The gladiators were armed combatants who were used in entertaining different audiences in Rome. These gladiators also engaged in violent confrontations with other gladiators with condemned criminals, wild animals, and other gladiators. 1 Among the gladiators included volunteers whose participation in the entrainment and confrontation arenas was regarded as being risky in their lives as well as their social and legal standings in the society. In this respect, the gladiators were involved in entertainment shows that essentially turned wars and confrontation into games. However, there were other purposes for the gladiator games in Rome other than entertainment. One of the other purposes that the gladiator games served as the preservation of the atmosphere and environment of violence during the times of peace. Besides, the arenas used in presenting these gladiator games to various audiences served the purpose of a political theatre which showed the nature of confrontations that generally exist between the citizens and their rulers.
Moreover, the Roman government was interested in ensuring that the idle people within its populace were kept busy to prevent them from actively engaging in crime and other social evils. Having a large section of the population comprising of idlers would pose significant threats to the empire considering that most of the idlers were poor people. Finding that the gladiators involved mainly of prisoners of war, criminals, or slaves, they tended to entertain and serve the interests of their masters. 2 However, there are certain few occasions when the gladiators served their members by fighting for their rights and freedom. Such fights were demonstrated whenever Criminals who were serving death sentence were subjected to confrontations and wars in the arena unarmed as a way of serving their sentences. 3 The gladiator games changed over time in the sense that people started seeing them as part of the techniques that were used in averting disasters in Rome and appeasing the Roman gods. Later on, these games changed to the extent that they were turned into political events used by politicians in gaining popularity.
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Part of the changes experienced concerning gladiator shows and games were linked to the need to ensure the provision of political safety and stability in a society characterized by a metropolitan population. Further, the changes experienced in regarding these gladiatorial shows were meant to occasionally divert the attention of the populace whenever the emperors were facing risks of conflicts owing to a charged political environment. Initially, playing the role of a gladiator was considered as something that only befitted prisoners of wars, convicts, or slaves. However, considerable change happened to the gladiators and their games owing to the establishment of the Republic where several non-slaves decided to become gladiators with the intention of seeking a macabre glamor. 4 To this extent, the faces of the gladiator characters changed substantially which signified the change of practice under the Empire where noble men, women, and emperors were involved in confrontation and fights. Eventually, the popularity of the gladiatorial games increased which occasioned the introduction of gladiator schools. These schools, sometimes, served as places where criminals were taken to serve their terms. Among the world views that were promoted through the gladiator games was the one that led to the exposure of Rome as a society characterized by cruelty and brutality. This culture was often demonstrated by a tone set in several gladiatorial shows that involved slavery and military discipline. It also became clear that the state had the authority to exercise the legal monopoly concerning capital punishment which replaced the practice of masters executing their slaves at will.
The Romans also used these games in the promotion of a worldview that led to the consideration of Rome as a society that considerably valued its rich culture to the extent of portraying it to the world. 5 To this extent, gladiators were seen and described as cultural heroes and glamor figures that they became attractive women. The Roman rulers managed to secure and keep some of the images and instruments used by the gladiators as a way of preserving their culture to be shown to the world and future generations. 6 Arguably, combinations of things in this culture play a similar role to the one played by gladiatorial games in ancient Rome. These things include the internet and cable television among others that usually expose people to instant and limitless entertainment. Besides, these sources and new forms of entertainment are continually undergoing evolution with the aim of trying to satisfying the dynamic entertainment industry in this culture.
Bibliography
Hopkins, Keith. “ Murderous Games .” History Today , (1983): 16-22.
Lidz, Franz. “ Sudden Death: Gladiators Were Sport’S First Superstars, Providing Thrills,
Chills And Occasional Kills .” Sports Illustrated , (2001): 88-90.
1 Franz, Lidz. “ Sudden Death: Gladiators Were Sport'S First Superstars, Providing Thrills, Chills, And Occasional Kill," Sports Illustrated , (2001): 88.
2 Keith, Hopkins. “ Murderous Games .” History Today , (1983): 16.
3 Franz, Lidz. “ Sudden Death: Gladiators Were Sport'S First Superstars, Providing Thrills, Chills, And Occasional Kill," Sports Illustrated , (2001): 89.
4 Keith, Hopkins. “ Murderous Games .” History Today , (1983): 17.
5 Franz, Lidz. “ Sudden Death: Gladiators Were Sport'S First Superstars, Providing Thrills, Chills, And Occasional Kill," Sports Illustrated , (2001): 90.
6 Keith, Hopkins. “ Murderous Games .” History Today , (1983): 22.
