5 Gladiator 2 new
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Roman Entertainment
Transcript of 5 Gladiator 2 new
Roman Entertainment
What was it like to be a Roman Gladiator?
Lesson Objectives To understand what it was like to be a
gladiator
To consider if the Romans were cruel and blood thirsty
StarterWhat different things
can you see going on in the picture?
What does this picture tell us about Roman entertainment?
How does this picture make you feel?
Does it serve any purpose to know that our leader, Pompey, was the first to show the slaughter of eighteen elephants in the amphitheatre, putting criminals against them in a pretend battle? He, a leader of the state and one who, according to report, was known for his kind heart, thought it was a fun spectacle to kill human beings in this way! Do they fight to the death? That is not enough! Are they torn to pieces? That is not enough! Let them be crushed by animals of monstrous bulk!Seneca THE SHORTNESS OF LIFE, xiii.
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The Roman amphitheatre was the centre of public entertainment all over the Roman Empire. People would go to the amphitheatre to see men fighting wild beasts
or each other. These men were called gladiators.
Who were the Gladiators?
Slaves, criminals, prisoners of war or paid professional fighters.
The gladiators would train/exercise every day to help prepare them for fights.
If they won a lot of fights they would earn money which they could use to buy their freedom.
If you were a really good gladiator and won a lot of fights you would become quite famous in the Roman Empire.
The Games Some gladiator fights were part of
a big event called ‘the games’These games would take place in
the Colosseum in Rome.50,000 people could watch the
games.During the games they had three
different fights. In the morning there would be animal shows were animals would fight each other.
In the afternoon gladiators would fight against animals and then finally it would be time for gladiator fights.
What was it like at a gladiator fight?The popularity of these fights led to the deaths
of over 800,000 people in the Colosseum in Rome.
The Emperor would decide if the gladiator should live or die he would listen to the crowds noises before deciding if a gladiator should live or die.
A lot of Roman citizens would gamble money on who would win certain fights.
Rich citizens normally sat near the front and the poor citizens sat at the back
The crowd were often very rowdy and enjoyed seeing the violence of the fights.
Different types of
Gladiators
1) Samnite
3) Thracian
2) Murmillo
4) Retiarius
What did the Roman’s think of Gladiator fights
“Kill! They shout. ‘Beat him! Burn him! Why won’t he face the sword? What a coward! Why can’t he die more eagerly? We must have something to watch.’’
‘Wasting your time at a show that makes you more cruel and less decent. In the morning men were thrown to the lions and bears. The crowd shouted ,‘kill him! Flog him! Burn him!’
A Roman writer criticising what he had seen at the
Games.Written by Seneca in AD
60
What did the Romans think of Gladiator fights?Some Romans thought they were a good idea.
We know this because a Roman writer at the time commented that the crowds would shout ‘Kill! Burn him!’ this shows that the Romans were eager to see death at gladiator fights.
On the other hand, some Romans did not enjoy them as much. We know this because Seneca writing in 60AD wrote that gladiator fights made ‘you more cruel and less decent’. This shows that he thought they were degrading and made you less of a human.
What did the Roman’s think of Gladiator fights
“Kill! They shout. ‘Beat him! Burn him! Why won’t he face the sword? What a coward! Why can’t he die more eagerly? We must have something to watch.’’
‘Wasting your time at a show that makes you more cruel and less decent. In the morning men were thrown to the lions and bears. The crowd shouted ,‘kill him! Flog him! Burn him!’
A Roman writer criticising what he had seen at the
Games.Written by Seneca in AD
60
Your task
To produce a sports newspaper page on a gladiator fight
During this report talk about the event and who won
Make it exciting but informative.
The Roman Sports News
Some suggestionsInclude a catchy headlineInclude pictures Make sure you write about the eventYou could also have an interview with a
gladiator or the gladiators coach.You could ask the audience what they thought
of the fight/ race
