Roman Gladiators
Amphitheater of El Djem, in Tunisia
(North Africa) (the second biggest in the Roman Empire
, after the Colosseum in Rome)
First men in armor came out and fought against wild animals, like bears or bulls or alligators or ostriches or lions or tigers. They captured the animals in faraway places and brought them to the stadiums specially. Then the Romans treated the animals badly to make them hungry and mean so they would fight. Usually the men killed the animals, but sometimes the animals killed the men, which everyone thought was very exciting. You can still see this kind of fighting today in bullfights in Spain or France or Mexico.
A modern bull-fight
Around lunchtime there would be a break, and people would eat their lunches. Some people brought picnics with them: bread and cheese and vegetables mostly. Other people bought food from the vendors who were walking around the stadium selling wine and water and stuffed pastries (like spanikopita). While people were eating lunch, in their seats, there would be a half-time show that sometimes had singers or dancers or a little play, or sometimes had criminals being killed. Sometimes the criminals were just brought out and had their heads cut off or were stabbed, but other times they were tied to posts and the bears came and attacked them, or they were pushed off a high tower, or something creative like that. Because the gods loved to see justice done, they also liked to see criminals being killed.
After lunch sometimes there was another show, where men fought men. In big cities, these fights were to the death. In smaller towns, probably the men usually just fought until someone was hurt, though sometimes men did get killed. The men who were fighting were often, though not always, slaves.
To find out more about Roman gladiators and their games, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Asterix the Gladiator, by Rene Goscinny. A comic book adventure, but historically accurate (except for our hero Asterix!).
Gladiator, by Richard Watkins (2000). For kids.
The Roman Colosseum, by Michael and Elizabeth Mann (1998). For kids.
Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire, edited by David Potter and David Mattingly (1999). Good solid information, if you don't mind it being mainly about people who lived in cities.
Blood in the Arena: The Spectacle of Roman Power, by Alison Futrell (1997).
