Roman Gladiators and Greek Games BY BOB CHEN AND VALDI RATU

The History Roman Gladiators  Introduced in the Etruscan to honour the dead  Became more common as time passed by  Became into a regular game in the first century Greek Games  First played to honour Zeus  Gods wanted to honour the mortals by showing their athleticism  First played on the ancient plains of Olympia

How Players were Recruited Roman Gladiators  Most new recruited gladiators went to gladiator schools  People were enlisted to be a gladiator  People who were recruited were slaves, criminals, prisoners of war  Forced to be recruited, no choice  New recruits had no freedom  More than 100 gladiator schools Greek Games  Male were the participants  They had to be “free” (not slaves)  People from royal families, and from government can participate  Women could not participate in the games  Married women were not allowed to watch

How the Games were Played Roman Gladiators  Games were brutal, as it was common for the gladiators to fight to the death  Thumbs up by the audience meant “stab his heart” and thumbs down by the audience meant “disapproval” Greek Games  Played among mostly the rich families who didn’t have to work  Since losing a game meant God didn’t like you, the games were competitive

Types of Games Pentathlon: Running/Jumping/Discus throw Types of Running Games:  Stade Race: test of speed, running around the track one end to the other (200 m race)  Diaulos: two laps around the stadium (400 m race)  Dolichos: ranging between 7-24 laps around the stadium Other Types of Games  Wrestling  Boxing  Pankration  Equestrian events

Types of Games

Purposes they Served Greek Games  Played in honour of twelve Olympian Gods  To show off humans’ capabilities in sports Roman Gladiators  Used slaves for simple entertainment when times were more rough  Another way of public execution when animals killed the gladiators

Prizes and Punishments Greek Games  Lots of glory (the highest honour someone can gain)  A herald would announce the victor’s name, father’s name, and the city of origin  Obtains palm branch, and red wool ribbons  Custom victory song  Feast with friends  Greatest prize was having a statue at Olympus in holy sanctuary  many people cheated  in wrestling you are not allowed to put oil  cheaters get disqualified, along with trainer and sponsoring city state  cheaters get fined, along with trainer and sponsoring city state  contestants found cheating will be whipped Roman Gladiators  Victors gained money for winning  A crown was given for performance  Greatest prize was to be free from fighting  neglect of duty and misconducts  the gladiators are punished through a beating with a stick  when a gladiator commits a serious offence, bits of bones and metal was attached to the stick  this was used to tear out flesh  most gladiators died from this

Bibliography Images:  Discus Thrower:  Roman Gladiator School:  Diaulos:  Pankration:  Palm Branch:  Gladiator Thumbs Down:  Lion Attacking Gladiator:  Ancient Plains of Olympia: Websites:  "Ancient Olympic Prizes - Olympic-Legacy.com." Ancient Olympic Prizes - Olympic-Legacy.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec  "Ancient Olympics - First Olympic Games History from Olympia." Ancient Olympics - First Olympic Games History from Olympia. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec  "Life of a Gladiator." Life of a Gladiator. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec  "Cheating in the Ancient Olympics Games." Mapsofworld. N.p., n.d. Web.  "Ancient Greek Games." - Daily Life in Ancient Greece. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec