Roman Civilization Essay

Even though Rome was a great civilization, Roman games remained to be one of its customs. Gladiatorial fighting and chariot racing was the most popular games in the emperor. Gladiators and charioteers were important to the Roman world in various dimensions. Gladiators were the confined individuals, mostly criminals, prisoners and slaves who either volunteer or took the post for monetary purposes (Boatwright 386). Gladiators were important as they won the city a good amount of money alongside the wooden sword that depicted their freedom. The city benefited in wealth as soon as they enrolled in gladiatorial schools or as freelance bodyguards. The audiences of the fights were aware of the entertainers since it is leading citizens who staged the shows. Through this, the political careers would be enhanced by winning favor with the electorate. Charioteers led people to maintain the passion that would leave a sense of importance to the people. Besides, owning a horse was a sign of social importance for the community hence encouraged internal socialization. Both gladiators and charioteers were a reaffirmation of the moral and political order of things in the society, the death of criminals and the re-establishment of the threatened society. Both were a way to assure the Romans of maintaining courage and discipline.

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The various games including gladiator fighting and chariot racing are as old as Rome. Chariot racing originated from the races that were supposed to be distractions for the kidnapping of Sabine women during the first war in 753B.C (Shelton 5). Chariot races, along with major parades and entertainments were held in Ludi and were considered part of the religious festivals making the races massively popular. Being so fatal, it grew to be complex and a lucrative business since drivers were being paid and the people had opportunities to place bets. On the other hand, gladiator fighting was played to the execution of criminals, slaves, and prisoners as a rite of sacrifice. It was not included in the original Roman games but arose from various entertainments. Gladiator combats were borrowed from the Etruscans and campaigns (Shelton 3). Although held in funerals, these events led to the rise of gladiator fighting. The different combating techniques were dependent on the type of weapons that were used and the armor worn by the gladiators (Boatwright 386). Until the fights were banned, the gladiator was an iconic symbol of the ancient Rome.

The change of gladiator games in the late Republic and Early Empire was not straightforward. It was in the 3rd century when they were past the peak of their popularity (Shelton 10). Increasing military demands were imposed by the century and various emperors did not perform due to lack of public interest. They still existed until the 4th century. At this time, the games spread to the whole Republic and beyond. There came in anti-corruption laws that tried to curb the political usefulness of the gladiator games to the sponsors but then failed. Later in the century, the games were finally banned after Theodosius adopted Christianity (Shelton 390). Its adoption led to the banning of various pagan festivals. However, the gladiator games survived to the Late Empire period. The ban was again repeated by Valentinian III, this time effectively. The games were later replaced by theatrical shows and chariot races with chariot races dominating the 6th century.

Upon retirement, gladiators were liberated and most of them chose to return for some time. Retired gladiators would sign on for a fee and swear to submit themselves to be burned, beaten, or killed if such orders are given. Besides, they were given a symbolic wooden sword as an appreciation of quitting the service. Other options would include just retiring the games and live on the amounts earned while in the game, working as bodyguards and as a status symbol of a wealthy man in the region. Some, who specialized in specific styles of fighting and weapons would work in training schools in an attempt to train new gladiators, work as arbiters or referees in the arenas or work as elites while receiving adulation from the audience with options of fame and death only at their wish.

Just as the gladiator games provided their sponsors with opportunities to promote themselves, they also were a source of entertainment for their clients. The late republic and early empire were politically and socially unstable, leading to the decline of the games (Shelton 225). This happened during the crisis of the 3rd century. It is at this time that there was a threat of civil war, plague, invasion, and economic depression. Even with the anticipated economic depression, rich men would fund the fights to make sure the citizens were happy (Boatwright 386). However, most magistrates found the barbaric practice costly and unrewarding since there were a lot of issues to attend to. As Rome was also converting to Christianity, the game was termed a sin by Saint Telemachus and many people were unable to tolerate brutal killings as they believed human sacrifice was a pagan festival. The final blow came in when Emperor Honorius banned it in honor of Saint Telemachus who was killed after interfering with the practice before the Empire collapsed in the West.

References

Boatwright, Mary Taliaferro., et al. The Romans: From Village to Empire. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Shelton, Jo-Ann. As the Romans Did: a Sourcebook in Roman Social History. Oxford University Press, 1998.