Roman Gladiators

• Who Were Gladiators: Gladiators were combatants who fought against each other, condemned criminals and wild animals during the time of Roman Republic and Roman Empire. They were armed with deadly weapons and in most cases fought till either one of them accepted defeat or was killed fighting. Gladiators fought for the entertainment of Rome’s rich and mighty and also for public. People thronged the arenas to watch gladiator games and it may sound appalling to a modern man, but gladiator fighting was a popular sport in Rome, just like soccer is today. Roman people enjoyed sight of blood and carnage. They built amphitheaters like ‘The Colosseum’, where gladiator games were held regularly and were witnessed by excited crowds who cheered for their favorite fighters just like we cheer our favorite sportsmen and teams today.

Roman Government

Ancient Rome experienced three different types of government:

• Monarchy
• Republic
• Empire

While the myth of Rome’s origins involve Romulus killing his twin brother Remus to rule Rome and name it after himself, we know that the area was ruled by the Etruscans in the seventh century B.C. This means that Rome was under the power of a monarchy in its earliest period, which is a system of government that has one ruler. Evidence points to seven different kings ruling Rome at this time.

However, sometime around 509 B.C., the citizens of Rome gained control from the Etruscans and established the Roman Republic. In a republic, the city or country becomes “public” and is no longer property owned or ruled by one person. Officials are elected, and the people all share the leadership.

Roman baths

Background: Roman baths were purpose built structures or buildings, used for bathing in the days of Roman civilization. There were mainly two types of baths, Thermae (large imperial baths) and Balneae (small public or private baths). Bathing houses were very popular and almost every Roman city had at least one such facility.

Most cities had more than one. These baths were not only used for bathing but were a popular place for socializing. Apart from bathing facility they also offered gymnasium, libraries, places to buy and eat food and seating area for socializing. Romans considered bathing a part of a healthy lifestyle and most of them bathed at least once daily. Roman bath houses gave birth to the concept of modern age spas that we see today.

Roman Daily Life

Daily life in Ancient Rome often began with a light breakfast. Bread and water (or wine) would be served at home, or a wheat pancake could have been purchased on the way to work or school. Sometimes meat, fish, fruit, and other items may have been served, but not each day.

Men and boys wore togas and then later tunics, which were slightly larger than a shirt typically worn today. Women and girls also wore tunics; however, these reached their ankles and tied near the waist.

While many girls stayed home with their mothers to take care of the home, some girls were allowed to attend schools with the boys. Schools often consisted of only one room and might have resembled a small Roman shop, like a bakery.

Roman Emperors

Background: Roman emperor was the ruler of Rome during the period of imperial rule. In 27 BC Rome transformed into an empire from republic. Julius Caesar played the most vital role in this transformation and his son, Octavian (Augustus) is commonly considered as the first Roman Emperor. However, some historians believe that Julius Caesar was also an emperor, considering his unmitigated control of senate and army which made him absolutely powerful. Imperial Rome was different from the days of kingdom. Emperor could exercise authority only if he had control over senate and army. Roman emperors used titles like ‘Augustus’, ‘Caesar’ and ‘Imperator’. They also used the religious title of ‘Pontifex Maximus’.

This title was last used by a Roman emperor in 387 AD, when Gratian surrendered it to Pope Siricius. Romulus Augustus is widely accepted as the last Roman emperor of Western Roman Empire. He abdicated his throne in 476 AD, which also spelled end of Western Roman Empire. However, Eastern Roman Empire continued to exist for another thousand years in some form till the ‘Siege of Constantinople’ by Ottomans in 1453. Eastern Roman Empire was also called Byzantine Empire and its last emperor was Constantine XI.

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BACKGROUND

Gaius Julius Caesar was born 12 July 100 BCE (though some cite 102 as his birth year). His father, also Gaius Julius Caesar, was a Praetor who governed the province of Asia and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, was of noble birth. Both held to the Populare ideology of Rome which favored democratization of government and more rights for the lower class as opposed to the Optimate factions’ claim of the superiority of the nobility and traditional Roman values which favored the upper classes. It should be understood that the Optimate and the Populare were not political parties in conflict with each other but, rather, political ideologies which many people shifted toward and from, regardless of class in society. The concept of appealing to the people for support, rather than seeking approval from the Roman Senate or the other Patricians, would work well for Caesar later in life.

YOUTH & MILITARY SERVICE

When he was sixteen, his father died and Caesar became the head of the family. Deciding that belonging to the priesthood would bring the most benefit to the family, he managed to have himself nominated as the new High Priest of Jupiter. As a priest not only had to be of patrician stock, but married to a patrician, Caesar broke off his engagement to a plebian girl and married the patrician, Cornelia, daughter of a high profile and influential member of the Populares, Lucius Cinna. When the Roman ruler Sulla declared himself dictator, he began a systematic purge of his enemies and particularly of those who held to the Populare ideology. Caesar was targeted and fled Rome but his sentence was lifted through the intercession of his mother’s family. Still, he was stripped of his position as priest and his wife’s dowry was confiscated. Left without means of supporting himself or his family, Caesar joined the army.

He proved himself an effective soldier, even being awarded the civic crown for saving a life in battle, and was promoted to the staff of the military legate to Bithynia to secure a fleet of ships. In this, as in his time as a soldier, Caesar was successful and, when Sulla died, he decided to return to Rome and try his luck as an orator (a modern-day lawyer). In this, too, he proved a success and became well known as an eloquent speaker.

In 75 BCE, while sailing to Greece, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom. In keeping with the high opinion he had of himself, it is said that when the pirates told him he would be ransomed for twenty talents, Caesar claimed he was worth at least fifty. While he was held captive by them, Caesar was treated well and consistently maintained a friendly relationship with the pirates. He is said to have repeatedly told them that, upon his release, he would hunt them down and have them crucified for the affront to his family and personal dignity and this threat the pirates understood as a joke. Upon his release, however, Caesar made good on that threat. He had the pirates’ throats slit before crucifixion, however, in a show of leniency owing to their easy treatment of him in captivity. This determination of Caesar’s, to do exactly what he said he would do, became one of his defining characteristics throughout his life.

CAESAR'S DEATH & AFTERMATH

On March 15, 44 BCE, Caesar was assassinated by the senators in the portico of the basilica of Pompey the Great. Among the assassins were Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s second choice as heir, and Gaius Cassius Longinus, along with many others (some ancient sources cite as many as sixty assassins). Caesar was stabbed twenty three times and died at the base of Pompey’s statue. The assassins, however, made the mistake of neglecting to plan what they would do following Caesar’s death and, in so doing, mistakenly allowed Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), Caesar’s cousin and right-hand man, to live. Mark Antony turned the tide of Roman popular opinion against the conspirators and, allied with Octavian, defeated the forces of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE.