论文部分内容阅读
History & Origin
Like sporting events in many ancient cultures, Roman gladiatorial combatoriginated as a religious event. The Romans claimed that their tradition ofgladiatorial games was adopted from the Etruscans, but there is little evidenceto support this. The Greeks, in Homer's Iliad, held funeral games in honor of thefallen Patroklos.The games ended not in the literal death of the participants,but in their symbolic death as defeated athletes, unlike succeeding Romangladiatorial combat.
The Roman historian Livy wrote about the first known gladiatorial games,held in 310 BC by the Campanians. These games symbolized the re-enactmentof the Campanians' military success over the Samnites? The first Romangladiatorial games were held in 246 BC as a funeral gift for the dead. It was arelatively small affair that included the combat of three pairs of slaves in a cattlemarket. From their religious origins, gladiatorial games evolved into definingsymbols of Roman culture and became an integral part of that culture for nearlyseven centuries. Eventually gladiatorial games reached spectacular heights in thenumber of combatants and their monumental venues. For instance, in 183 BCit was traditional to hold gladiatorial games in which60 duels took place. By 65 BC, Julius Caesar hadupped-the-ante by pitting 320 pairs of gladiators,against one another in a wooden amphitheaterconstructed specifically for the event? At thispoint, gladiatorial games expanded beyondreligious events, taking on both political andludic elements in Rome.
Who Were the Gladiators?
In general, gladiators were condemned criminals,prisoners of war, or slaves bought for the purpose ofgladiatorial combat by an owner of gladiators. Someprofessional gladiators were free men who volunteered toparticipate in the games. Although they had not lost theircitizen rights, they voluntarily chose the profession andpledged themselves to the owner of a gladiatorial troupeby (according to Petronius5) swearing an oath "to endurebranding, chains, flogging or death by the sword". InThe Satyricon, Petronius suggested that Roman crowdspreferred combat by free men over that of slaves. Forexample, the character of Echion is excited about gamesin which free men, "not a slave in the batch," will fight.Though low on the social scale, free men often foundpopularity and patronage of wealthy Roman citizens bybecoming gladiators.
Condemned criminals, who committed a capitalcrime, entered the gladiatorial arena weaponless. Thosecriminals who did not commit a capital crime were trainedin private gladiator schools. At these schools, gladiatorsbecame specialist in combat techniques that disabled andcaptured their opponcnts rather than killed them quickly.Criminals trained in gladiator schools fought with theweapons and armor of their choice and could earn theirfreedom if they survived three to five years of combat. A gladiator who won several fights, or served an indefiniteperiod of time was allowed to retire, in many cases tocontinue as a gladiator trainer. Those who did win or buytheir freedom, or at times at the request of the crowd orEmperor, were given a wooden sword as a memento.Though a gladiator was only required to fight two or threetimes a year, few survived the three to five years.
As a gladiator, a man gained immediate status eventhough the gladiatorial oath forced him to act as a slaveto his master. Gladiators were required to do what theirowner of gladiators orderedand therefore were reveredfor their loyalty, courageand discipline.
Gladiatorial Training & Combat
Gladiators trained like true athletes. They received medical attentionand three meals a day. Their training included learning how to use variousweapons, including the war chain, net, trident, dagger, and lasso.
Gladiators were paid each time they fought. Gladiators fought inarenas, the most famous of which was the Colosseum built by the Flavians.6When one of the opponents in a contest was wounded, the crowd wouldtypically shout,"He's down! He's had it7"; he has had it. An opponent whofelt he was defeated would raise his left hand with one finger extendedas a request for mercy. It is not clear how the vote of life or death for thedefeated opponent was decided though it may have involved the thumb.If the decision was for death, the defeated opponent would grasp the thighof his conqueror who would kill the loser by stabbing his sword into hisneck. The dead body was removed by costumed attendants, one dressedas the ferry man Charon, and the other as Mercury? Charon struck thedead body with a hammer and Mercury poked the body with a hot irondisguised as his wand to assure the loser was dead. The winner wouldreceive a symbol of their victory, such as a golden bowl, crown, or goldcoin, along with a palm leaf symbolizing victory.
Public Perception of Gladiators
In ancient Rome, gladiators could earn the idolized status of a hero, like many modemathletes. Even though a gladiator's social status was barely better than a slave, many Romancitizens, knights, and even Roman emperors fought in the gladiatorial arena because of their loveof the bellicose sport and their desire for adoration. The emperor Commodus boasted that hehimself had fought in over 1,000 gladiatorial duels.
The Romans seemed ambivalent to the violent nature of the gladiatorial games and,though we may condemn them, the games are not unlike modern professional sports likehockey, rugby, and football. The gladiators were the heroes of their time, especially duringthe years of peace under the Augustans in the first and second centuries. Without warheroes, Roman needed someone to idolize and this role fell to the gladiators.
There is evidence that Roman women especially idolizedgladiators, sometimes to the dismay of their husbands. The mother of Commodus, Faustina, is said to have preferred thegladiator Martianus over her husband, Marcus Aurelius.Juvenal wrote about Eppia, a senator's wife, who is said tohave thought so highly of gladiators that she preferred them toher children, country and husband. There is an inscription on awall in Pompeiithat says the Thracian gladiatorCeladus was "the sigh and glory of the girls." Inother words, he was a heartthrob.
Hunting Animals
Another form of gladiatorial combat involved the "hunting,and killing of wild animals. Exotic wild beasts from the farreaches of the Roman Empire were brought to Rome and huntswere held in the morning prior to the afternoon main eventof gladiatorial duels. The hunts were held in the Forum, andin the Circus Maximus, though none of these venues offeredprotection to the crowd from the wild animals on display?Special precautions were taken to prevent the animals frontescaping these venues, such as the erection of barriers and thedigging of ditches. Very few animals survived these huntsthough they did sometimes defeat the hunters of wild beast.Thousands of wild animals would be slaughtered in one day.For instance, at the games Trajan held when he becameemperor, over 9,000 animals were killed.
Not all the animals were ferocious though most were.Animals that appeared in the hunt included lions, elephants,bears, deer, wild goats, dogs, and camels. Those that did battlewith the animals were usually criminals and would have to fightthe animals without weapons or armor. These were the lowestclass of participants in the games.
Female Gladiators
Women once competed in the gladiatorial arena though not withoutcontroversy. It is known that the Roman emperor Septimius Severus16allowed women to fight as gladiators but banned the tradition in 200AD. In 1996 in the area of London known as Southwark, archaeologistsdiscovered a Roman cemetery, where they uncovered the remains ofa young woman buried with several items that may identify her as afemale gladiator.
According to a specialist in early London history at the LondonMuseum. the items buried with the woman were a dish decorated witha fallen gladiator and other ceramic pieces decorated with similarscenes and gladiatorial symbols. Notably three of the eight lamps foundin the grave are decorated with the Egyptian god Anubis, who wasassociated with the Roman messenger god Mercury. This association isimportant because, as mentioned above, in Roman times slaves dressedas Mercury removed the dead bodies from the arena.
If the young woman found in the Roman cemetery was a gladiator,the wealth of materials found with her indicates that she was popular.The young woman's remains, the items buffed with her, and a relief oftwo women with short swords and shields fighting are on display at theLondon Museum. The relief's inscription reads, "an honorable releasefrom the arena."
Gladiatorial contests were first knownto be outlawed by Constantine I in 325AD. but they did continue through themid 5th century. The Emperor Honoriusis credited with putting a stop to it as theWestern Empire was nearing its fallThe last known gladiator competition inthe city of Rome occurred on January 1,404.
Like sporting events in many ancient cultures, Roman gladiatorial combatoriginated as a religious event. The Romans claimed that their tradition ofgladiatorial games was adopted from the Etruscans, but there is little evidenceto support this. The Greeks, in Homer's Iliad, held funeral games in honor of thefallen Patroklos.The games ended not in the literal death of the participants,but in their symbolic death as defeated athletes, unlike succeeding Romangladiatorial combat.
The Roman historian Livy wrote about the first known gladiatorial games,held in 310 BC by the Campanians. These games symbolized the re-enactmentof the Campanians' military success over the Samnites? The first Romangladiatorial games were held in 246 BC as a funeral gift for the dead. It was arelatively small affair that included the combat of three pairs of slaves in a cattlemarket. From their religious origins, gladiatorial games evolved into definingsymbols of Roman culture and became an integral part of that culture for nearlyseven centuries. Eventually gladiatorial games reached spectacular heights in thenumber of combatants and their monumental venues. For instance, in 183 BCit was traditional to hold gladiatorial games in which60 duels took place. By 65 BC, Julius Caesar hadupped-the-ante by pitting 320 pairs of gladiators,against one another in a wooden amphitheaterconstructed specifically for the event? At thispoint, gladiatorial games expanded beyondreligious events, taking on both political andludic elements in Rome.
Who Were the Gladiators?
In general, gladiators were condemned criminals,prisoners of war, or slaves bought for the purpose ofgladiatorial combat by an owner of gladiators. Someprofessional gladiators were free men who volunteered toparticipate in the games. Although they had not lost theircitizen rights, they voluntarily chose the profession andpledged themselves to the owner of a gladiatorial troupeby (according to Petronius5) swearing an oath "to endurebranding, chains, flogging or death by the sword". InThe Satyricon, Petronius suggested that Roman crowdspreferred combat by free men over that of slaves. Forexample, the character of Echion is excited about gamesin which free men, "not a slave in the batch," will fight.Though low on the social scale, free men often foundpopularity and patronage of wealthy Roman citizens bybecoming gladiators.
Condemned criminals, who committed a capitalcrime, entered the gladiatorial arena weaponless. Thosecriminals who did not commit a capital crime were trainedin private gladiator schools. At these schools, gladiatorsbecame specialist in combat techniques that disabled andcaptured their opponcnts rather than killed them quickly.Criminals trained in gladiator schools fought with theweapons and armor of their choice and could earn theirfreedom if they survived three to five years of combat. A gladiator who won several fights, or served an indefiniteperiod of time was allowed to retire, in many cases tocontinue as a gladiator trainer. Those who did win or buytheir freedom, or at times at the request of the crowd orEmperor, were given a wooden sword as a memento.Though a gladiator was only required to fight two or threetimes a year, few survived the three to five years.
As a gladiator, a man gained immediate status eventhough the gladiatorial oath forced him to act as a slaveto his master. Gladiators were required to do what theirowner of gladiators orderedand therefore were reveredfor their loyalty, courageand discipline.
Gladiatorial Training & Combat
Gladiators trained like true athletes. They received medical attentionand three meals a day. Their training included learning how to use variousweapons, including the war chain, net, trident, dagger, and lasso.
Gladiators were paid each time they fought. Gladiators fought inarenas, the most famous of which was the Colosseum built by the Flavians.6When one of the opponents in a contest was wounded, the crowd wouldtypically shout,"He's down! He's had it7"; he has had it. An opponent whofelt he was defeated would raise his left hand with one finger extendedas a request for mercy. It is not clear how the vote of life or death for thedefeated opponent was decided though it may have involved the thumb.If the decision was for death, the defeated opponent would grasp the thighof his conqueror who would kill the loser by stabbing his sword into hisneck. The dead body was removed by costumed attendants, one dressedas the ferry man Charon, and the other as Mercury? Charon struck thedead body with a hammer and Mercury poked the body with a hot irondisguised as his wand to assure the loser was dead. The winner wouldreceive a symbol of their victory, such as a golden bowl, crown, or goldcoin, along with a palm leaf symbolizing victory.
Public Perception of Gladiators
In ancient Rome, gladiators could earn the idolized status of a hero, like many modemathletes. Even though a gladiator's social status was barely better than a slave, many Romancitizens, knights, and even Roman emperors fought in the gladiatorial arena because of their loveof the bellicose sport and their desire for adoration. The emperor Commodus boasted that hehimself had fought in over 1,000 gladiatorial duels.
The Romans seemed ambivalent to the violent nature of the gladiatorial games and,though we may condemn them, the games are not unlike modern professional sports likehockey, rugby, and football. The gladiators were the heroes of their time, especially duringthe years of peace under the Augustans in the first and second centuries. Without warheroes, Roman needed someone to idolize and this role fell to the gladiators.
There is evidence that Roman women especially idolizedgladiators, sometimes to the dismay of their husbands. The mother of Commodus, Faustina, is said to have preferred thegladiator Martianus over her husband, Marcus Aurelius.Juvenal wrote about Eppia, a senator's wife, who is said tohave thought so highly of gladiators that she preferred them toher children, country and husband. There is an inscription on awall in Pompeiithat says the Thracian gladiatorCeladus was "the sigh and glory of the girls." Inother words, he was a heartthrob.
Hunting Animals
Another form of gladiatorial combat involved the "hunting,and killing of wild animals. Exotic wild beasts from the farreaches of the Roman Empire were brought to Rome and huntswere held in the morning prior to the afternoon main eventof gladiatorial duels. The hunts were held in the Forum, andin the Circus Maximus, though none of these venues offeredprotection to the crowd from the wild animals on display?Special precautions were taken to prevent the animals frontescaping these venues, such as the erection of barriers and thedigging of ditches. Very few animals survived these huntsthough they did sometimes defeat the hunters of wild beast.Thousands of wild animals would be slaughtered in one day.For instance, at the games Trajan held when he becameemperor, over 9,000 animals were killed.
Not all the animals were ferocious though most were.Animals that appeared in the hunt included lions, elephants,bears, deer, wild goats, dogs, and camels. Those that did battlewith the animals were usually criminals and would have to fightthe animals without weapons or armor. These were the lowestclass of participants in the games.
Female Gladiators
Women once competed in the gladiatorial arena though not withoutcontroversy. It is known that the Roman emperor Septimius Severus16allowed women to fight as gladiators but banned the tradition in 200AD. In 1996 in the area of London known as Southwark, archaeologistsdiscovered a Roman cemetery, where they uncovered the remains ofa young woman buried with several items that may identify her as afemale gladiator.
According to a specialist in early London history at the LondonMuseum. the items buried with the woman were a dish decorated witha fallen gladiator and other ceramic pieces decorated with similarscenes and gladiatorial symbols. Notably three of the eight lamps foundin the grave are decorated with the Egyptian god Anubis, who wasassociated with the Roman messenger god Mercury. This association isimportant because, as mentioned above, in Roman times slaves dressedas Mercury removed the dead bodies from the arena.
If the young woman found in the Roman cemetery was a gladiator,the wealth of materials found with her indicates that she was popular.The young woman's remains, the items buffed with her, and a relief oftwo women with short swords and shields fighting are on display at theLondon Museum. The relief's inscription reads, "an honorable releasefrom the arena."
Gladiatorial contests were first knownto be outlawed by Constantine I in 325AD. but they did continue through themid 5th century. The Emperor Honoriusis credited with putting a stop to it as theWestern Empire was nearing its fallThe last known gladiator competition inthe city of Rome occurred on January 1,404.