The Gladiator VS. History Essay

Gladiatorial events were a token of the Roman civilization. A brutal form of sacrifice adapted from the earlier civilization of Etruscans, who believed when a person dies, his spirit relies on a blood sacrifice to survive in the afterlife. The first event to take place in Rome was in 264 BC, when Decimus Brutus held a sacrifice to honor his dead father (Roman Gladiator). Soon after these events became an undeniable part of the Romans lives, used for political power and general entertainment.

But Maximus is more than a general to Aurelius, he is the son he should of had and the needed successor to the emperor. Aurelius has known that his true son, the

The movie Gladiator is based on a fictional storyline that takes place during the time of Ancient Rome. After having learned about Ancient Rome and the fashions of that time, I can say that the film Gladiator had both accurate and inaccurate representations of Ancient Roman fashion throughout. Some of the costumes, hair and makeup shown in the movie were accurate, while others were not.

Throughout the film, gladiatorial games are shown to be one of the most important parts of the Roman society. Gladiatorial games and fights followed a strict procedure and ceremony. They arrived at the Colosseum through an underground tunnel. From there, they were able to access to the arena through a pair of gates reserved to them only. Additionally, the gladiators often marched in groups, with their distinctive uniform and equipment. This is displayed accurately when Maximus enters the arena through a pair of gates and works with a team of other gladiators with similar outfits. However, they did not wear fantasy helmets and bands wrapped around the lower arms and their armors are not always closely historically accurate. Moreover, Roman people loved to watch people battle to death and bloodthirsty violence as a form of entertainment. Spectators in the film cheered and chanted wildly in the Colosseum when their favorite, Maximus was battling with

When most people think of roman gladiators they think of two men inside some kind of an arena fighting to the death with weapons and armor. Yes the roman gladiators were men who fought with weapons but there is so much more to the history of the roman gladiators that a lot of people don’t know. The Roman gladiatorial fights weren’t just fights people could watch but they were a major significance to the way the romans themselves ordered their lives. Being a part of the romans meant attending these games. The roman gladiator’s fights were one of the most popular events that took place during the ancient roman world. There is so much history when it comes to roman gladiators which is why they were so popular and entertaining to watch. To really understand why the gladiators and their

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

The gladiators where the pro football players of their time. They fought in arenas for the people of Rome’s entertainment. This research paper will tell you all about the gladiators of Rome, the names of the gladiators, their classes and who they are. We will also discuss how the gladiators obtained their freedom.

The first stage of this part of the journey is the belly of the whale, in which Maximus commits entirely to facing Commodus and restoring Rome to a rational emperor, part of the reason why he commits fully to this is because the emperor Commodus murdered Marcus Aurelius and Maximus’ family. Next, the road of trials, Maximus is trained to fight in the arena and wins several initial fights that prepare him for his final fight against Commodus. After this comes the meeting with the goddess, in the film, Lucilla can be compared to the Goddess in the Hero’s Journey. Lucilla gives Maximus guidance and information about what is happening with the senate, then helps free Maximus later on in the movie. The next stage is temptation, Maximus has the choice to hide from the emperor and just escape from his freedom, however he refuses the temptation and continues to fight.

In “Gladiator University”, by Jennifer Marino Walters and “Did Gladiators Always Fight to the Death?” explain how recent archaeological developments have changed the ways we understand how gladiators lived in many ways. The general belief of gladiators and how they fought was very far ranged. With reading these two stories it is certain that we now know the truth in gladiators and how they fought.

When the archaeologists found the remains of the gladiator school, at the ancient site of Carnuntum, it is said in paragraph 1 and 2 of “ Did Gladiators Always Fight to the Death?”, the text stated that,” These ancient Roman athletes were highly trained professionals who made their living fighting, not dying.” Teachers have always taught their students that they fought to the death. The Gladiators had to beg for mercy, and if the crowd said it was time to die, they killed them, however; that was not the case for the real gladiators. The school’s did not kill the gladiators unless they were too injured to survive, or the customer was willing to pay extra for the death of one of them. x

Gore, drama, and action. These are what most people pay Hollywood to show them at the screens. The movie gladiator from the year 2000 is no different. The movie gladiator is a movie with contents that does not align itself historically. Rather it is tainted with a bit of historical accuracy resulting it to be more difficult to discern the accuracy of the movie as it is now ambiguous for which part of the movie is unreliable and reliable. Nevertheless, this paper will be contrast the content of the movie with the historical accuracy of some of the event, the people in the plot, and the gladiatorial combat in the movie, proving the lack of historical revelevancy.

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,

After its debut in America on May 5th of 2000, the movie Gladiator has been a nationwide symbol of heroism(Imdb). The film was directed by Ridley Scott and the lead roles of the film were carried out by Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus(Imdb). The movie takes place during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire in the year 180 A.D. The Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is dying and wishes to leave the Roman Empire under the control of Roman General Maximus Meridius. The Emperor’s son Commodus betrays Maximus, kills his father, and takes control of Rome. In betraying Maximus, Commodus has his family killed. Maximus knowing this returns to Rome as a gladiator under the alias “Spaniard” in search of revenge(Imdb). According to

In the movie Gladiator, Russell Crowe plays a battle hardened Roman General who, through a series of unfortunate events, becomes a gladiator. He starts out on the front lines of a battle against barbarians. The war against them has been going on for some time however this is the final battle that will end the war. The battle rages and the Romans come out victorious. The Caesar then emerges and praises Maximus (Russell Crowe) for his leadership. The Caesar then asks him if he will become Caesar after his death because his son Commodus is not fit to rule. Commodus hates his father’s decision and kills him so his wish will die with him. Commodus then orders Maximus to be killed, he escapes and rides as fast as he can back home but is too late. He comes home to find his wife and son burned alive. He is then captured and sold into slavery where he becomes a gladiator and moves up in the ranks as a skilled fighter. He makes friends with a black slave and they both move together up to larger arenas. He makes it to the Coliseum where he reveals himself to Commodus declaring he will have his vengence. Commodus accepts Maximus’ challenge after delivering a fatal wound to his back. He fights Commodus despite the injury and kills him but then dies himself.

- Lucilla is the daughter of Marcus Aurelius and the brother of Commodus whom lusts for her. She has been recently widowed and was left with a son, Lucius Verus.