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The games comprised gladiatorial fights, staged animal hunts (venationes) and the executions of convicted criminals and prisoners of war. Besides entertaining the crowd, the games delivered a powerful message of Roman power: as a reminder of the wars in which Rome had acquired its empire, the distant regions of its far-flung empire (from where they had obtained wild beasts for the venatio), and the inevitability of Roman justice for criminals and those foreigners who had dared to challenge the empire's authority. Though we might see these games as bloodthirsty, cruel and reprehensible condemning any alien culture out of hand for a sport that offends our sensibilities smacks of cultural chauvinism. Instead one should judge an ancient sport by the standards of its contemporary cultural context. This book offers a fascinating, and fair historical appraisal of gladiatorial combat, which will bring the games alive to the reader and help them see them through the eyes of the ancient Romans. It will answer questions about gladiatorial combat such as: What were its origins? Why did it disappear? Who were gladiators? How did they become gladiators? What was there training like? How did the Romans view gladiators? How were gladiator shows produced and advertised? What were the different styles of gladiatorial fighting? Did gladiator matches have referees? Did every match end in the death of at least one gladiator? Were gladiator games mere entertainment or did they play a larger role in Roman society? What was their political significance?
*Includes pictures. *Includes ancient accounts of gladiatorial games and other spectacles. *Explains how the Colosseum was designed and built, as well as how seating was arranged. *Describes the different classes of Roman gladiators and the armor and weaponry they used. *Includes footnotes and a bibliography for further reading. “He vows to endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword." - The gladiator's oath, according to Petronius in the Satyricon. When the Colosseum was built in the late 1st century A.D., the Romans, a people known for their architectural acumen, managed to amaze themselves. Martial, a Roman poet writing during the inauguration of the Colosseum, clearly believed the Colosseum was so grand a monument that it was even greater than the other Wonders of the Ancient World, which had been written about and visited endlessly by the Romans and Greeks in antiquity. Indeed, although the Wonders were wondrous to behold, the Colosseum was a spectacular achievement in architecture, something new and innovative, and therefore an amazing “Wonder” in its own way. The Colosseum was designed to be both a symbol and show of strength by the famous Flavian emperors, most notably Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian. Vespasian had started the construction of the Colosseum shortly after becoming emperor in 69 A.D., but he died before he could present any spectacles in his giant amphitheatre. That honor went to his son Titus, who celebrated the inaugural opening in 80 A.D. with 100 days of games, despite the fact that the Colosseum was not completely finished. When his brother Domitian came to power in 81 A.D., he finished the amphitheatre, but not without making some changes to the overall design. By the time it was truly finished, the Colosseum stood about 150 feet tall, with the oval in the center stretching nearly two football fields long and over 500 feet across. The Colosseum is a large stadium even by today's standards, and its great size conveys the power of the empire as it dominates the landscape and towers over nearby buildings. Of course, the main events in the Colosseum were gladiator fights. Gladiators are somewhat synonymous with ancient Rome, and even thousands of years after they performed on the sands, when people are asked about Roman culture, many think about and refer to the bloody spectacles of men fighting to the death in the arena. Gladiatorial combat is often regarded as barbaric, and most find it very difficult to comprehend how people could have enjoyed watching something so violent, but nevertheless, the spectacle still intrigues and fascinates people today, whether in movies like Gladiator or television shows about Spartacus. Each match usually pitted one type of gladiator against a different type of gladiator, with each having their own kind of armor, weaponry and fighting style. For example, the retiarius was a gladiator that used a net, dagger and trident as his offensive weapons, while only wearing a protective guard over his left arm for protection. The retiarius would typically fight against the secutor, a gladiator armed with a sword, large shield, helmet and protective covering on his right arm and left leg. Therefore, a retiarius sacrificed armor for quickness in battle, while the secutor did the opposite. Although people often think of gladiators fighting to the death, the outcome of gladiatorial combats was not always fatal for one of the participants. If a gladiator fought well, the sponsor of the show could spare him, particularly if the crowd desired it. The fact that the outcome of matches was never the same and the crowd could help determine the result of the match certainly added to the Roman public's pleasure, making it a lot less surprising that such an abhorrent spectacle still fascinated the modern world.
Ancient and Medieval People profiles some of the fiercest warriors in history. Lean about their lives and times, notorious battles, and daring feats! In The Roman Gladiators, read about gladiators battles in the Colosseum. Learn about how gladiators trained, their armor and weapons, and gladiatorial games. Book jacket.
Presents, in graphic format, the story of the Colosseum of Rome, from its construction to its use for lavish and bloody entertainments to its dismantlement, as well as describing the recruitment, training, daily lives, and deaths of the gladiators who fought in the Colosseum.
From the author of Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons comes an eye-opening new look at one of the most popular spectacles of ancient Rome. This detailed, fascinating guide covers every aspect of the gladiator phenomenon from the types of equipment the different classes of gladiator used to the high place in society these sportsmen came to occupy.
An analysis of the lives of ancient Rome's gladiators explores how they were both despised and hero-worshiped, chronicling how tens of thousands of gladiators perished publicly over the course of six hundred years.
Of all aspects of Roman culture, the gladiatorial contests for which the Romans built their amphitheatres are at once the most fascinating and the most difficult for us to come to terms with. They have been seen variously as sacrifices to the gods or, at funerals, to the souls of the deceased; as a mechanism for introducing young Romans to the horrors of fighting; and as a direct substitute for warfare after the imposition of peace. In this original and authoritative study, Thomas Wiedemann argues that gladiators were part of the mythical struggle of order and civilisation against the forces of nature, barbarism and law breaking, representing the possibility of a return to new life from the point of death; that Christian Romans rejected gladiatorial games not on humanitarian grounds, but because they were a rival representation of a possible resurrection.
A concise history of ancient Roman gladiators—how they lived, fought, and died in the Colosseum—by the archeologist, author, and Roman military expert. Heroic despite their lowly status, the gladiators of ancient Rome fought vicious duels in large arenas filled with baying crowds. Few lasted more than a dozen fights, yet they were a valuable asset to their owners. Gladiators reveals the fascinating history of these men, how they fought, and how their weapons and techniques developed—debunking myths along the way. Historian M. C. Bishop examines the different forms of gladiator combat, including simulated naval battles held on large artificial lakes. He also discusses how gladiators were carefully paired against each other to balance their strengths and weaknesses. Although their lives were brutal and short, gladiators were the celebrities of their day, admired for their bravery. This short history reveals what we know about the gladiators and how we know it: ancient remains, contemporary literature, graffiti, modern attempts to reconstruct ancient fighting techniques, and the astonishing discovery at Pompeii where a complete gladiator barracks was found alongside multiple skeletons, telling their story.