A Career Guide for Prospective Gladiators

Presentation Type

Oral and/or Visual Presentation

Presenter Major(s)

Classics

Mentor Information

Charles Pazdernik

Department

Classics

Location

Kirkhof Center 2270

Start Date

10-4-2013 12:00 AM

End Date

10-4-2013 12:00 AM

Keywords

Culture, Historical Perspectives, Philosophy/Literature

Abstract

Most gladiators were condemned criminals or captives. It is clear, however, that others became gladiators by choice. On one estimate, half of all gladiators in Italy were volunteers by the middle of the first century CE. Efforts to regulate gladiatorial combat by persons of free status attest to the reality of the phenomenon. But what might have influenced a person weighing whether to fight in the arena? Taking into account a range of primary evidence, the paper assesses both the positive inducements, notably, glamor and honor, and the negative consequences, physical, emotional, and social, that would have informed the decision. Such an examination offers insight into the values and paradoxes that inform Roman social history and invites us to consider how individuals might have navigated these complexities. We might describe the result as a kind of "career development guide" for prospective gladiators in the first two centuries CE.

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Apr 10th, 12:00 AM Apr 10th, 12:00 AM

A Career Guide for Prospective Gladiators

Kirkhof Center 2270

Most gladiators were condemned criminals or captives. It is clear, however, that others became gladiators by choice. On one estimate, half of all gladiators in Italy were volunteers by the middle of the first century CE. Efforts to regulate gladiatorial combat by persons of free status attest to the reality of the phenomenon. But what might have influenced a person weighing whether to fight in the arena? Taking into account a range of primary evidence, the paper assesses both the positive inducements, notably, glamor and honor, and the negative consequences, physical, emotional, and social, that would have informed the decision. Such an examination offers insight into the values and paradoxes that inform Roman social history and invites us to consider how individuals might have navigated these complexities. We might describe the result as a kind of "career development guide" for prospective gladiators in the first two centuries CE.