Ancient Rome Steven Madasu mod1
Christianity
Within the Roman Empire Christianity was banned and Christians were punished for many years. Feeding Christians to Lions was seen as entertainment in ancient Rome. Sometimes Emperors would turn people against the Christians when Rome faced difficulties. Some were even burned alive! This forced Christians to meet in secret in underground tombs.
Christianity was absolute in beliefs, provided an after life, and required no fee. Because of these three things Christianity spread and eventually became the official religion. Finally in 313 A.D., Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal because he thought that because Christianity taught unifying values, it would help unify all of Rome and because it appealed to all levels of society.
Slowly the rich started joining in because it gave the wealthy a chance to feel good and do good in the site of God because they would give to the poor and do more charity work.The religion spread until it reached a point where 5-10% of Roman citizens were Christians and in some roman cites as high as 30%. Today, a majority of Romans practice a branch of Christianity which is Catholicism.
Art
The rich people of ancient Rome were the people who were very materialistic with art. Some of these materials are: metal-working, gem engraving, ivory carvings and glass carvings.
Art of the Republic, or Art of Roman Empire, included painting, sculptures, and mosaic work. Art like wall painting, mosaic and floor works were the most popular in 350-500 C.E.
The Romans then started to adopt different types of art from other cultures. One of them was the Greek culture. The Romans started to include different art cultures into their own more and more. Soon the once new cultures started to become part of their own. The Romans were also very skilled at creating realistic statues.
Gladiators
The first Gladiators were usually the elderly and slaves. They used to fight against each other at large rallies or gatherings. The most common place to see gladiators battle was at a funeral. But after a few years, free men started volunteering themselves because they wanted to win prize money and fame.
Gladiators were not allowed to fight till the death of their opponent unless one of them was a Christian.
Women slowly started to become gladiators and soon, it became common for women to take part in battles.
The winners of the fight would gain lots of fame.
Maybe this is where we got boxing or Kung Fu from!