Roman Gladiatorial Games

Gladiatorial games, was a mean to please the Roman population. Before they became a mean of entertainment for the Roman citizens, gladiatorial games began as being a funerary rite, to honor the memory of the dead. The reason for the gladiatorial games becoming a form of entertainment for the public is because of its popularity. Before the gladiatorial games, also known as the munera, became a mean of entertainment they also served as a purpose to boost the social morale during times of need, to help the Roman society to deal with threats and battles. Throughout this paper I will prove to you that the gladiatorial games were first started as funerary rites to honor the dead, which then turned into events to lift the Romans spirits and deal
with problems, where as afterwards they simply became a form of entertainment for the Ancient Romans. There is a lot of evidence to prove that gladiatorial games were first established to honor the memory of the dead.
The first known evidence for gladiatorial games in Rome are dated back to 264 B.C., when the sons of Junius Brutus preparing a munera in honor of the memory of their father. "The gladiatorial combats first appeared in Rome long after the Circus games, in 264 B.C., as a funerary rite reserved to the aristocracy. That year, indeed, the sons of Junius Brutus, descendants of the great Brutus, decided to honour the memory of their father by matching three pairs of slaves against one another, according to a custom which was not of Roman origin." . Another source to back this theory up is: "The canonical date given for the introduction of gladiatorial combat to Rome is 264 B.C., at the funeral games of Junius Brutus Pera, (…)" . In these two situations it is clear to see that the Roman gladiatorial combats were first started to honor the memory of the dead, other examples of different authority figures are that of M. Aemilius Lepidus. "(…) the three sons, Lucius, Marcus, and Quintus, gave funeral games for three days and twenty-two pairs of gladiators in the forum for [their father] M. Aemilius Lepidus, who had been consul twice and augur." , which took place in 216 B.C.. Theirs is also one more quote involving Caesar, and the gladiatorial games he put on, in honor of his fathers death, which I will be mentioning further on. Having a gladiatorial combat in
your name meant that you had high status in Roman society, which meant great honor. In this time it was normal for gladiatorial games to take place, even though now it is not excepted to any extent, because it was known as an obligation to honor the dead with this type of event, "But it was not because they constituted a munificence in which the populace was invited to share, that these games were known as munera; the reason was, according to a tradition handed down to us by Tertullian, that they represented above all an ‘obligation' to the dead." Another reason stated, for the existence of gladiatorial games is to lift the Romans spirits in times of need. Most certainly during wars, especially against the Carthaginians and also other worrisome events, per say: the Punic War, the Battle at Cannae, etc.
The significance of these funeral rituals can also be extracted from the Livian context, specifically with reference to the dates of the Iunian and Aemilian munera. The year 264 saw the beginning of the First Punic War. The year of the Battle at Cannae was 216. The chronology of the munera is surely no coincidence; these rituals combats, as they appear in the sources, should be understood as part of the morale-boosting social and religious innovations and reforms made to deal with the threat from Carthage.

As shown in this statement it is clear to see the association between crisis of the citizens of Rome and the mentioning of the muneras. It is believed that gladiatorial games did not have a gap of about 50 years between the first shows ever mentioned, therefore it is thought the gladiatorial shows were only mentioned around critical times in Roman society.

The number of pairs in gladiatorial combat augmented quickly from three pairs of gladiators, to twenty-two pairs of gladiators, in a short period of time, which eventually got larger as the gladiatorial games progressed and became more popular. The larger the combats became the more popular that they became. The gladiatorial games became a spectacle, which occurred at every year. Gladiatorial combats were not in memory of the dead like it was before. It became more for the public, also a chance for consuls and magistrates and all the other hierarchies to gain political popularity when it came to propaganda, to win elections mostly during the republic.
The munera continue to appear sporadically in the literary sources, revealing great advances in terms of scale and, presumably, elaborateness of the production. From twenty-two pairs at the Aemilian games, to twenty-five pairs at the funeral of M. Valerius Laevinus in 200, to sixty pairs in 183 and seventy-four pairs in 174, the numbers involved increased consistently. The enhancement of public spectacle took place within the context of Late Republican politics, when the utility of such presentations in furthering one's magisterial career was made apparent.

A very renown example of this form of propaganda to further gain political popularity is done by Caesar in about 65 B.C. with about 320 pairs of gladiators in memory of his dead father but also to gain the popularity, which he indeed did gain. "During his aedileship, Caesar . . . arranged wild animal "hunts" and theatrical performances, sometimes with the help of his colleague, Marcus Bibulus, sometimes on his own. . . . He also arranged a gladiatorial exhibition, but with somewhat fewer pairs of gladiators than he had originally planned." As stated earlier about having gladiatorial combats in honor of the dead, it is shown in this passage that even though it became a mean of entertainment for the public, there was still some sort of affiliation, at times, with regards of honoring the memory of the dead. The gladiatorial combats never lost its initial meaning, the meaning simply expanded in a form to adhere to the whole public and not to specific families. Putting on these events were very expensive, therefore only individuals belonging to great families were actually capable of funding such spectacles, until about 105 B.C. when the gladiatorial games finally became part of the official spectacles, although the rest of the spectacles, were already ‘public affairs', which means that the other events were not funded by individual people. "A Roman spectacle was a ‘public affair', (…). The gladiatorial combats alone escaped this control. Until 105 B.C. when it seems they were included among the official spectacles, they were given only by individuals. In theory, anyone could give a spectacle, though it goes without saying that the only people who did so were members of the great families, (…)" By the time of the Emperors it is a known fact that when the gladiatorial combats were being held at any given time, with the exception of the month of December, being the time of the festivals, it was the Emperor himself who offered the gladiatorial combats to the people.
In which case he chose when, where and how they would be presented. "(…) in Rome at least all the gladiatorial combats, with the exception of those held in December, were offered to the people by the emperor. It was he who determined their scope, their duration and their date." The Emperor had the power to choose any day he would like, for the celebration of whatever he would like. Whether it for an anniversary, inaugurations or for victories, it was up to him to choose. Also during this time it was no longer the person putting the spectacle on, who pays, it was the city. Another known fact is that the gladiatorial combats were no longer dedicated to the dead, but they were now dedicated in honor of the Emperor. "For throughout the Empire the gladiatorial combats were for the most part given by the high priests of the imperial cult, provincial or municipal, and were dedicated not to the dead, as they had been formerly, but to the emperor, about whose person all the religious feeling aroused by the spectacles would crystallize."
Despite the increasing politicization of the public funeral, the munera were gradually dissociated from these events. The munera had much to offer as an implement of
public persuasion, and one could not count on a death occurring at the optimal moment. The temporal connection between the death of a noted individual and the production of munera was therefore stretched quite thin.

Another demonstration to prove that the munera, gladiatorial combats, were drifting away from its original purpose associated with the dead. The people no longer associated the spectacles with the dead, they found the gladiatorial games appealing, because it was entertaining, and demonstrated violence in a controlled manner, which became very appealing to the public. The reason for the violence becoming appealing is the fact that it demonstrated aspects in their daily life, and also the disorder that is shown. The gladiatorial games lasted for approximately ten centuries, so obviously they were enjoyed and were also free to the citizens of Rome.
As it is clear to see from the information that I have presented throughout this paper, it is affirmative that the gladiatorial games serve many purposes, even though they first started out to honor the memory of the dead. The gladiatorial combats developed throughout the years into simply becoming a form of entertainment for the Roman citizens. The public enjoyed watching the spectacles and praised the individuals who put the spectacles on for the public. Therefore they showed their loyalty by honoring them and voting for them. The gladiatorial combats, as well as all circus games were an important role in ancient Roman civilization. It helped by giving them hope when the population was going through tough times, it honored the dead and last of all gave the people satisfaction to have the simple pleasure of watching the games. Since there was no cost to attend the games, everyone was able to attend the games, whether the people be rich or poor.