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Roman Gladiator Beliefs

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In ancient Rome, violence, democracy and religion were commonly used in gladiatorial combat. Gladiators, who were often criminals and slaves, were thrown into arenas and compelled to battle with an animal or another gladiator. After the fights, spectators would use hand signals and certain calls to display their opinion of the gladiator’s fate, either life or death. The final decision was left up to a single judge, who was often heavily influenced by the crowd’s opinion. The Romans enjoyed these spectacles because they believed their gods did as well. The gods wanted justice, so they found entertainment and fulfillment in killing criminals and slaves. These three parts of gladiator fights played a large role in gladiator fights, as criminals and slaves fought to their death in ancient Rome's theaters.
Gladiatorial combat was a huge source of entertainment in ancient Rome. In fact, it was the most popular …show more content…

The Roman gods seeked justice and righteousness. The Romans believed their gods found entertainment in watching criminals battle to their death. The Romans all believed in the gods and highly worshipped them. In doing so, the Romans followed the ways of the gods and also found entertainment in watching criminals fight to their death. Even the origin of the gladiatorial games were religious. Each game honored the dead and if a gladiator died during the battle, a certain procedure was to be completed. An attendant would strike a blow to the forehead of the dead. While doing so, the attendant was clad in a hat with wings and an ivory romper representing the messenger god, Hermes. The gladiator would then be “escorted” to the “underworld”. During this procedure, the emperor, priests, and vestal virgins were present. They “lent a certain pseudo-religious air to the contests”. Since the Romans were so firm and committed to their religion, gladiator fights was an appropriate source of entertainment for

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