The Influence Of Gladiators In Ancient Rome

Preface

Over the course of 668 years, gladiatorial fights were a significant part of some Roman’s lifestyle in Ancient Rome; there were many important gladiators that made a huge impact, such as Spartacus, who led the slave revolt in 73 B.C.E.. The specific nature and influence of gladiatorial contests in Ancient Rome, including those of the Colosseum, will be discussed and analyzed as well as their impact on the Ancient World. The purpose of this paper is to provide details about certain aspects of gladiatorial combat. After gaining an understanding of the games and how they started, where they occurred, and the response to them, it will go into more depth to describe how these events and people have affected the Ancient World. The fights started in 264 B.C.E. to commemorate the death of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and this was the start of what would become a major form of Roman entertainment. What started as a kind of religious ceremony slowly evolved into a way to entertain citizens and to help candidates for political positions to gain favor by holding the games, since people enjoyed them. The construction of the Colosseum greatly assisted in providing gladiators a place to hold their fights and to allow many more spectators to view them. Spartacus demonstrated how not everyone in ancient Rome agreed with the concept of gladiator fights and provided an opposing view rather than that of the majority of Roman citizens. These specific topics, the Colosseum, Spartacus, and the first fight, will be considered and evaluated in the following paper.

Gladiators: The Fighters that Intrigued the Roman Empire

By

Caroline Creighton

World Civilizations I

Mrs. Marshall

April 28, 2014

Annotated Bibliography

II Colosseo...

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...ars for the games to be concluded. Spartacus was a great example of influence in the gladiatorial games as he, along with the Colosseum, changed how Romans viewed them overall.

All of these different factors led to the final gladiatorial fight and ended the brutal battles that took place. The first fight provided a beginning that grew into something much different that what the games had originally been intended to signify. The construction of the Colosseum allowed for the fights to reach out to a much broader audience, and Spartacus placed the ideas of rebelling against the games into the minds of the people. The specific nature and influence of gladiatorial contests in Ancient Rome changed the course of history and therefore the future of humanity as a whole, providing people with a view of violent fighting that was, back then, seen as simple entertainment.