Gladiator Games

This is ROME!

An epic example of a gladiator in their prime (spartan may actually be Greek, but they look the same).

The manliest game of all games: the Gladiatorial Games! Contests and races were held in stone amphitheaters. Voluntary gladiators were poor men, and on rarer occasions women, who would compete to win fame they could never get elsewhere. Most of these galdiators, however, were slaves, criminals, or people taken from their native land were set to duel against impossible odds for the entrainment of the Romans.

Rules

FTW

You've been pwned!

Pretty much anything goes in the Colosseum. The only rule there could be is don't die or you lose. When a man becomes a a gladiator he must make an oath to accept any danger to come. When someone becomes a gladiator they become the Colosseum's slave and mu st fight for their freedom. Rarely did anyone accomplish this.

History

The Gladiatorial Games were adopted from the Greek's Olympics in 264 BCE. Greeks treated their games more religiously, while the Romans turned their games into a bloody sport.

Game Design Elements

The Colosseum itself was literally a magic circle (powered by blood and the souls of fallen gladiators). The spectators would gain a sense of excitement as their favorite heroes fought villains or beasts from far away lands. Gladiators probably felt similar emotions as men in war: worry that this maybe the last day of their lives, blind furry, and quite possibly a spark of fun.

Art

The Colosseum is a spectacle of amazing craftsmanship, but serves more as decorations for the spectators and has no higher purpose other than to keep cowardly gladiators from running away. Given the popularity of the games, art has been made by fans to represent their love and pride for Rome's games.

References

McManus, Barbara F. "ARENA: GLADIATORIAL GAMES." Vroma. The College of New Rochelle, Feb. 2007. Web. 2 Feb. 2010. <http://www.vroma.org/>.

Notes from class.

Links

http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/arena.html -- Helpful site