What gladiators did (indeed what they were trained to do) was kill and die well. These were tasks of extraordinary urgency for Romans. On the one hand, Romans (as most premodern societies and impoverished modern societies) faced daunting mortality rates. They did not have the opportunity to “grow into their deaths” as a matter of course (as moderns in materially successful societies do). A Roman at the age of 20 knew he would probably die before he was 30, and he wanted to meet death with honor and dignity. He could observe gladiators do it in the arena. Conversely, as members of a relentlessly militaristic culture, Romans valued the art of killing in a way we simply don’t understand. Roman soldiers, moreover, enjoyed a much greater autonomy in their line of battle than Greeks did. In fact, the success of the Roman battle line often depended on the courage of individual soldiers in hand to hand combat. Thus the ability of an ordinary citizen to kill single handedly was a skill that the entire empire depended on to survive.
There are a number of reasons why gladiatorial combat proved so enthralling for Romans. The arena was a liminal site where fundamental human conflicts were symbolically fought. The gladiator as outlaw confronted the forces of civilization and law. Contestants who specialized in the fighting of animals fought in the guise of bears, leopards and lions - wild and, to folks living then, daunting forces of nature. Finally, at issue in every gladiatorial contest, was the most basic question of life and death.
Killing was somehow ritualistic and therefore integral to the Roman culture and gladiators felt honored to become part of this great militaristic, disciplined tradition even though most were conscripts from the lower classes of society. Fascinating reading I think.
interesting topic sweet!
The Roman warriors and Gladiators were among the world's greatest people of war. Even Greeks were not much behind, but the Romans did leave a greater impression by their traditions of supreme strength, bravery, training and fighting ability. They are legends today.
The Greek Spartans were very quite fierce, but lacked a civic sense that was part of Roman culture. keeping civic sense and warrior traditions alive together and excellign at both makes Romans great.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Haris Zuberi: *
interesting topic sweet!
The Roman warriors and Gladiators were among the world's greatest people of war. Even Greeks were not much behind, but the Romans did leave a greater impression by their traditions of supreme strength, bravery, training and fighting ability. They are legends today.
The Greek Spartans were very quite fierce, but lacked a civic sense that was part of Roman culture. keeping civic sense and warrior traditions alive together and excellign at both makes Romans great.
[/QUOTE]
Indeed. I think that the main difference between the 2 warrior types (Greeks and Romans) was that the Greek soldiers, who initiated the modern warfare concepts of trenches and batallions, looked at war as a normal part of life while the Romans were specifically trained for the possibility of war and were trained extremely well with ritualistic guidance, discipline, and order that absorbed a sense of civic-mindedness in the fabric of everyday life.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by MehnazQ: *
Weren't some Roman Gladiators actually enslaved prisoners? I dunno how accurate that is ... I got that from the movie 'Gladiator'.
[/QUOTE]
Yes, some Roman gladiators were in fact slaves captured from various regions of the vast Roman Empire. A few lucky ones were forced into fights "to the death" with other gladiators in order to win their freedom. However, most were just prisoners whose fate was already sealed by the ruthless, savage emperors of the day such as Nero, Caligula, Octavius, etc.