Who are the gladiators? Who were the gladiators of Rome?
The word "gladiator" comes from the Latin"Gladius", i.e. "sword". In ancient Rome, gladiators called prisoners of war and slaves, who were specially trained to fight with each other in arenas of amphitheatres. The gladiators of Rome fought in public until one of them fell dead. Fights initially were arranged on the days of the biggest religious holidays, and then turned into the most popular spectacle, aimed at amusing ordinary citizens. The tradition of such a battle has lasted more than 700 years.
History of appearance
The custom of carrying out such battles came to ancient Rome from the Etruscans, in which such battles were of a purely religious nature, and the dead were considered sacrifices to the god of war, Mars.
Prisoners of war and sentenced to execution - that's whosuch gladiators at the very beginning of the birth of this phenomenon. Under the Roman laws, they had the right to take part in battles, and in case of victory on the won money could redeem their life. There were also cases when citizens, having refused freedom, decided to take part in such battles in pursuit of popular glory and money.
The first battles
The debut battle of gladiators in ancient Romeis considered a duel of three pairs of participants, which was arranged in 264 BC. e. during the wake of Brutu Peri. Popular such fun became after 50 years, when 22 pairs of bestarians during 3 days pleased the residents at funeral games, organized in honor of the triumvir Mark Emilia Lepidus. In the year 105 BC. e. already every child knew who the gladiators were, thanks to the tireless attempts of the tribunes, aimed at amusing the Roman rabble, which by that time was already practically formed as a social stratum. Gladiator fights were officially recognized as public fun.
Soon the tournaments, lasting for several days, inwhich involved a lot of gladiators, were no longer a novelty. There were people for whom such battles became a trade, they were called lanists. The essence of their activity was that they visited slave markets, where they found physically strong slaves, preferably prisoners of war or even criminals. Acquiring such a slave, they taught him all the features of the battles necessary during the battle in the arena, and then rented out to the organizers of the spectacles.
Preparing for combat
During study, the gladiators were carefully looked after, fed well, and their treatment was handled by the most trained doctors.
They daily engaged in intensivetraining, lasting from morning to evening. In the training of newcomers took part already held the gladiators of Rome, who taught their pupils fencing. At the initial stage of training, the newcomer had to learn how to make strong, accurate blows to the opponent's chest and head, without neglecting his defense. To strengthen the muscles at the next stage, the iron weapon of the gladiator was already used, the weight of which was twice as large as that of the weaponry.
When a newcomer comprehended all the elements of martial art and was ready for real battles, he, depending on his skills and physical fitness, was identified in the appropriate group.
Remuneration
Gladiators were not only due to pressureon the part of the slaveholder, but also completely voluntarily, wanting to acquire fame and material goods. Despite all the shortcomings of such a profession, a simple but strong man, being a representative of the lower class, had a real chance to get rich.
Although the probability of dying on the sand of the arena, floodedblood, was much higher, many took risks, perhaps even little realizing who are the gladiators and what their fate is. The happiest of them, except the love of the Roman rabble, and often noble women, received serious cash prizes from fans and organizers of the battles. In addition, Roman spectators often threw the winner on the arena, especially if he was a favorite of the public, money, jewelry and other valuable trifles, which were also a considerable share of his income.
The opening ceremony of the battles
The rite of opening fights was an impressive sight forall gathered. The chariot organizer, or on foot, surrounded by a multitude of friends, went round or round the whole arena to the enthusiastic screams of spectators who were already looking forward to the smell of blood. Then a parade of all participants of the upcoming tournament came to the arena. They were wearing a gladiator's helmet and other outfits. The audience, hailing their favorites, literally raged.
Gladiatorsky Theater
All the battles took place in different ways, happenedpaired fights or confrontation of several dozen participants at once. But sometimes in the arena were played whole performances, which popularized Julius Caesar. In a matter of minutes grandiose scenery depicting the walls of Carthage was created, and gladiators, armed and dressed as legionaries and Carthaginians, imitated the storming of the city. Or on the stage there was a whole "forest" of felled trees, and bestarians depicted the attack of legionnaires from ambush.
Who are the gladiators in this action? Warriors or actors? They combined the functions of both. Fantasy directors did not know the boundaries. Although the Romans were already difficult to surprise, Emperor Claudius succeeded. He staged a sea battle of such magnitude that no one could imagine, and impressed all residents of the Eternal City.
By the beginning of the IV century, the gladiatorial fights began to graduallylose ground. These were the times when the Roman Empire was exhausted under the heavy oppression of the attacking barbarian tribes. This state of affairs only worsened due to the economic crisis, and the organization of the fighting was quite expensive.
Although some time of battle still continued,but with a smaller scale, and soon they were officially banned. Already no one shouted from the stands of "Bread and Spectacles!" And did not greet the emperor, and 72 years later the Roman Empire was destroyed.
