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From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS
IX. CLASSICAL CIVILIZATION
» Contents of this Chapter
Page 15
ANIMAL BAITINGS
The Circus Maximus was often used for a variety of animal shows. Fierce wild beasts, brought from every quarter of the empire, were turned loose to slaughter one another, or to tear to pieces condemned criminals. More popular still were the contests between savage animals and men. Such amusements did something to satisfy the lust for blood in the Roman populace—a lust which was more completely satisfied by the gladiatorial combats.
GLADIATORIAL SHOWS
Exhibitions of gladiators were known in Italy long before they became popular at Rome. The combats probably started from the savage practice of sacrificing prisoners or slaves at the funeral of their master. Then the custom arose of allowing the victims a chance for their lives by having them fight one another, the conquerors being spared for future battles. From this it was but a step to keeping trained slaves as gladiators. During the imperial epoch the number of such exhibitions increased greatly. The emperor Trajan, for example, to celebrate his victories over the Dacians, exhibited no less than ten thousand men within the space of four months. The gladiators belonged to various classes, according to the defensive armor they wore and the style of fighting they employed. When a man was wounded and unable to continue the struggle, he might appeal to the spectators. He lifted his finger to plead for release; if he had fought well, the people indicated their willingness to spare him by waving their handkerchiefs. If the spectators were in a cruel mood, they turned down their thumbs as the signal for his deathblow. These hideous exhibitions continued in different parts of the Roman Empire until the fifth century of our era.
"BREAD AND THE GAMES OF THE CIRCUS."
Gladiatorial combats, chariot races, and dramatic shows were free performances. For the lower classes in the Roman city they became the chief pleasure of life. The days of their celebration were public holidays, which in the fourth century numbered no less than one hundred and seventy-five. The once-sovereign people of Rome became a lazy, worthless rabble, fed by the state and amused with the games. It was well said by an ancient satirist that the Romans wanted only two things to make them happy—"bread and the games of the circus." [18]
[18] Panem et circenses (Juvenal x, 80-81).
THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents
url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp
Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy
