The Hunger Games is a game, that occurs annually and it is set up by the ruling Capitol to show the other 12 districts of Panem that the Capitol owns them and that they are in-charge and it also serves as a merciless reminder to the price of rebellion against the Capitol. The hunger games consist of twenty-four teenagers, a male and a female from each twelve districts and they range in ages of twelve to eighteen. They are put in an arena, that differs every year and they have to battle each other in a gruesome combat until there is one sole survivor that will be declared as victors. The film surrounds the sixteen year old protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. The story goes on as she volunteered to be a tribute on behalf of her little sister. Once in the game her and Peeta Mellark played a role of star crossed lovers to woe and get sponsors for the games. And at the end they were held victors of the 74th Hunger games.
The Roman Gladiators
The Roman Gladiator games is held multiple times throughout a year at festivals, funerals etc... in 80 AD, Titus the emperor at that time opened the Coliseum with a hundred days of games and one of those days 3000 gladiators fought and on the other 9000 animals were killed. The games in fact served a number of purposes in roman society, including the education of roman values and virtues and even as a means of social control. Since Rome was a highly militaristic society, its citizens valued the art of killing in a way we would simply would find hard to understand. These public executions were a gruesome reminder to non-combatants, fellow citizens or subjects, that vengeance would be exacted if they betrayed their country, rebelled or were convicted of serious crimes. So in some sense the games helped preserve order within the city.
Influence of Roman gladiators to the film/novel the Hunger games
The chief manner in which ancient Roman leaders won the favour of the public was by doling out