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Ancient Rome - Source Analysis
Ancient Rome existed from 753 BC to 476 AD. Many people were a part of making Rome what it was, including gladiators, slaves, plebeians, patricians and many more. The gladiators were mainly slaves and plebeians who were forced to entertain crowds, including the rich society, so they would not rebel against their empire (this once happened when gladiators rebelled under the leadership of a Thracian from the nomadic tribes, Spartacus). These sources generally show the life of a gladiator because it gives an insight on how they would have lived their life in ancient Roman times.
Source 1 is a perspective of Roman gladiators from a Roman philosopher, writer and politician, Marcus Tullius Cicero. This passage could have been written as a letter to a friend or someone who also had strong beliefs about the gladiator fights. In this source, Marcus depicts gladiators as obedient, loyal
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servers of their masters, which were their trainers. In his perspective, Marcus admires that gladiators, ‘either debased me or foreigners,’, endure much pain. People didn’t care much about gladiators’ rights, or gladiators in general - they just wanted entertainment. This source gives an insight into the nature of Roman life because it reveals that gladiators weren’t always mean, gruesome and bloodthirsty, but they were also loyal, obedient and likeable people. Source 2 is stone carving of two Roman gladiator who fought in battle, Scholasticus and Damascenus. It can be inferred that this relief was made by the rich society because they loved and cherished the gladiator game. In the carving, two gladiators are position in the middle - one is a retarius and the other is a contraretatius. The majority of retarius fighters fought with a trident and a net, and a small dagger. They also usually wore minimum body armour, including Ocrea, which are shin guards, and other protection on their shoulders and groin area.This retarius is wearing a helmet, which retariuses don’t wear, and can be inferred that it was claimed after a victorious battle against a Secutor, a gladiator who was normally dressed as a fish. Above the sculpture are their names, a symbol, Ø, next to Damascenus’ name, represents that he died in battle. On the right from the retarius, is the contraretatius, the name given to the gladiator opposing a retarius. His shoulders and body show a slumped posture which could mean that he knew he was going to be killed, but accepts death, which shows his Roman values of showing bravery and showmanship to supply entertainment. This relief is situated in the Baths of Diocletian, which is in the Roman National Museum, in Rome. This is important because it shows the value of gladiators from the perspective of the rich society (the rich loved the gladiator fights so much that they made monuments of the fighters). This shows us that the people of Rome loved the gladiators as much as they loved themselves. Source 3 is a picture of the ruins of the Colosseum in Italy.
The Colosseum was possibly built to house gladiator fights and other genres of entertainment in ancient Roman times. This is important because it shows the place and origin of gladiator fights, which still continue in our era, in modified versions.. This is the place where most gladiators spent the majority of their time - training and fighting. This Colosseum shows us the product of Roman effort, persistence, energy and time. In comparison to other sporting arenas in the past and the present, the Colosseum shows uniqueness because it describes the Romans’ such great love for bravery, fighting, and entertainment overall.
In conclusion, life in ancient Rome was unpleasant for gladiators, who had no rights and were forced to fight to entertain for the rich society. The sources show the importance of gladiators in ancient Roman times, to the rich society and others. Therefore, it can be led to that others that were not gladiators loved the fights as much they loved themselves and their own
city. After looking back over these sources, I can say that they don’t give an accurate and complete representation on ancient Rome, but, it gave us a detailed explanation of the gladiators of Rome. It doesn’t give a full representation because these sources are mainly based on gladiators, and it could be continued with other sources based on the different societies, the Roman Empire, mythological gods, and many more. By Raymond Le 7J
The games in ancient Rome have a long and colorful history, and were an incredibly large part of the culture of the great empire. For the purposes of this essay, 3 main functions of the games w... ... middle of paper ... ... the games could be effective by proving the armies absolute power and to divert political opinions. Quote (p 169)'
When it comes to being a tragic hero the character has to have the qualities of being a tragic hero. A tragic hero is where the main character of a tragedy whose fatal flaw leads to his or her destruction. Either the character was born into society as a great man or a slave, they may have carry
The story of Gladiator takes place in Ancient Rome and contains intense action, great acting, and fantastic storytelling. Although most of this action drama is mostly fictitious, some certain events and characters appear in the history books.
“Romans are a people made, not born”, this idea was a common mindset held by the people of the Roman Republic (Burger, 98). The phrase applies primarily to citizenship in the Republic, yet Horatius Cocles proved that displaying virtue demonstrates this idea. In a momentous act of bravery, Horatius Cocles earned his status as a Roman, despite any connection by blood to the empire. Horatio Cocles was an exemplar in respect to Roman ideals and his actions reveal the differences between Greek and Roman principles.
A student reading this book could become confused after reading about one event after another out of sequence. Therefore, sequential text structure helps the audience understand the cause of the rise and fall of gladiator duels. Telling about events is like presenting instructions. Order matters because audiences are learning in both ways, so the correct information should be stated. Now, picture this. The author states that Honorius abolished gladiator fights before mentioning that a “Christian monk named Telemachus jumped into an arena in Rome” to bring a gladiator fight to a halt. This sequence is not true to history and facts. The monk was torn “limb from limb” in the arena, which then caused Honorius to ban the
Rome’s most famous landmark, Colosseum is a large Amphitheatre that could hold up to 50,000 people seated, which is located in Rome, Italy. The Colosseum was used as a royal treat, entertainment where gladiators would fight with wild beast in front of people, animal hunt, theatre performances and public executions for public entertainment and also the King himself. Most of the public event was held at Colosseum. The Roman Colosseum was built between 69 to 79 CE by the Vespasian emperor.
"Gladiator", comes from the latin word "gladius", for sword. They were primarily made up of slaves, criminals, prisoners of war or even volunteer free men. The crimes that could lead one to the arena included treason, robbery, and murder, among others. Some free men became gladiators of their own free will in hopes of gaining notoriety and patronage amongst the wealthy citizens. By the end of 50 BC almost half of the gladiators fighting in the Colosseum were free men.
A gladiators life was far from easy. Most were slaves, prisoners of war, or hardened criminals, therefore they were not free men. Often times they were trained and forced to take part in the events, hoping for their freedom if they were to conquer their grim fate and survived for a few years (wik). This was depicted in the most recent movie GLADIATOR. In this film Russel Crowe Maximus' starts out as an army general under Marcus Aurelius, until Commudus murders his own father out of spite for his fathers loyalty to Maximus and not him. He then inherits the title of king, and condemns Maximus to a gruesome fate as a slave/gladiator. Though this doesn't sound like the ideal life, to some at the time is was an appealing, so much so that some free men degraded themselves so they could battle in the games. Was it for basic living? Possibly but more than likely it was for the Fame and Prestige of a Gladiator. These free men were known as Professional gladiators.
seating and the easiest access to the Colosseum. Even though many people think that the
After its debut in America on May 5th of 2000, the movie Gladiator has been a nationwide symbol of heroism(Imdb). The film was directed by Ridley Scott and the lead roles of the film were carried out by Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus(Imdb). The movie takes place during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire in the year 180 A.D. The Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is dying and wishes to leave the Roman Empire under the control of Roman General Maximus Meridius. The Emperor’s son Commodus betrays Maximus, kills his father, and takes control of Rome. In betraying Maximus, Commodus has his family killed. Maximus knowing this returns to Rome as a gladiator under the alias “Spaniard” in search of revenge(Imdb). According to Aristotle, “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude”(Kwheeler). In order for someone to be considered a tragic hero, the person must meet the criteria of high social status, suffer from a hamartia, face a catastrophe, invoke catharsis, and experience anagnorisis and peripeteia(Kwheeler).
“The Romans are often characterized as loving violent and cruel entertainment in the amphitheatre. It has been suggested that the games served the dual purpose of providing entertainment for the people and maintaining the political status quo.”
The first chapter of Strauss’ work, titled “The Gladiator”, explores both Spartacus’ background as a gladiator and Rome’s fascination with the sport. Strauss outlines how a gladiator match worked in Rome, usually in carefully chosen pairs starting with a practice match with wooden weapons followed by the real officiated match that was generally to the death unless the crowd decided that the wounded deserved to live. The attention is then turned to where the Spartacus legend begins, Capua. Strauss gives a sweeping view of Capua’s history in the Roman Empire, from being punished for allying itself with Hannibal to returning to some prominence as a slave center, in particular for gladiators. Gladiators were usually slaves, and much like Spartacus, were foreign. Spartacus was a Thracian, feared by Romans for their fierceness on hors...
During the middle and late third century Roman republic era gave rise to the arena games and became a great phenomenon for the Romans. An amphitheater, also known as a coliseum, housed these dangerous games that potentially harmed the audience as well as those who participated in them. Gladiatorial combat originated as part of funerals for deceased influential Romans. These large gladiatorial games were held by emperors during funerals of important roman officials, but were also included during other occasions. Over time the connection among the gladiator games and funerals decreased, and the upper class put on the games mainly to raise their social standing and gain favor with the public. Many politicians held these highly known games to help them sway votes of power and popularity (Meijer 2003, 27). “The arena was the embodiment of the empire.” (Futrell 1997, 209). The contestants, or the gladiators, had more significance of the Roman Empire beyond that as their role of entertainment.
...re. Tourism is the most profitable industry in Europe and gladiators grab a tourist attention and bring them to Europe (“The Roman Gladiator”). Some businesses have reenactments to give tourist a taste of what it was like to watch gladiators compete. There are several museums dedicated to the history of gladiators how they affect the modern world today. Gladiators lived a grueling life and were known for their ability to fight in battle. Gladiators were the ancient idolized popstars we see today. The Life a gladiator was a hard one but if a gladiator was successful in the arena he could live a peaceful life as a free man.
The Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is perhaps the most famous ancient landmark in the world. The Colosseum was the host to thousands of gladiatorial shows, mock naval battles, executions, and animal hunts. Today, the Colosseum still stands in the center of Rome, Italy, however, not quite as it used to be. Still, today, the Roman Colosseum is a large tourist attraction, thousands of tourists from all over the world still come to view this marveled arena. The Roman Colosseum has a rich history, and remains a prized possession of the Roman citizens.