The Nature of Gladiator Fights
The Gladiatorial fights were noble in some ways, but in others seem to
have the characteristics of the lowest form of entertainment.
Gladiators were considered to fight with pride, they honoured their
Gods with sacrifices and prayer for victory and they honoured their
traditions and heritage, often being armed in weapons and armour, and
having fighting styles originating from their country of origin. For
example "the Gaul." Glory and fame, were just two of the noble
characteristics associated with gladiators, and they were dressed in
the fashion of a noble soldier, often trained in the same way. They
were often given mythological names by their trainer, nothing says
nobility more than a mythological hero.
Basic tactics and skill are also a very important part of the
Gladiatorial fight, again increasing nobility. A gladiatorial fight
can certainly be compared to a noble, international fight for the
expansion of the Roman Empire. The nobility of the fight can only be
increased by the whole context, the religious origin, probably being
the origin of the religious ceremonies to mark the commencement of the
games. Then the gladiators would salute the sponsor of the game with
an extremely brave and courageous statement looking death right in the
face.
The gladiatorial fights also had strict, formal rules that were
enforced, which adds something to the general nobility: e.g. a lanista
would supervise the fight and weapons were submitted for inspection
before the fight (those not sharp enough were discarded) As with any
supposed sport, Gladiatorial fighting had strict etiquette, for
example, a trumpe...
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...s, gambling and prostitution to name but two. Gladiatorial shows
were often considered by the emperor as a political weapon to
manipulate the people, which is a shame.
To conclude by today's standards the shows do seem extremely blood
thirsty and due to this not noble. However in Rome, Blood and nobility
were not necessarily contradictions, the Gladiatorial shows were
certainly not as bloodthirsty as certain other forms of Roman
entertainment, e.g. the midday executions. The fights themselves as a
formal sport seem quite noble, but when looked at from the perspective
of cult entertainment the nobility is lessened. In the gladiator
fights the main focus was on skill and not blood. Although death was
of course a possibility, the likelihood is that the majority of the
time a good gladiator would live to die another day.
I selected Ralph Ellison’s short story “Battle Royal”, as this assessment illuminates the struggles of both race as well as issues oppression within society, in which many must continue to endure. The narrator, a young black teenager has attended an event absent of both law and order as a guest speaker only to be severed up as just another entrée for the prominent group of southern white ringmasters to feast upon. Subsequently, he now realizes “that it was on the occasion of a smoker, and I was told that since I was to be there anyway I might as well take part in the battle royal to be fought by some of my schoolmates as part of the entertainment.” Forced to fight for a right to speak, the young man is in the midst of an alcohol induced and cigar smoke filled circus of violence and sexual misconduct, which is fueled of force intimidation. Many of the symbols used in this story resonances of both race and inequality within a regime lacking integrity, where one is neither protected nor served fairly. Moreover, it is with this view of hopelessness, despair as well as mistrusts that offer a seed of change in society, in which the invisible becomes the visible.
The Roman Army was a masterpiece in itself. There was no other army like it, and was impenentrable. This was probably because of the extreme patriotism and pride in battling for Rome, and maintaining their superiority. Gladiator, "RomanArmy.com", and The History of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire all portray this patriotism in many aspects.
The culture of Ancient Rome had a distinct way to entertain its citizens. Besides spending times at the baths, Romans found pleasure and delight in the games held at the local coliseum. These games were among the bloodiest displays of public amusement in the history of man. Professional wrestling and boxing today, do not come close to the disgusting horrors that the people of Rome took so much pleasure in observing. Although the games were very bloody and extremely brutal, often killing many men and animals, the Romans enjoyed the scenery of life and death being very near. Watching men fight and eventually die a dreadful death, is what fascinated the Roman population in great degree as the games were one of their favorite ways to spend their leisure time. The ancient Romans had a very bloodthirsty taste for entertainment exhibited in the form of gladitorial combat.
When the Romans went to the gladiator fights, they wanted to watch a very exciting and entertaining contest. So, the Romans purposefully set up the gladiator fights to be unfair by making the matchups unbalanced. The gladiator’s living conditions affected the fight. Yet, with all the morals and myths that the Roman government promoted as what was expected of the roman citizens, the brutal battles that were in the coliseum wouldn’t be tolerated, but they were. The unpredictable outcome of these matches were what made these so entertaining.
On top of justice is being done, we need to look at the functions of
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.
even today for his campaign, the hatred Hannibal felt for Rome was clearly seen on the
Following Poliakoff’s introduction to the ancient combat sports, he proceeds to provide a basic outline to the world of ancient combat sports in a series of sections within the chapter, including: The definition of a ‘combat sport’ and its relation to recreation and training; similarities amongst combat sports, training methods and common practise; the premise of athletic festivals, and the organization of said competition.
The Roman Gladius was one of the main weapons used during the early Roman empire. “Gladius is the Latin word meaning sword” (Rayment), so any kind of sword could be called a Gladius, but the Roman short sword was mostly referred to as the Roman Gladius. The main parts of a Roman Gladius (As shown in the picture to the right from Rayment) are the Pommel, Hilt Wasp waist and the 50-cm blade. The Roman Gladius was very popular because of Its double bladed edge and its point. It was very popular for light infantry because it was small and good for close quarter combat. The disadvantage in length was made up with its light and maneuverability design. The Roman Gladius was used mostly in organized formations so they didn’t suffer a lot of casualties when charging in with a short-sword. The Roman Gladius could also be used in
as a tear ran down his face. "Yet I will never forget the family I so
During the middle and late third century 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. Many politicians held these highly known games to help them sway votes of power and popularity (Meijer 2003, 27). “The arena was the embodiment of the empire.” (Futrell 1997, 209). The contestants, or the gladiators, had more significance of the Roman Empire beyond that as their role of entertainment.
The life of a gladiator could be a grueling life unless you were the best and never lost. Gladiators fought in events known as gladiatorial games. The first gladiatorial games were recorded in 310 BCE. The first Gladiatorial games were not held in the huge coliseums we see today. Instead they were most likely held to entertain a powerful person or ruler. Gladiatorial combat originated as a religious event to honor the dead, victory of an important battle, a sacrifice to the gods, or to honor the death of someone in a high standing position. The first Roman Gladiatorial games were held in 246 BCE to honor Marcus and Decimus Brutus. ("Life of a Gladiator") These games started an era of gladiatorial events that would last for nearly a century to come.
The first known gladiatorial combat in Rome took place at the funeral of a nobleman named Junius Brutus in 264 B.C.2 His sons Marcus and Decimus revived an ancient Etruscan custom of having slaves fight at the funeral of a great leader in the belief that such a sacrifice would please the gods. During the ceremony, three pairs of slaves were forced to fight to the death. In 216 B.C., twenty-two pairs of slaves fought at the funeral of a man named Marcus Lepidus. Sixty pairs of slaves fought when Publicus Licinius died in 183 B.C. These slave fighters were now known as bustiarii, or funeral men.3 By the time of Julius Caesar, any direct association with funerals and religion was gone, and these fighters, now known as gladiators, meaning swordsmen, were a powerful force in Roman politics. He bought the affection of the people with magnificent banquets and spectacles that were open and free to the public. Caesar then estab...
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
Along with movie stars and musicians, athletes are arguably the most famous people to walk the planet. Most people think that athletes have become idols just recently but this is not the case. The first famed athletes can be traced back to Rome, these athletes being the gladiators. Now by watching movies or reading stories about gladiators it is easy to fall to the stereotype that pits them as bloodthirsty humans who kill for fun. This belief is mostly false and it is easy to forget where the gladiators came from. Most of them were forced to fight and did not do it for fun. The gladiators trained hard in order to perform well in hopes to finally win their freedom after a successful career. The gladiator games are misunderstood so it is now time to learn the truth about the famed gladiators.