Comments on: What Did Gladiators Eat? https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/what-did-gladiators-eat/ Mon, 29 Apr 2024 19:28:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.1 By: Steuart https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/what-did-gladiators-eat/#comment-10374 Fri, 24 Jun 2016 19:34:25 +0000 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/?p=35636#comment-10374 After the fights, they had a nice rub down and kicked back with a couple of “light wines”

]]> By: jeff https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/what-did-gladiators-eat/#comment-9096 Thu, 22 Oct 2015 09:45:29 +0000 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/?p=35636#comment-9096 What did they do after fights?

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]]> By: ringo https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/what-did-gladiators-eat/#comment-8156 Sat, 16 May 2015 15:51:42 +0000 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/?p=35636#comment-8156 Charcoal is still used as a treatment for ingested poison. What’s the chance they ate charcoal in case they had been drugged before the match?

]]> By: Kurt https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/what-did-gladiators-eat/#comment-6238 Mon, 27 Oct 2014 16:59:19 +0000 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/?p=35636#comment-6238 Thrill Seekers—Why the Fatal Attraction?
IN THE ancient Roman arena, the excited crowds—50,000 strong—were on the edge of their seats. Their anticipation had been building for days as widespread advertising had proclaimed that the events to take place would provide “spectacular thrills not to be missed.”
While magic shows, pantomimes, clowns, and comedy still drew crowds in local theaters, the events in the arena were very different. The discomfort of the hard seats and the cares of the day would soon be forgotten in the breathtaking thrills to be played out before the eyes of the spectators.
Now came the singers, followed by the robed priest. Then incense bearers led a succession of idols depicting gods and goddesses, carried aloft for all to see. This gave the events the appearance of having divine blessing.
Animals Slaughtered
Now the great entertainment features were about to begin. First, ostriches and giraffes, which few in attendance had ever seen, were loosed in the arena with no way of escape. Scores of skilled archers with bows and arrows slaughtered the helpless animals, down to the last one, to the joy of the thrill-seeking audience.
The cheering crowds were next treated to a life-and-death battle between two huge elephants whose tusks had been fitted with long, sharp iron spikes. There is thunderous applause as one mighty animal falls to the blood-soaked sand mortally wounded. This scene has only whetted the appetite of the spectators for the main event just minutes away.
The Main Event
The thrill-seeking crowds rise to their feet as human gladiators make their appearance in the arena, amid great fanfare. Some are armed with swords and shields and metal helmets or with daggers, and some are lightly armed and lightly clad. They fight hand to hand, often to the death of one or both as the spectators cheer. Records show that at one event 5,000 animals were killed in 100 days. At another event 10,000 gladiators were slaughtered. Still the public clamored for more.
Criminals and prisoners of war provided a steady supply of manpower for the games. However, states one source, “they should not be confused with the group of skilled gladiators who fought with weapons, who earned considerable fortunes, and who were under no life sentence.” In some places gladiators attended special schools to be taught the art of hand-to-hand combat. Adrenaline flowing, they were caught up in the thrill of the sport and its fatal attraction. The need to fight another day was a dominant passion. “It was a very successful gladiator who completed a career of fifty fights before he retired,” concludes one source.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200272417
You may ask, ‘Who were the gladiators?’ Well, they might have been slaves, criminals condemned to death, prisoners of war, or free men drawn by excitement or the hope of fame and wealth. All were trained in prisonlike schools. The book Giochi e spettacoli (Games and Spectacles) reports that gladiators in training “were always watched by guards and subject to rigid discipline, the severest of rules, and particularly harsh punishments . . . This treatment often led to suicide, mutiny, and revolt.” Rome’s largest gladiatorial school had cells for at least a thousand inmates. Each man had a specialty. Some fought with armor, shield, and sword, others with net and trident. Still others were trained to face wild beasts in another popular type of show, the hunt. Might Paul have been referring to just such an event?
Show organizers could turn to entrepreneurs who recruited and trained 17- or 18-year-olds to be gladiators. Trafficking in human lives was big business. One exceptional show that Trajan offered to celebrate a military victory fielded 10,000 gladiators and 11,000 animals.

]]> By: Bill Lewis https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/what-did-gladiators-eat/#comment-6196 Fri, 24 Oct 2014 18:05:47 +0000 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/?p=35636#comment-6196 What ages did gladiators live to?

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