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Gladiators Essay

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Progress Report When I began my research, I initially looked for ways the outcasts of Roman society (i.e. slaves, prisoners of war, and condemned criminals) became role models due their success in the Roman games. While actors, charioteers, hunters, martyrs, and gladiators were all available, I have decided to focus primarily on gladiators. Historians and hobbyists of the Roman games seem to have been fascinated more so by the gladiators and gladiatorial combat than charioteers and the races they competed in. I speculate this captivation, which I am also caught in, has more to do with modern expectations of sports and competition. Despite the impressive horsepower of racecars, Nascar simply cannot compete with the National Football League’s prestigious hold on the attention of the average sports fanatic. Even though the majority of charioteers and gladiators shared the same social/legal status as outcasts of society, I speculate gladiators accomplished a more impressive feat than their charioteering counterparts when obtaining fame. Indeed, charioteers took part in a risky competition, but the likelihood of their death and serious injury did not match that of the risk gladiators faced. Not all gladiatorial …show more content…

These objects give ancient gladiators a small, still voice in the noise of the Roman elites and scholars. Gladiators were depicted in other ways, too, like Roman art. But the important thing to take note of is that some gladiators tombstones celebrated the combatants of the Amphitheatre for their military ability, valor, and glory, not their legal or social status as slaves, prisoners of war, or condemned

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