Gladiators
Are they Heroes or Victims?
Gladiators!
Gladiators! We’ve all heard of them before. They are guys that fight to the death in an amazing clash of steel and skin. They fight for their glory and to honor the emperor. But do you know why they actually fight? For the entertainment of the crowd and common public. People now a days have been wondering: Were Gladiators Heroes or Victims? This is because we, for obvious reasons, do not follow them in this tradition. Honestly, it is a double edged sword. I'm going to tell you why.
Victims!
Victims! They were forced to kill each other for entertainment. They say it was the gladiators duty to die for entertainment. How is that fair? They have to give themselves up for a trivial thing such as that. The emperor had no right to tell them to die for entertainment. They could be used for war if they took so much effort to train them. They don't even get remembered often. There was only one gladiator battle recorded in detail when both the gladiators that were fighting each other won. This is completely unfair. Not only this, if the first round of fighting in the morning went badly, when they were up against animals like lions, there would be an afternoon game to make up for it. Even if the animals were frightened by the gladiators and refused to attack them, they would kill the beast master.
Heroes!
Heroes! Yes, people died in the arena just for entertainment, but some singed up for the job. Even with that, the majority were slaves and villains who have lost their citizen rights. This was their chance to gain that back and fame and glory along with it! The Gladiator received an honor similar to that of a Roman soldier on the battlefield. Also, a career serving as a gladiator seemed most attractive. This because if an aristocrat suffered a financial setback, or lost his inheritance, he would find it difficult to make a living. He would be highly praised for holding the champion gladiator. What people fail to realize was that this was different time, different people. To the Romans, the arena was one of the defining features of their civilization. At the time, people put fighting on the same level as science. The gladiators mention their profession without shame, apology, or resentment.