Gladiators and Roman Identity
"In the morning they throw men to the lions and bears; at noon, they
throw them to the spectators."
Seneca, Letters
Gladiatorial contests, munera gladiatoria, hold a central place in modern perceptions of Roman behavior. They were without a doubt also of major significance to the way the Romans ordered their lives. The investment of wealth, time, and emotion into the games was colossal.
Roman spectacles were a public display of power, and that power was primarily military. The central role which the exercise of power in warfare played within the system of political competition and in the self-esteem of the Roman elite (and in Roman life generally) during the republic is well-known. The games were sometimes ways of thanking or repaying the gods for their support.
Mosaics and wall-paintings with representations of gladiators which have been found in private houses suggests that in may parts of the Roman empire these combats had an important function in the way in which wealthy people ordered their domestic lives. Some of these mosaics were placed in dining rooms, which remind us that Romans liked to watch gladiators fighting while they feasted.
Women also found gladiatorial contests, and the gladiators, attractive. In fact, gladiators were considered as sex symbols. This was seen as a potential danger to the Roman male's control over his womenfolk. One emperor, Augustus, restricted women to watching gladiators from the rearmost seats. It proved impossible to put a stop to stories about sexual associations between gladiators and women of the elite, even empresses. Roman anxieties about sexual attractions of gladiators are given expression by the fact that they are classified together with prostitutes in Roman legislation, and the literary texts associate the Latin word fro the gladiator's trainer (lanista) with that for a pimp (leno). Like pimps and prostitutes, public performers such as actors and gladiators sold their bodies for the entertainment of others, if only visually.
The dates of the games usually represented special occasions. Whether it be funerals or pagan holidays, gladiatorial games were a fundamental institution in the Roman empire. The audiences saw beasts and criminals, as well as innocent victims, pass from life to death. They symbolized coming to terms with death, personally and as a society (Wiedemann).
Amanda Jo Chesshir, Department of
Communication Studies.
Copyright © 2001 by University of North Texas. All rights reserved.
Revised: 30 Nov 2005 14:19:34 -0600
The ruins of the Coliseum. (right)
Mosaic of wild-beast fighting. (below)
What would our society
be like if we held
gladiatorial
contests?
Performance of
Gladiators and Audience Members
