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Gladiator History
Three
pairs of slaves who were selected from among 22 prisoners of war,
were chosen to fight at the funeral. The first gladiator fight took
place in the Forum Boarium, a cattle market in Rome. As this was the funeral of a prominent aristocrat and
held in a public area, the event was likely to have drawn a
large crowd. This first gladiatorial fight was a clever
idea as it also brought political prestige to their family¹s
name. So the beginning of gladiator history and combat
started with a funeral.
Gladiator History -
The Roman Funeral
Why did Gladiator History and gladiatorial combat relate to the Roman funeral, what
was the connection? The religion of the Romans revolved
around the worship of various pagan gods and their
belief in the afterlife. Romans believed that human
sacrifice at the dead person's funeral would appease the
Roman gods and ensure a satisfactory entrance into the
afterlife. Earlier customs of sacrificing prisoners on the
graves of warriors were adopted by the Romans.
Ceremonies connected with funerals lasted for nine days at the end of which a sacrifice was
made. The Romans believed that "souls of the dead were
propitiated by human blood..." Gladiator history moved
on as the preparation for their funeral
rites involved enemy captives or slaves being bought, trained to
kill and then sacrificed during the funeral rites. This
sacrificial ceremony, was called a munus. A munus was a duty paid to a dead ancestor by his descendants, with
the intention of keeping alive his memory.
Gladiator History - The
God Charon
At these
ceremonies slaves or servants attended the funeral dressed
as Charon, a Roman god of the dead. In Roman religion the god Charon ferried the dead across the Styx and an attendant,
playing the role of Charon, symbolically carried away the
bodies of the dead gladiators during the religious
ceremonies. This symbolism was later transferred to the Roman
Colosseum and other arenas when dead gladiators were escorted by a figure
depicting Charon from the arena.
Gladiator History
- The Rise of
the Gladiator Games
The first gladiator fight was so successful that other Roman
aristocrats soon copied the idea. The
events grew bigger and more elaborate and at the funeral of
P. Licinius Crassus, who had been Pontifex Maximus 120 gladiators fought and funeral games were
celebrated for three days; at the end of which time a public
banquet was given in the forum. Gladiator history then moved
on when prominent Roman patrician families
competed against each other to produce the best games. What
had started with Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva organising
just three matches as funeral games transformed into public
performances, sponsored by politicians.
Gladiator History - From Religious to Political Events
Gladiator History had
started with the provision of
Gladiatorial Games at funerals. History then moved on and
the gladiatorial games were seen as a method to appease the Roman
gods and avert Rome from disaster. The
Ancient Romans who were responsible for staging such events grew in
popularity, so the 'games' became political events by which
prominent Romans could gain popularity with the mob. By the first century A.D. providing gladiatorial
games even became a requirement of some public offices.
Gladiator History - The Wooden Arenas
and the Colosseum
Gladiator history and the
building of the massive
Roman Colosseum
grew from the custom of funeral games and
were organised as public events by wealthy Roman aristocrats
and Patricians because the games were so popular with the
'mob'. At first gladiator fights were held in
small wooden arenas. The word “arena” means sand, a
reference to the thick layer of sand on the floor for the
purpose of soaking up the blood of the dead and wounded
gladiators and animals.
Gladiator History
- Gladiatorial
Schools and Troupes
of Gladiators
Gladiators became big
business. Large sums of money could be won by gambling on
the outcome of gladiatorial combat. Political careers could
be launched on the back of spectacular games. Gladiators
were formed into troupes (famila) which were under the
overall control of a manager (lanista) who made the decisions of where and
when a famila fought and he could even hire out the
gladiators. Schools for gladiators emerged providing
excellent training in weapons and combat techniques.
Gladiators were recruited to the schools from slaves,
criminals and prisoners of war. Wealthy Romans invested in
the troupes of gladiators. Elite Romans then personally
owned troupes of gladiators.
Gladiator History
- Spartacus
There were many
Famous Gladiators
but this Gladiator history must
include the most famous gladiator of all times - Spartacus.
Spartacus was the man who was taken as a prisoner of war,
sold as a slave and selected to train as a gladiator. He was
sent to one of the best, and strictest, training schools.
The gladiatorial school (ludus) was located near Capua and
belonged to a lanista called Lentulus Batiatus. Spartacus
led a revolt of the gladiators were were in training. The
gladiators escaped and fled to Mount Vesuvius, where many
other slaves joined him. Spartacus created an army of
gladiators who defeated several Roman forces, devastating
Southern Italy and terrifying the Romans. The army of
gladiators fought through a cordon which Marcus Licinius
Crassus stretched across the "toe" of Italy. Spartacus was
killed in a battle with Crassus in Lucania. Prisoners were
taken from the army of gladiators but instead of being sold
they were executed. 6,000 men endured the terrible
punishment of
Crucifixion crucified along the Appian Way. The
rebellion had been squashed and Gladiator history moved
relentlessly on.
Gladiator History
- The State
takes over the Games
The games
organised by Julius Caesar, on the death of his daughter
Julia, featured 320 paired gladiator matches. The sheer
number of gladiators under the control of eminent citizens
was getting out of hand.
They could be used as a private army. At the end of
the Roman Republic the Senate assumed control over the
gladiators and the munera (games). Roman courts were given
the authority to sentence criminals to gladiatorial schools.
The
Roman
Republic was finished a new era - the
Roman Empire,
ruled by the Emperors, had begun.
Gladiator History - The
Amphitheatres
As the popularity of
the games grew large amphitheatres, made of stone, were built to house the
games. The amphitheatres were round or oval in shape and their
design was taken from joining two half circle wooden
theatres together (the word "amphi" means 'both sides').
The first stone built amphitheatre in Ancient Rome which was
called the Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus. It was built in 29 BC,
on the Campus Martius. It was followed by the massive
Roman Colosseum which
was opened in 80AD and built by the Flavian family of
Emperors -
Vespasian,
Titus
and
Domitian.
Gladiator History
- The Roman
Emperors
The popularity of the
gladiatorial games was such that even Roman Emperors wanted
to join in the combats. The
Emperor Commodus
actually fought as a gladiator in the Colosseum and ordered
his fights to be inscribed in the public records - ensuring
his place in gladiator history.
Gladiator History
- The Free
Gladiators
The 'games' had become
increasingly more important to the Romans. Gladiator history
had begun with slaves, criminals and prisoners of war being
forced into the roles of gladiators. By the period of the
Roman Empire all this changed. Free men started to enrol as
gladiators. Some were ex- soldiers, some wanted the
adulation and the glory and some needed money to pay their
debts. Gladiators were allowed to keep any prizes or gifts
they were given during gladiatorial games. These free
gladiators were called Auctorati who sold themselves to
gladiator schools for money, swearing of a legal agreement
agreeing to submit to beating, burning, and death by the
sword if they did not perform as required. Even
Female Gladiators (some
noble and wealthy) appeared in the arena. Free gladiators
played a surprising role in Gladiator history.
Gladiator History -
Different Types of Gladiators
Documented and graphic
descriptions of gladiatorial combat illustrates Gladiator
History and in particular the many different
types of gladiators
who entertained spectators in the bloody arenas of Ancient
Rome. Gladiators were divided into different classes
according to their weapons and fighting styles. These are
all fully detailed via the following links to more gladiator
history:
Gladiator
History - Different types of Gladiators
Gladiator History -
The End
of the Gladiatorial Games
The Gladiatorial games and Gladiator
history ended during the reign of the Emperor
Honorius.
A victory over the Goths was being celebrated at the Roman
Colosseum but was interrupted by an Egyptian monk named Telemachus,
pleading for the games to stop. He was killed but his plea
was the catalyst which ended the gladiatorial games. The Emperor Honorius,
decreed the end of gladiatorial contests in 399 AD.
The last known gladiator fight in the city of Rome
occurred on January 1, 404 AD which finished gladiator
history in Rome.
Gladiator History
The content of this Gladiator History
category on life in Ancient Rome provides free educational
details, facts and information for reference and research
for schools, colleges and homework. Refer to the
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different categories containing the history, facts and
information about Ancient Rome. Just like the subject of
Gladiator History there is hardly a page of Roman history and the Romans that is not, on
some way, connected to the Roman Colosseum which became a
symbol of Rome, its society, culture and life.
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