Emperors and Gladiators

Of all aspects of Roman coulture, the gladiatorial contests for which the Romans built their amphitheatres are at once the most fascinating and the most difficult for us to come to terms with. A number of theories have been put forward to explain their importance: they have been seen as sacrifices to the gods or, at funerals, to the souls of the deceased; as a mechanism for introducing young Romans to the horrors of fighting; and as a direct substitute for warfare after the impostion of peace. Thomas Wiedeman considers why these theories cannot by themselves explain the importance of the 'Games', their association with the emperors, and their decline as the Roman world became Christian. He argues that gladiators were part of the mythical struggle of order and civilisation against the forces of nature, barbarism and law breaking, representing the possibility of a return to new life from the point of death. And that, rather than Christian Romans rejecting gladitorial games on a humanitarian basis, it was because they were a rival representation of the possibility of resurrection: Easter and Christmas replaced gladiators.Wiedemann, Thomas is the author of 'Emperors and Gladiators' with ISBN 9780415000055 and ISBN 041500005X.