight in the Colosseum. This particular scene, which runs for approximately 5 minutes, is the aftermath of the fight scene between Maximus, the betrayed general, and Commodus, the jealous emperor who betrayed him. This scene is not only significant because it is the concluding scene of the film, but also because it represents the end of Maximus’s enslavement and his coming to peace with dying.
As soon as he drew his sword it was all over. Many dead bodies lay on