Hungry for Blood

During the Golden Age of Rome, everyones favorite pass time was the gladiatorial
games. Everyone who lived in the city would be at the Colosseum to watch men and animals
fight each other. They would boo and cheer on the gladiators fighting, and enjoyed watching the
losing man get killed. The gladiatorial games were how the emperors, like Julius Caesar and
Augustus, got to see the lower class, and vice versa. Their common love for the gladiatorial
games made the people like the emperor and distracted them from their everyday lives. The
popularity of the murderous, bloody gladiatorial games showed Romes thirst for violence
because of the effort, work and extravagance that the emperor and people put into making them
happen.
The gladiatorial games were first considered a religious event, called the munus, which
means obligation. It was used at funerals to honor the deads last wishes, showing the
community the wealth and social status of the deceased. The first of these religious games was
held in 264 B.C., in honor of the death of Decimus Junis Brutus, by his two sons.
1
At first,
munera were rare, and when they did happen, most people went for the free food. But soon, as
the wealthy began to use the games to gain favor with the lower class, the games became more
about the fighting, less about religion, and became used for the sole purpose of entertainment.
The first big non-religious show of the gladiatorial games was held under the rule of Titus, and is
said to have lasted 100 days. It is also said that every single day of that first show, 5,000 animals
were killed
2
, which Titus used to gain favor with the lower class by giving them the meat of the

1
Matthews, Rupert. The Age of the Gladiators: Savagery & Spectacle in Ancient Rome. New
Jersey: Chartwell Books. 2005. Pg. 16, 18
2
Hopkins, Keith, and Mary Beard. 2005. The Colosseum. Massachusetts: Harvard University
Press. Pg. 41

dead animals.
3
Before the beginning of the normal games there would be a processional into the
Colosseum, or any amphitheater, called the pompa. The organizer of the game, along with men
carrying the statues of the gods, trumpeters, men on horses, men holding tablets of information,
and others, would all proceed into the amphitheater.
4
Then the many different types of games
would begin. There was man vs. man, man vs. animal (usually for criminals), animal vs. animal
(like a tiger versus a bear), and mock battles for which they would make the criminals and slaves
be the enemy and give them wooden swords, and soldiers and high class gladiators would be the
Romans and get real swords. It was also said that an emperor flooded the Colosseum and held
mock naval battles, and tried to teach animals how to swim. Some emperors would put on plays,
in which they would use criminals as the characters who died and would really kill them. When a
gladiator would die, the slave who came to remove the body would come out dressed as Charon
(the ferryman of the underworld), or Mercury (accompanied the dead into the underworld).
5

The start of the gladiatorial games may not have started out as a bloody exhibition, but became
exactly that. Because of its power, senators and emperors used the games to win the favor of the
lower class. The different types of the games were similar to having different types of sports, e.g.
basketball, football, or baseball are different sports, but there are all sports. The different games
were all different types of violence, but it was all violence. The ability to throw mythology into
the games showed that every part of the Roman culture had violence in it, from its religion to its
entertainment.

3
Meijer, Fik. The Gladiators: Historys Most Deadly Sport. New York: St. Martins Press 2004.
Pg. 184-193
4
Nossov, Konstantin. Gladiator: The Complete Guide to Ancient Romes Bloody Fighters.
Connecticut: Lyons Press. 2009. Pg. 156-15

5
Hopkins and Beard. 2005. The Colosseum. Pg. 41, 46

The gladiatorial games were first held in open, temporary places like markets and forums,
but as the popularity of the games grew, they were soon moved to theatres.
6
The Colosseum was
constructed from 70 80 A.D. It was called The Amphitheatre of the Hunting Theatre. It
was started under the reign of Vespasian, but was finished under the reign of his son, Titus. The
Colosseum was built on the land that initially held the Golden House, which was the luxurious
home that the Nero, the last emperor of the Julio Claudian Dynasty, built for himself. Since Nero
was the worst emperor in the history of Rome, the next generation of emperors and Romans
wanted to erase the memory of his reign from Rome. So Vespasian and Titus built the
Colosseum, for the purpose of showing the connection between the emperor and his people.
Most of the funds used to build the Colosseum came from the spoils of war
7
, which helped the
emperor emphasize that the spoils of war belonged to the people.
The Colosseum had many unique features that set it apart from all of the other amphitheaters. It
was made out of concrete, which was cheap, permanent, and easy to mold, showing their
practicality. The Colosseum also had arches, which surrounded the entire structure. This helped
distribute the weight evenly, and made it possible for the Colosseum to be the size that it is. The
Colosseum used all of the Greek orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) to show the stability,
complexity, and the wealth of Rome.
8
The Colosseum had a pulley elevator system, trap doors,
and a canopy to cover the spectators from the hot sun. These advancements put Rome ahead of


6
McManus, Barbara, F. Vroma. Arena: The Gladiatorial Games. Last modified March 22.
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/arena.htm 2011.
7
Hopkins and Beard. 2005. The Colosseum. Pg. 26
8
McManus, Barbara, F. Vroma. Arena: The Gladiatorial Games.


all the other empires. The Colosseum was very organized, as well. The rows, seats and exit were
all numbered, and 70,000 people were able to get out of the Colosseum in 30 minutes, once again
showing the advancement of the Roman Empire.
The Colosseum shows the popularity of the gladiatorial games because it was built for the
specific purpose of the games. To have a specific place built for the sole purpose of violence
shows the love for the gruesome sport. That this was the way that the emperor and his people
were unified shows the mass enjoyment of the games. That the spoils of war were used to make
the Colosseum shows that they were willing to go all out for these events, no matter the cost. It
also shows that the Romans have a never-ending cycle of fighting, because in order to build the
Colosseum, they had to fight and kill and win wars to get the money.
There were many different types of gladiators and fighters who participated in the
gladiatorial games. The word gladiator comes from the word for sword: Gladius Hispanensis.
Most of the gladiators were slaves, criminals, and peopled captured in war. Sometimes, people of
the lower class would become gladiators for the fame and fortune. A few times, people from the
higher class would become gladiators, but would be treated better and have better living
environments. Even though most of the men were slaves, if they stayed alive for 2 3 years, they
could win their freedom. These freed gladiators could continue to fight, but most became
teachers at the gladiatorial schools, or bodyguards for the wealthy.
9
The gladiators, while being
forced to fight, ended up being celebrities and heroes, like modern day movie stars, showing that
while there was the enjoyment of watching the games, there were benefits to being a gladiator,
too. That is, if they survived long enough to appreciate them.

9
McManus, Barbara, F. Vroma. Arena: The Gladiatorial Games.

There were eight different types of gladiators. The Eques started the fight on horseback, but
ended up on foot. The Hoplomachus were known for their heavy weapons. The Murmillo were
known for their huge, fish-like helmets. The Provocaters were attackers with heavy armor. The
Retiairus used a net and trident as their weapons, but wore very little armor. The Secutors were
the pursuers, paired with the Retiairus. The Tharex were fighters based off of one of Romes
enemies (Thracians), used a kinked blade, and had a helmet with the head of a griffin on top.
And the Bestiarius were of the lowest rank, usually fought with animals, and were not a crowd
favorite.
10
All of the different types of gladiators are trained at a gladiator school. The gladiators
were not just thrown into the amphitheater (unless they were criminals), but were prepared for a
battle to the death, knowing that any day they could die. The gladiators themselves showed that
the way to fame and wealth in Rome involved some form of violence, as most of the wealthy had
some military status, or were gladiators.
The gladiatorial games were not loved by all. Plutarch, Senesa and the people of
Christianity were against the games. But these oppositions had little impact because the
government tended to emphasize the effect the games had on the people instead of the violence
of the games.
11
But as Christianity became more popular and common, the appeal of the
gladiatorial games declined. In the Eastern Empire, the games had died out by 392 A.D. In the
Western empire the games went on until Rome was sacked by the Germanic kingdoms, because
the political benefits of the games no longer applied.
12
By 440 A.D., the games completely


10
McManus, Barbara, F. Vroma. Arena: The Gladiatorial Games.

11
Matthews. The Age of the Gladiators: Savagery & Spectacle in Ancient Rome. Pg. 115-119

12
Matthews. The Age of the Gladiators: Savagery & Spectacle in Ancient Rome. Pg. 119,120

disappeared, and Rome no longer was a place ruled by violence. The games ended because the
Romans learned of mercy and humanity, which the games had taken away. The extent to which
the Roman people enjoyed the games made it easy for the emperors and senators to use the
games to their advantage. The games also distracted the lower class from their horrible
conditions, which is why the phrase Bread and Circus (the concept that all the poor people
needed during that time was food and entertainment) applies perfectly to this period. The
senators and emperors of Rome hosted the games as much as possible because if the people were
not distracted from the games, they would realize their horrible lives and revolt. This is the
reason why some much of the time and energy of the Romans (especially the lower class) was
spent on the gruesome gladiatorial games.











Sources Cited
Hopkins, Keith, and Mary Beard. 2005. The Colosseum. Massachusetts: Harvard University
Press.

Matthews, Rupert. The Age of the Gladiators: Savagery & Spectacle in Ancient Rome. New
Jersey: Chartwell Books. 2005.

Meijer, Fik. The Gladiators: Historys Most Deadly Sport. New York: St. Martins Press
2004.

Nossov, Konstantin. Gladiator: The Complete Guide to Ancient Romes Bloody Fighters.
Connecticut: Lyons Press. 2009.

McManus, Barbara, F. Vroma. Arena: The Gladiatorial Games. Last modified March 22.
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/arena.htm 2011.