Roles Of The Gladiators

The Gladiators and games were not what they are historically described as in most history textbooks. History teaches us that the gladiators were murderers, rapists and the dregs of the Roman Empire and they were forced to fight. However, this is not entirely the case. The role of the Gladiators and the Gladiatorial games on the Roman Empire was long-lasting and far-reaching.
When the games first took off, many of the soldiers were actually volunteers who wanted to fight to increase their social and financial status or free a friend from slavery. While the idea was sound, unfortunately, few if any of them were able to change their outlook on life or standing in Roman culture since the Gladiators were not paid that well and had a minuscule chance of life or freedom after entering the stadium.
The first century of games was paid for and supported by the upper elites and timed shortly after a family member had died as to support their son/daughter in the afterlife. However, after more and more common people (bottom of the social ladder) came to these, it became a way to promote your status and wealth and less about funerals. As a result, within a few decades of becoming popular, it changed perspectives from something to do after a funeral to something to do every day of the week. To support the growing number of games and festivities, special gladiatorial training centers were established where men would go to train for battle and impending doom. These centers were under the control of the Empire and run by close, trusted friends of the Emperor and former gladiators. Each student would identify what weapon they fought with the best, and then train with a mentor on that night and day for their fights. Shortly after some of the training centers were established, the gladiators (students) revolted against their mentors and owners and escaped. This led to a period of conflict for the Roman Empire which now had an insurgency on its hands. While the gladiators were eventually defeated, it led to the Emperor and the Elites instituting changes that had severe effects for the Gladiators. The training centers became more heavily guarded and the gladiator’s weapons were now guarded by Roman Soldier’s. The role of Gladiatorial Games was an important one and eventuality of Roman society. Based on how the Roman Republic, and Empire was established, with the importance of glory, and outdoing your ancestor, it simply became a matter of time until the games were established. This idea or philosophy was ingrained in every Roman from the day he was born, especially the Plebians and the Patricians. While the theory and layout of the Roman Republic Empire was more thought than …show more content…
While it is true that the fighters were seen as the bottom of society, prisoners of war and murderers, they were also recognized as being honorable and warriors who believed in something. These tributes were extremely important because it led to other members of society to join became it made them feel a part of something. These members included emperors, knights, senators and even men who wanted to gain respectability, financial, political, and personal, in their lives. However, the few senators and emperors who fought as gladiators had their opponents hand-picked so that the elites could easily overwhelm and kill them so they would be