Gladiator Research Paper

Primary sources are essential to understanding historical time periods because they give a give a glimpse into what life or an event was like in the time that the source was created. They can help to contextualize what was going on and clarify initial understandings of the time period. This primary source, is a poem written by Martial about Gladiator fights in Ancient Rome in 103 CE. It describes Carpophorus who specialized in fighting against animals, and Priscus and Verus, two equally matches Gladiators. The document helps understand the circumstances in Rome at that time.

The gladiatorial games were an important part of the lives of those in Pompeii. But those in Herculaneum were most likely unable to enjoy the games as home as they did not have a place to hold them. Gladiators were POW’s, freedmen, criminals, slaves and some men who had fallen on hard times who would volunteer.

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

Gladiators were mostly unfree individuals either condemned criminals, prisoners of wars who had lost their citizenship rights, although, some of them were volunteers who were mostly freedmen or very low classes of freeborn men who chose to be a slave for monetary rewards or for the fame. Gladiators were brought for the purpose of gladiatorial combat and would endure branding, chains, flogging or death by the sword and subjected to a rigorous training, fed on a high-energy diet, and given expert medical attention. Gladiators were famously popular in ancient from for seven centuries, from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD fairly late in the Public occupied a prominent position in roman society, they would fight in massive

Of the many monumental constructions that the Romans built, one of the most well known is the Coliseum, where brave Gladiators would fight dangerous animals and even each other to entertain the people of Rome. When people see the great arena, it is easy for them to forget the countless men, women, and animals that died fighting each other for amusement. Most people don’t know what it took for them to fight and either win or die, or how many hours they must have spent training to have a chance at defeating their opponents. Who were these gladiators?

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

A gladiator is an armed fighter who entertained audiences in the Roman Empire by fighting against other gladiators, wild animals, and criminals. In late 1st century, Nicolaus of Damascus believed they were Etruscans. A generation later, the 1st gladiatorial ceremonies were held in 310 BC. It was held by the Campanians in celebration of their over the Samnites. The Romans were greatly influenced by their predecessors the Etruscans. For example, the Etruscans always sacrificed an animal before their ceremonies, so the Romans started doing the same.

Finally, the last thing that was unfair was how the audience influenced if the gladiators lived or died. The reason why I say this is because sometimes the audience could choose if the gladiators would die. The way they would do this is by giving a thumbs up or a thumbs down. What a thumbs up means is that it was a excellent fight, and they spare the losing gladiator’s life. But that usually wasn’t the case. They most likely would give a thumbs down, and that meant that the winning gladiator would strike his opponent with a sword. They did this because the audience found it entertaining. Also, according to history.com they said that the audience was unfair to the gladiators, because they yell things like “burn him, or flog him,” which also influenced whether the gladiators would die or not. Even if the gladiators fought a great

Gladiators and Charioteers in Ancient Rome are brought up and trained in different ways. The gladiators, for example, could either be prisoners of war, criminals, or free men . However, “The taint of becoming a gladiator essentially took away one’s free status, even from those who entered the profession voluntarily. One could say that all gladiators were slaves” (Futrell 125). Being as everyone is essentially a slave, free men becoming gladiators would have to sign an agreement giving away their rights to choose. This wasn’t something that you would see happen in the realm of chariot racing. Although, both were still considered infamis essentially meaning they did not enjoy the rights of citizens.

Roman Gladiators had many other talents other than fighting too. They were very good at gathering attention from the media. They had to try and make big names for themselves in order to establish a fanbase. They also had to have great work ethic because usually the strongest man won so it was constant training. They had to set their entire lives around gladiator fighting and keep up with their normal lives, although most of them were in jail they still had lives even while living in a cell.

There are discoveries that have been made that may charge our view on Roman gladiators. Beneath the surface near Vienna, Austria, almost the complete remains of an ancient Roman gladiator school has been discovered. Gladiator fights were wildly popular that they lasted a very long time, but they had to train the gladiators. The Roman Gladiators fought brutality, but was it always to the death?

Junius Brutus Pera... 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... combat started with a funeral.” (Tribunes and Triumph) Gladiators can be men and women or even volunteers who risked their lives to fight each other or wild animals for audiences like the Roman Empire and Roman Republic.

One thing I noticed that wasn’t historically accurate was the chants of the spectators at the arena. When a gladiator was wounded the audience was able to whether or not they want him to be killed or spared. The way the audience would decide would be either to wave their thumbs around, if they want him to be spared, or they would press their thumb against their opposite hand,

People enjoyed fights between gladiators and fights between people and animals. They battled in the colosseus.Gladiator.The fights were for entertainment.The Romans loved blood,and to see others beat each other to the death and eaten by beast(animals).Roman emperors paid for free shows at theatres and

"Gladiators, Chariots, and the Roman Games [ushistory.org]." ushistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ushistory.org/civ/6e.asp>.