Gladiators
Heroes or Victims?
Downfalls of Being a Gladiator
· Every time you went to work, someone would try to chop your head off
· You constantly had to risk and sacrifice your life without an option (depending on how long you were able to survive, if you were)
· Were originally slaves
Stepping Into the Shoes of a Gladiator
- You don't like the Romans much, and they don't like you or your people
They plan on ruling over you for a long time to come and say your people are uncivilized
The Romans would call you ‘barbarians’, meaning that you are different to them
The Romans believe they are much better than you
You were no match against the Roman army
If you were not killed in battle, then you should not have expected to be shown any mercy, you would’ve been taken prisoner and marched off to the city of Rome
Who Became A Gladiator
- You were allowed to volunteer to be one
“The Romans believed that the first gladiators were slaves who were made to fight to the death at the funeral of a distinguished aristocrat, Junius Brutus Pera, in 264 B.C.”
Most gladiators were slaves
A “lanista” is a gladiator’s trainer
Some gladiators were not slaves but free-born volunteers
“The Romans believed that the first gladiators were slaves who were made to fight to the death at the funeral of a distinguished aristocrat, Junius Brutus Pera, in 264 BC.”
Most gladiators were slaves
A “lanista” is a gladiator’s trainer
Some gladiators were not slaves but free-born volunteers
Women of Action Network on Female Gladiators
“Gladiators were often drawn from the dregs of society: slaves, criminals and foreign prisoners of war”
“The women are identified as Amazon and Achillia. These were probably stage names chosen to evoke images of those legendary women warriors who locked in combat with Achilles, the Greek hero who killed the Amazon queen Penthesilea”
Women are known to have served as specialty performers in the amphitheater as well”