The Gladiator

The Gladiator by Alan Baker is a book that describes the life and times of the Roman s during the gladiatorial games. The book explains how the games were organized. It goes on to tell how the games were funded and who attended the games. The book tells readers history of the contests. The book also tells where the Romans got the competitors for the games. It tells that some of the warriors were slaves, some were commoners, and some were even former emperors. The Gladiator shows these men is the are treated like slaves as they prepare for the contests, and it also shows them as popular heroes as the succeed in the contests.

What purpose did these games hold? The very first gladiatorial contest in Rome was put on by Decimus Janius Brutus in honor of his deceased father. They called these contests munus or duty paid to dead ancestors by their descendants. These contests were meant to keep the ancestors memory alive. These contests most likely began shortly after the period of mourning. Although they had their share of brutality, they were not as cruel as human sacrifice. Over time the gladiatorial contests became increasingly popular, and the religious connection began to disappear. Before long there were fewer contests that were for religious purposes and more that were for spectacle. These particular contests were called ludi, which means games. These contests also began to mark festivals such as the harvest. The gladiatorial games became so popular that anybody who was wealthy enough wanted to host them.

It cost a great deal to host these games, and for those who participated the reward was not that great. In order to be a gladiator in the games, one first had to go to a

gladiatorial school. These individuals consisted mostly of slaves, criminals, and prisoners of war, who were forced to participate in the gladiatorial contests. Despite the immense danger and small chance of survival there were many free Roman citizens who decided to become gladiators. Although they were free, once they had taken the oath a Roman Citizen was reduced to the status of a slave. For enrolling, a free Roman citizen could gain only 2000 sesterces, that is, if he survived. These new recruits would be lead into the school, where they would learn techniques that would be vital in battles. Inside it was a dark depressing world. From the first day of their training, recruits were taught to expect nothing but pain and death.

Gladiators who lived long enough would often times become, by today's standards, celebrities. As they fought crowds would chant their names and people would