Meray Aslan 12/21/16
Ancient sport paper#2
On the Differences and Similarities Between the Gladiator, Charioteer and Animal-fighter
The roman arena holds a land that emanates courage, bravery, and valor. It takes person of great courage to step in that arena, while ignoring the pain they get in their stomach because they know that they might die that day. There are three very important and popular types of jobs performed in great spectacles of the arena by these brave people. The three types of jobs are the charioteers, the gladiators, and the animal fighters. Each type of job was similar in some ways but fundamentally different. Although there is various amounts and types of information known about these positions by historians, it
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The experiences of charioteers, gladiators and animal fighters were different and similar. Their involvement can be compared according to their social status, how they were viewed by society and the attitude they each had towards their own jobs.
Firstly, the gladiators, charioteers and animal fighters are similar and different when it comes to social status. One of the most famous positions to have in the arena is to be a gladiator. The gladiator was a very complex type of character. Like the other two jobs, the physique, and the skill they had to master to carry out satisfactory spectacles was the actual craft of what being a gladiator was. The gladiators were originally enemies of the state and criminals who were given a second chance at life. As a slave, their second chance at life would be earned if they prove themselves valuable to their owners by delivering performances in the arena often. If they were famous and favored enough by the crowd, they could one day earn money and buy back their freedom. Although it is looked down
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The gladiator would often be trained with other men who eventually become family to them. They was a mutual respect among the group and naturally understood that they fight for spectacle and show, not on the intent of actually killing each other. There were many elements of this brotherly conduct among the gladiators and made sure to mention their respect of the code on their epitaphs. The gladiator would be buried by his family and fellows that he trained with. Out of respect to himself and his fellow, it would be mentioned on their epitaph that their intention was to hurt no one and save as many as they could. It is important to the gladiator to mention that he honored the mutual trust that his peers would have towards him. If a gladiator was intent on killing the other person, not only did he break the brotherly code but also created a lack of professionalism which then emulated disrespect in the ludi. This also shows that the gladiator is not proud to be defeated by another as it is not considered an actual norm according to their brotherly code and demotes the skills that they worked so hard for. The gladiators took this unspoken mutual agreement very seriously because they did not consider themselves animalistic and ruthless fighting machines according to their stereotype. While the gladiators did have a second chance to be