caldrail

Part of the problem in this matter is that gladiators were different in status and purpose from each other. There's a whole world of difference from a doomed prisoner-of-war pushed into the arena with soiled underpants as opposed to an experienced professional contract fighter. Yes, blood was involved. We all know that and that was part of the religious side of things. Romans wanted a good fight. They wanted to see skill & courage. But they usually dictated whether these men could live or die if defeated. It was a catharsis for the common people who were otherwise powerless; now they could condemn a man to death for cowardice, clumsiness, or simply because he had cost them too many denarii in bets. However, as someone said earlier, perhaps as little as 10% of one-on-one contestants died. Therefore blood was less important than enjoying a good fight (not to mention the cost of replacing a dead gladiator) I think blood became more frequent as time wore on. As fights became mundane, something had to raise the excitement level. I seem to remember that Augustus banned fights without mercy, but didn't these come back later on?

I think Juilus would be chuffed to bits to find himself remembered 2000 years on. Nero would shrug. Of course he's remembered. Caligula would sneer - He already knew he was better than anyone else!

Rome never had an organised army in its earliest days, and the landowners assembled for campaigning when required because they needed to protect their homes. Military experience was a defining qualification for Romans (possibly less in later years as most seemed to try and avoid by then) so you couldn't really hold your head up until you too had fought for Rome. I don't its necessary to define exactly what was meant by this phrase, the Romans wouldn't and never needed to.

For me the question goes right back to my childhood. Watching Kirk Douglas gnashing his teeth under the whip, or Peter Ustinov prancing around the palace, or Derek Jacobi taking several minutes to complete a single sentence. Deep down I was fascinated by these people - its that sense of purpose, of glory, of overwhelming power that no other culture ever really pulled off. Its that sheer optimism and confidence of a bunch of hill farmers taking on the world. I think it also latches on to something deep within our human psyche. So many societies have tried to emulate the Romans ever since. We still do.