The Importance of Justice in the Roman Games On top of justice is being done, we need to look at the functions of the games from the Romans’ point of view. As Thomas Wiedemann says “simply to give way to our emotions is not enough” (RB1, C11, P.101). Wiedemann wanted us to understand the ancient Romans’ beliefs and customs in watching the games. Based from my reading materials, it was not true as the Roman games were more than a medium of public entertainment. In this essay, I will look at the various aspects in which the Roman games were not only about justice, drawing on a variety of sources to support each claim. Firstly, the Romans viewed the games as a form of entertainment. These ‘games’ included gladiator fights, wild-beast displays and events in which condemned criminals and later, Christians were put to death held in the Colosseum were an integral part of the Roman culture. The amphitheatre was a cultural symbol of the politics of participation. It was an opportunity for a lively exchange between the emperor and the people. The spectators of the games had a sense of social solidarity as citizens whereas the unfortunate victims had to perform before them. These games solidified the Roman identify. Wiedemann also saw the executions as a community involvement in melting out punishments. During that time, these games are ‘associated with the public execution of criminals of low status.’ The Romans also realised that staging bloody events as entertainment would keep them used to the sights of wars and death, which were an everyday reality in the Roman Empire. Secondly, these games allowed punishments to be made visib... ... middle of paper ... ... by doing so. Wiedemann says “Gladiatorial shows and wild-beast games…made the onlookers…temporarily incapable of rational thought” (RB1, C11, P.101-102). Thus, the Romans enjoyed watching the games rather than seeing that justice was being done. After looking at several sources, we realise that the Roman games involved more than justice for the number of reasons – show of imperial strength, punishment of criminals, betting, killing of wild-beasts and most importantly, as a source of entertainment and amusement. Given the condition of those times, these games were needed the continuation of Roman power throughout the world by the emperor to enhance the glory and emphasize their patronage of all citizens. Hence, in view of the above mentioned, the Roman games were not all about justice being seen to be done.
In “The Moral Ambivalence of Crime in an Unjust Society” by Jeffrey Reiman he offers a detailed explanation of many different ways to define justice and allows the reader to fully comprehend the meaning of it. Before he even began explaining justice he gave his own experience with crime as way to convey to the reader how his rights had been violated and he had been filled with anger at the criminals instead of the justice that failed him. This first hand encounter with crime allowed Reiman to prove to readers that justice is what is what protects us and it is the criminals who are the problem. To see that even a man who had thought and written about nothing but crime for thirty-five years could still become
Main Functions of the Games in Ancient Rome The 2 main kinds of games that took place in ancient Rome were those of ludi scaenici (theatre and plays) and those of ludi circenses (sports). This evaluation of Roman games will concentrate on the sports side of Roman entertainment due to their much higher popularity i.e. chariot racing and the gladiators. Chariot racing is one of the oldest spectator sports in Rome dating back to at least 6BC. The races started to celebrate religious festivals, the very first recorded one was the festival of to consus, this festival known as the Consualia was celebrated on the 21st August in Rome, which happened to be the local Derby Day, the main event of the racing calendar. The underground granary where the shrine to
There is a fine line between justice and
Honor: “Honesty fairness, or integrity in one 's beliefs and actions.” Honesty can be a good and bad trait to have, being too honest can affect a person greatly. In William shakespeare 's play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Caesar returns to Rome having defeated Pompey. The Romans wanted to crown him king. later caesar is killed by conspirators due to his ambition. After his murder common people are enraged and a civil war breaks out across Rome. Many characters die along the way. Throughout the historical play Shakespeare points out many personality traits as characters struggle to gain or remain in power. A closer examination of two main characters reveals the results of human nature. Two main leaders, Caesar and Brutus share similar and
...however it may best help society if features from both systems are combined to better provide justice. The end goal should be to continue to develop and enhance our criminal justice system to ensure that none of the innocent are wrongfully convicted.
Question : Who were the spectators at Roman games? Discuss the relationship between them and the performers they watched.
The governance of our present day public and social order co-exist within the present day individual. Attempts to recognize the essentiality of equality in hopes of achieving an imaginable notion of structure and order, has led evidence based practitioners such as Herbert Packer to approach crime and the criminal justice system through due process and crime control. A system where packer believed in which ones rights are not to be infringed defrauded or abused was to be considered to be the ideal for procedural fairness. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Thomas Jefferson pg 9 cjt To convict an individual because proper consideration was not taken will stir up social unrest rather then it’s initial intent, when he or she who has committed the crime is not punished for their doings can cause for a repetition and even collaboration with other’s for a similar or greater crime.
people in these 21st century society wonder, “When is Justice to be done?” For district attorneys,
While pursuing my criminal justice degree at the University of Phoenix, justice is a topic that has arisen constantly and defined differently be numerous individuals. After many discussions involving this topic in the courses, I was able to define justice and what it means to me. Although I do not currently work in the field, the classmates who have experience in the field brought great personal experiences to the discussions. University of Phoenix has also contributed to my definition of justice through the facilitators. The facilitators currently work in the field they are teachi...
“ ….Judgments, right or wrong. This concern with concepts such as finality, jurisdiction, and the balance of powers may sound technical, lawyerly, and highly abstract. But so is the criminal justice system….Law must provide simple answers: innocence or guilt, freedom or imprisonment, life or death.” (Baude, 21).
The definition of justice and the means by which it must be distributed differ depending on an individual’s background, culture, and own personal morals. As a country of many individualistic citizens, the United States has always tried its best to protect, but not coddle, its people in this area. Therefore, the criminal justice history of the United States is quite extensive and diverse; with each introduction of a new era, more modern technologies and ideals are incorporated into government, all with American citizens’ best interests in mind.
140 to 150 metres at its widest point. The fact that it was built in a
1. Is it fair or unfair to compare the United States today to Ancient Rome?
Parris serves as an investigator for the Floyd County police department. Clemones used to serve as a lieutenant at the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, but has since left the role of a police officer and now serves as a bondsman for A Bulldog Bail Bonds. In both cases, I started the meeting time by telling the individual that we would be talking about restorative justice and that I would give them a chance to evaluate how it applies to cases they each had experienced. Then, Parris and Clemones were both asked to explain a case in which they believed justice had been served. In the examples that both Parris and Clemones gave, a prison sentence is what caused them to believe that justice had been served. They both mentioned prison time as being what the offender deserved (personal communication, September 23, 2015). It is obvious that both Parris and Clemones have been taught to operate under a highly retributive system, which has caused bias in their views of justice. After they had both mentioned the offenders deserving prison time, I knew persuading them to see the benefits of restorative justice would be
...Available By: Acker, James. Contemporary Justice Review, Sep2008, Vol. 11 Issue 3, p287-289, 3p; DOI: 10.1080/10282580802295625