Crispina Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 I wasn't sure in which forum to post this but I'll try here. On a travel forum I frequent, someone posting in a thread about the Super Bowl ads asked: "Wonder to what extent (and how) ancient sporting events were tied to commercial interests? Ancient Greek Olympics? Ancient Mayan handball tournament rituals? Gladiators in the Colosseum and elsewhere? " đ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldrail Posted February 12 Report Share Posted February 12 Regarding the gladiatorial contests, they were staged for various reasons.... 1 - Religion. The contests between slaves was a 'civilised' alternative to human sacrifice and intended to honour your ancestors with the shedding of blood, though the fights were usually staged until one or the other contestant could not continue due to wounds or exhaustion. 2 - Politics - Contests were staged to entertain the public and win votes for office by popularity. It was fairly blatant, because games were often staged when individuals were running for office rather than part of the funeral celebrations which the games were supposed to be about. 3 - Glory - Games, especially the larger ones, were staged to celebrate Roman victories and glory in their success and mastery over Nature. It was also a convenient way to be rid of prisoners in large numbers. 4 - Civil order - panem et circuses (bread and horse races) was a known method for keeping the people content via free entertainment. Commercial success? For who? The individual staging games was going to fork out vast sums of money to organise and run the event, from the import of wild exotic animals to the fees for renting gladiators from their owners, and worse, the compensation paid to owners at fifty times the rental price if any of them are killed or freed. Those earning profits were mostly the suppliers of animals, though it was a risky trade as you couldn't guarantee the animal would survive the journey, or those supplying goods and services for the event. Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus remarking how good his gladiators were and that if he'd rented them out, he would have cleared his debts easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispina Posted February 12 Author Report Share Posted February 12 Thanks for the reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danielerefs Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 Could the discovery of a Roman henbane supply shed light on ancient medicinal practices and potentially unlock new insights into their use of psychoactive substances for spiritual and healing purposes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.