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Roman Culture:
GLADIATORS
KPE 260 – Winter, 2001
Dr. D. Frankl
The Empire
Map source: http://library.thinkquest.org/
Gladiators
Theater of Marcellus
• The word gladiator
comes from the Latin
for swordsman, from
gladius, sword. That
definition does not do
justice to the life of
that professional
combatant. The first
gladiators were part
of a sacrificial rite
adopted from the
Etruscans.
Gladiators (II)
• First introduced to Rome in 264
BC, the sons of Junius Brutus
honored their father at his funeral
by matching three pairs of
gladiators. Gladitorial combat
was originally part of a religious
ceremony that was intended to
insure that the dead would be
accompanied to the "next world"
by armed attendants and that
the spirits of the dead would be
appeased with this offering of
blood.
Initiated by Vespaisian, the official opening
ceremonies were conducted by emperor Titus
in AD 80.
• “First they will warm up with wooden
weapons. Then they show their skills in
the main event, which is basically a fight
for life. The grand prize is to survive to
come back and fight another time.”
Source: http://campus.northpark.edu/history/
Roman Spectacles
It is sad to note that the popularity
of these spectacles led to the
deaths of tens of thousands of
animals. Entire species were no
longer found in their native habitat,
having been captured or driven
away. Hippopotamuses were no
longer seen in Egypt, elephants
were not found in northern Africa
and the population of lions
disappeared from Assyria.
Source: http://www.omnibusol.com/ancadd2.html
Roman Spectacles