History
By all accounts, the first gladiator games in the city of Rome were held in 264 BCE by Marcus and Decimus Brutus to honor their father, Junius Brutus Pera, at the Forum Boarium (cattle market). To satisfy the commemorative duty owned to the manes of a dead ancestor by descendants, three pairs of gladiators (possibly Thracian slaves) fought in a munus (plural: munera) to guarantee the blessings of the gods by offering blood.
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In 216 BCE, Marcus Ameilius Lepidus (consul and auger) was honored by his sons
with three days of gladiator games in the Roman Forum and 22 pairs of gladiators.
Ten years later, the great military general and Roman statesman, Scipio Africanus
staged gladiator games in Iberia (Spain) to honor his father and uncle, both
casualties of the Punic Wars. Important Romans and non-Romans volunteered to
be his gladiators. The shadow of the near-disastrous Roman defeat at the 216
BCE Battle of Cannae added elements of military celebration, expiation of military
disaster and moral-boosting to these early games.
with three days of gladiator games in the Roman Forum and 22 pairs of gladiators.
Ten years later, the great military general and Roman statesman, Scipio Africanus
staged gladiator games in Iberia (Spain) to honor his father and uncle, both
casualties of the Punic Wars. Important Romans and non-Romans volunteered to
be his gladiators. The shadow of the near-disastrous Roman defeat at the 216
BCE Battle of Cannae added elements of military celebration, expiation of military
disaster and moral-boosting to these early games.
Overtime, munera (gladiator games) became widespread through the provinces and territories controlled by the Republic of Rome. In fact, small Roman munera were so commonplace that many went unrecorded, although of note, is the munera sponsored by
Titus Flaminius; a lavish event, lasting 4 days in which 74 gladiators fought, accompanied by the distribution of meat, banquets and other performances, foreshadowing the future trend - evermore spectacular, sensational and opulent gladiator games. Wherever lie the exact religious origins, gladiator combat evolved into one of the defining symbols of Roman culture; a symbol that would last for nearly seven centuries and generate
an enduring legacy.
Titus Flaminius; a lavish event, lasting 4 days in which 74 gladiators fought, accompanied by the distribution of meat, banquets and other performances, foreshadowing the future trend - evermore spectacular, sensational and opulent gladiator games. Wherever lie the exact religious origins, gladiator combat evolved into one of the defining symbols of Roman culture; a symbol that would last for nearly seven centuries and generate
an enduring legacy.
Cicero
Just look at the gladiators, either debased men or foreigners, and consider the blows they endure! Consider how they who have been well-disciplined prefer to accept a blow than ignominiously avoid it! How often it is made clear that they consider nothing other than the satisfaction of their master or the people! Even when they are covered with wounds they send a messenger to their master to inquire his will. If they have given satisfaction to their masters, they are pleased to fall. What even mediocre gladiator ever groans, ever alters the expression on his face? Which one of them acts shamefully, either standing or falling? And which of them, even when he does succumb, ever contracts his neck when ordered to receive the blow?
Pliny the younger
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"The performers at these games were divided into companies, distinguished by the particular colour of their habits; the principal of which were the white, the red, the blue, and the green. Accordingly the spectators favoured one or the other colour, as humour and caprice inclined them. In the reign of Justinian a tumult arose in Constantinople, occasioned merely by a contention among the partisans of these several colours, wherein no less than 30,000 men lost their lives."