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How Did Gladiator Influence Pop Culture

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Ancient Rome was a very advanced society for its time and had a significant impact on our present day society. Despite existing almost 3,000 years ago, much of Roman influence can be seen in our modern culture. Gladiators, a popular source of entertainment during the time of Ancient Rome, can frequently be seen in pop culture. Numerous movies, such as the movie Gladiator, have used Gladiators as the focal points of their films. The society of Ancient Rome has been a prominent interest in our modern culture because of its compelling and rich history. Rome’s society was intricate and sophisticated so even something as barbaric as Gladiator fights had valid reasons behind them. Gladiators are a common theme in pop culture and many movies have …show more content…

The origin of gladiatorial fights was thought to be Etruscan funeral rites. Battles would occur between servants of deceased masters. The servants would fight to the death and the victor would join their master in the afterlife. While gladiatorial fights were for entertainment purposes, they also had this religious aspect to them, so they were not exclusively savage bloodbaths. The men who took part in the fights had reasons behind their forced participation as well. The majority of the men were slaves and people the Ancient Romans conquered. However, it was also men who had committed crimes and were paying for their atrocities. In some instances, the men were not actually forced to fight. As the fights advanced, men who desired the thrill of a battle and who craved glory would volunteer to become gladiators. These men were ex-soldiers, patricians, knights, and senators and would sign contracts with combat schools to prepare them for battle. The volunteers wanted to prove themselves worthy warriors and wanted to be cheered on by spectators. Over time, Ancient Rome developed as a society and soon Christianity was introduced to the city. As the new religion spread, so did its ideals, and it viewed the gladiatorial games as inhumane, unnecessary human sacrifices. Christianity rapidly spread and soon more people opposed the games than enjoyed them, causing the popularity of gladiators to fade. Gladiatorial games had valid reasons for existing, and while they may have been accepted and enjoyed, their true sadistic values were realized and they were

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The Roman games were a cruel and awful thing that was entertaining to the Roman people. The games were held mostly in the coliseums which were enormous in size and structure. The people who participated it the games; the gladiators, slaves criminals, etc... were killed for fun and in horrible ways. In some instances the men were killed by lions which mauled the men to death then feasted on the lifeless body in front of the crowd.

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Slavery was very common in the Roman families and Rome in general. Slaves were used as cooks, waiters, shop assistants, craftspeople, and so much more. The slaves soon became tired of this, and many began to revolt. The most famous was by the gladiator, Spartacus, who captured, crucified, and defeated many Romans.

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Summary of Gladiator University ` In the article entitled “Gladiator University?” Jennifer Marino Walters reports archaeologists find an almost complete Roman gladiator school in Austria. First, Walters states that this ludus (gladiator school) was the first of 100 schools outside of Rome, from the 2nd century empire. The journalist mentions that researchers used noninvasive techniques to discover the school in 2011; Kathleen Coleman of Harvard University says that finding Carnuntum gives an impression of what gladiators play and train. In addition, she points out that most gladiators lives are fame and fortune, most Gladiator fights are wildly popular in the Roman Empire.

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The animals would be trained to perform tricks, and at times killed on stage as part of a show. Death of animals and gladiators became the main source of public entertainment at the time of the Roman games. Spectators at the Roman games used the events for the sake of the experience, to Integrate themselves into their community, for classifying themselves in a certain social class category, and for interacting and socialising with other people.

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The training centers became more heavily guarded and the gladiator’s weapons were now guarded by Roman Soldier’s. The role of Gladiatorial Games was an important one and eventuality of Roman society. Based on how the Roman Republic and later, Empire was established, with the importance of glory, and outdoing your ancestor, it simply became a matter of time until the games were established. This idea or philosophy was ingrained in every Roman from the day he was born, especially the Plebians and the Patricians.

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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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Aeneas tells the readers in Book Two of the Aeneid of his part in the defense of Troy, as it was being destroyed by the Greeks "…my spirit burns to gather men for battle and race to the citadel with my friends: madness and anger hurl my mind headlong, and I think it beautiful to die fighting (298-354). " On the Romans side, we see an appreciation for this same type of valor and admiration for a man who was a mighty warrior. In the fact, Tullus Hostilius was appointed king by the people and approved by the Senate on the basis of his fighting skill (Livey, 1.22). We see the immortalization of great fighting men throughout Roman history and we can see that this characteristic of Roman thinking did originate with the Romans but was a characteristic of their father civilization from Troy. The Romans even decided the fate of their empire by the single combat of three of their most brave and able soldiers (Livy, 1.25) and we see Aeneas make sure to explain to his readers that he did not desert Troy from fear of conflict, but by the will of the gods (Aeneid BK II, 624-670).

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While Gladiators were super popular all over. It was becoming banned. The gladiatorial games were officially banned by Constantine. Constantine considered the first “Christian” emperor, banned the games on the vague grounds that they had no place “in a time of civil and domestic peace.” Jews and Christians were likewise seemingly unconcerned about the victims of arena violence.

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The fighters were not seen as celebrities, and they did not acquire fame for their duties. Spartacus fought for people's entertainment; he was forced to battle competitors and exotic animals. All gladiator lived difficult lifestyles. They had to kill in order to survive or they were killed. Spartacus was not a fan of the gladiator life that he was forced into.

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Ancient Rome is recognized for strength in war and battles, so the ideal citizen would be strong and willing to fight. Hunt explains that in Rome “one man’s loss was another man’s gain” (177). The culture of Ancient Rome was aggressive, as the men were trained to fight and be devoted to their country. “Male elites had to be on guard to defend against and avenge any slights to their personal, family, and state honor” (Hunt 177). In The Aeneid, Virgil writes “Roman, remember by your strength to rule //

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The roles of the spectacles involved entertainment for the citizens of Rome, punishment to disobedient citizens or slaves, providing food, and allowing interaction between the people of Rome and their rulers. Citizens of Rome frequented the arenas to catch a glimpse of the famous gladiators who were cheered for either killing their fellow gladiators or beasts as a form of entertainment. The blood games were also used as an opportunity by the state to punish convicted criminals and slaves by feeding them to hungry beasts such as bear and lions. After the games, citizens of Rome would consume the meat of the deceased animals from the arena since some emperor would kill hundreds of animals in the arena. In addition, the spectacles in the arena brought together the citizens of roman ad their rulers, which was a perfect opportunity for the citizens to air their views or partake in riots until their demands were

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1428 Words | 6 Pages

The training style of Spartan armies left a long lasting impact on Ancient Rome’s military troops. Sparta was a warrior state. Citizens had a program called Agoge that trained them into warriors. They were placed in this military training at seven years old and were expected to be strong when they reached maturity age. The Romans took on these training styles when they needed a strong army.

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Although later in the Roman times Gladiators were free men, the earliest gladiators were slaves or prisoners who were forced to fight to the death at a notable aristocats funeral. The death of the gladiator was a eulogy that represented the accomplishments in their lives. When gladiators

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Greece and Rome, two ancient societies, both influenced many aspects of modern life. Their advancements were utilized in many later cultures. They influenced almost every part of today’s world, such as government, language, and architecture, as well as making scientific advancements. Also, the successes of these two civilizations lead to many countries modeling most of their public facilities and systems after the ones found in Greece and Rome. Ancient culture strongly influenced modern culture by means of language.

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The Americanized image of gladiators is one of savages, who are glorified killers. Our culture celebrates gladiators and cherishes them as heros, Children fantasize about being gladiators and even dress up as them for halloween. Gladiators are seen as heros who are expert swordsman, people who are to be looked up to and admired. Movies such as Spartacus and 300, portrey gladiators as main characters, in which these men are champions are are tough and rugged and appear to be content with their lives. Gladiators fight for glory in golden armour with cool and unique weapons.

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