Customer Reviews

The World of the Gladiator

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Aimed at the general reader, this book delves into one of the most fascinating aspects of Roman life: gladiators. The Romans were mad for gladiator fights, and nearly every city the size of a speck boasted an amphitheater.

Because gladiators, especially at first, were drawn from the condemned, Romans looked down upon them as a class. "It was a social stigma to be an actor, as it was to be a gladiator; no decent person would wish to perform in public, whether in the scaena or the arena, as it would expose them to contempt and derision. Strangely, the charioteer was exempted from this social leprosy. For this reason, most performers in Rome were outsiders, foreigners, or slaves; anything but Roman citizens" (p 31). Later some debt ridden, desperate Roman men did volunteer to be gladiators, however.

The arena was drenched with blood. Gladiators did not always fight to the death--their lives were considered too valuable to be thrown away cheaply, but the arena saw plenty of death every day. Elephants were trained to crush condemned men underfoot "Christian noxii were a common sight in the area" (p 29), dragged there to be slaughtered.

The book is rich in interesting anecdotes, such as the fact that the emperor Valentinian kept his favorite man-eating bears in cages right outside his bedroom. Must have made for happy dreams.

Recommended.
The book has plenty of pictures, also, some in color.