Реферат: The Rise Of Gladiatorial Combat In Rome

bustuarii or funeral men. Throughout many centuries of Roman history, these

commemorations of the dead were still among the principle occasions for such

combats. Men writing their wills often made provisions for gladiatorial duels

in connection with their funerals. Early in the first century AD, the people of

Pollentia forcibly prevented the burial of an official, until his heirs had been

compelled to provide money for a gladiators’ show. (1:174)

It was in Campania and Lucania that the gladiatorial games came to their

full development and took on their classical form. In these new surroundings

they took root and flourished, as can be seen in fourth century BC, tomb

paintings. These pictures show helmeted gladiators carrying shields and lances,

covered with wounds and dripping with blood. (2:84) For Rome a decisive moment

in gladiatorial history was reached in 246 BC, the year when the first Punic War

began. At the funeral of Brutus Pera, his two sons for the first time exhibited,

in the cattle market, three simultaneous gladiatorial combats. By 216 BC the

number of fights given on a single occasion had risen to twenty two.(14:16) In

105 BC the two consuls of the year made gladiatorial games official. There

were no doubts of religious tendency, but the purpose of Roman spectacles, were

a public display of power, that power was primarily military, and also to

compensate the soft Greek culture which now was abroad. (8:98)

The Gladiators

Those compelled to fight gladiator duels included prisoners of war,

slaves and condemned criminals. Among them were numerous followers of the new

Christian faith. During this time persecution fell heavily on their faith, many

won immortal fame as martyrs. Fighting in the arena was one of the sentences

earned by the sacrilege accused against members of the Christian religion

because of their refusal to sacrifice to the emperor. It was written that these

Christians were forced, as gladiatorial novices to run the gauntlet. At other

times they were thrown to the wild beasts. Criminals that were used had

committed crimes that carried a death sentence or harsh manual labor. The