In the last blog I talked about how ancient Romans
loved getting together in order to live life at its fullest, but at what level?
The most eccentric public entertainments developed in the Julio-Claudian
dynasty starting by Caligula or Gaius
Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41).
Caligula is depicted as a ruthless emperor and as someone who had mental
problems such as wandering the palace at night, dressing as a woman, and
sending spectators to the arena to be eaten by animals because there were not
prisoners, and he was bored.
1. Emperor Caligula
The Julio-Claudian dynasty marked the era of the
most elaborated, eccentric, and bloody games and sports. Usually, this games
were played by trained gladiators who were often slaves, criminals, or
prisoners of war. They were called retiarius,
which means net-fighter. These kind of gladiators wore light equipment to
protect themselves against their rivals, but also to have fast movements.
2. Retarius
Other
types included the venationes, who
used weapons to fight against animals.
3. Venatioes
During the Julio-Claudian dynasty,
criminals and prisoners were thrown unarmed to fight with gladiators or
animals. A Roman senator called Seneca, described the level of cruelty of this
kind of games:
All the previous fighting had
been merciful by comparison. Now finesse is set aside, and we have pure
unadulterated murder. The combatants have no protective covering; their entire
bodies are exposed to the blows. No blow falls in vain. This is what lots of people
prefer to the regular contests, and even to those which are put on by popular
request. And it is obvious why. There is no helmet, no shield to repel the
blade. Why have armour? Why bother with skill? All that just delays death.
In the morning, men are thrown to lions and bears.
At mid-day they are thrown to the spectators themselves. No sooner has a man
killed, than they shout for him to kill another, or to be killed. The final
victor is kept for some other slaughter. In the end, every fighter dies. And
all this goes on while the arena is half empty.
You may object that the victims committed robbery
or were murderers. So what? Even if they deserved to suffer, what's your
compulsion to watch their sufferings? 'Kill him', they shout, 'Beat him, burn
him'. Why is he too timid to fight? Why is he so frightened to kill? Why so
reluctant to die? They have to whip him to make him accept his wounds.
Works cited:
Biography.com.
“Caligula Biography.” A&E Television Networks, Accessed June 30, 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/caligula-9235253
Degli
Esposti, Emmanuelle. “Rome’s Most Controversial Emperors.” The Telegraph.
Accessed April 8, 2011. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8438454/Romes-most-controversial-emperors.html
Hopkins,
Keith. “Murderous
Games: Gladiatorial Contests in Ancient Rome.” History Today. History Today 33, no. 6 (June 6, 1983).
Accessed 2016. http://www.historytoday.com/keith-hopkins/murderous-games-gladiatorial-contests-ancient-rome
Von
Mehren, Jane. “The Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire.” National Geographic. Edited by Straight, Susan. 2014. 67-68
Images:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula#/media/File:Gaius_Caesar_Caligula.jpg
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retiarius#/media/File:Retiarius_stabs_secutor_(color).jpg
3. https://mirincondelabahia.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/zliten-mosaico.jpg
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