Rome's Legacy of Gladiators

Gladiators

Rome had many great things, especially within their love of brutality. Many of the Roman people enjoyed to take a break from their hard, ancient, lives and watch some grown men battle people, lions, tigers, and bears to the death (oh my!).

Gladiators were a huge part of the Roman society and a large part of Roman culture. The people of Rome loved gladiator battles. The Roman coliseum was built in order to fit the standards of a bloody, brutal battle while also being able to keep thousands of Roman citizens comfortable and entertained.

Gladiators were usually prisoners of war brought from conquered regions, as well as Christians and criminals accused for harness crimes including: thievery, rape, and murder. Gladiators were sent to a ludus gladiatorious to be trained where abuse was common. A day there consisted of lifting weights and learning the art of death. They were trained according to physical attributes or skills. For example if one was to be a big, bulky man, one was trained as a brute. Smaller more agile ones were trained in the skills of cunning. There were also many more types of gladiators.

The most common types of gladiators were trained in 3 main categories. Samnitie, Retarius and Myrmillo. A Samnitie carried a sword and a long shield, a Retarius carried a trident and used a snare, and lastly a Myrmillo carried a dagger and a shield and was protected by leg bands and a leather belt.

During the events at the Roman Coliseum, the gladiators fought the earliest battle. Next came the hunting of animals and the death of condemned people. There were chariot races and boat battles with crocodiles. At the end of the day all of the no defeated gladiators fought again, in which the winning contestant was gi...

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...nly took advantage of the resulting devastation of the city, building a lavish private palace on part of the site of the fire. To divert attention from the rumors, Nero ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed. Some were torn apart by dogs, others burnt alive as human torches.

When the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great ruled Rome, Christianity became the main religion of the Roman Empire. Many people remain uncertain about Constantine's reasons for converting Rome to Christianity, and theologians and historians have argued about which form of Christianity he converted to. Constantine had been exposed to Christianity by his mother Helena, but there is no agreement among scholars as to whether he adopted his mother's Christianity in his youth, or gradually over the course of his life. Constantine did not receive baptism until shortly before his death.