Roman Gladiator Research Paper
Entertainment has always played a important part in peoples life’s. We can go long back in the history books and see that entertainment always has been a big part of the culture that brings people together. People can feel connected cheering their favorite team our country to victory -and if not victory- feel the same connection when lost.
Entertainment reveals something about the culture of its practitioners. In art you are bringing back the history in visual form and with music you can feel and listen to lyrics and songs revealing something about how people felt in that time.
But what does the gladiatorial games reveal about the Roman empire, and most importantly what does it reveal about the Roman people?
The first Roman gladiatorial games were held in 246 BCE by Marcus and Decimus Brutus in honor of their father, Junius Brutus, as a funeral gift for the dead. It was a relatively small affair that included the combat of three pairs of slaves in the Forum Boarium (a cattle market).
But gradually the gladiatorial spectacle became separated from the funeral context, and was staged by the wealthy as a way to show their power and influence the local community. Most gladiators were slaves, prisoners of war or criminals, but about half of the men were volunteers …show more content…
Just as soccer fans today do not just go to see 22 men kick a ball, so did the Romans not just sit and watch people being killed. It is difficult for us to understand today, but attending at gladiatorial games in the arenas was an essential part of being a Roman. Rome was a warrior state that had achieved its large empire by military violence. Violence was a big part of roman peoples culture, but it was not seen as only violence, the games was seen as a sport, as culture and a symbol for Rome as a big
Entertainment reveals something about the culture of its practitioners. In art you are bringing back the history in visual form and with music you can feel and listen to lyrics and songs revealing something about how people felt in that time.
But what does the gladiatorial games reveal about the Roman empire, and most importantly what does it reveal about the Roman people?
The first Roman gladiatorial games were held in 246 BCE by Marcus and Decimus Brutus in honor of their father, Junius Brutus, as a funeral gift for the dead. It was a relatively small affair that included the combat of three pairs of slaves in the Forum Boarium (a cattle market).
But gradually the gladiatorial spectacle became separated from the funeral context, and was staged by the wealthy as a way to show their power and influence the local community. Most gladiators were slaves, prisoners of war or criminals, but about half of the men were volunteers …show more content…
Just as soccer fans today do not just go to see 22 men kick a ball, so did the Romans not just sit and watch people being killed. It is difficult for us to understand today, but attending at gladiatorial games in the arenas was an essential part of being a Roman. Rome was a warrior state that had achieved its large empire by military violence. Violence was a big part of roman peoples culture, but it was not seen as only violence, the games was seen as a sport, as culture and a symbol for Rome as a big