Roman Sports essays

Roman Sports essays Throughout history entertainment has varied. The ancient Romans set a prime example as a people who loved sports and games. Similarities between the Romans and the modern sports fan can be seen with their love for races and violence. Vespasin, who is considered to be one of the greatest builders of roman time, built the Colloseum in A.D. 80 (Scarre 70). To honor the occasion he held one hundred days of continuous competition. Over five thousand gladiators were believed to have taken part in the one hundred days of games, but no accurate record of the match outcomes exist to this day (Cowell 173). Known as the Flavian Amphitheatre in its time, the Colloseum held fifty-five thousand spectators (Scarre 70). It stood a height of one hundred fifty nine feet and is one of the greatest architectural achievements of mankind (71). The crowds of the gladiatorial games were spiteful and excited by the amount of blood that was shed in the arena (Rowell 160). Criminals were forced to fight to their death, and the loser of each match was often executed by his opponent upon condemnation of the crowd (161). After the bloodletting of the gladiatorial combat, men dressed as demonic figures removed the disemboweled corpses from the arena (Arnott 40). These warriors of all shapes and sizes entrenched themselves in combat. One category of gladiator was the Samnite. They wore cumbersome armor along with a visor helmet accented by a crest and plume. In one hand they carried a large oblong shield, and in the other a sword or a lance with a sleeve on the arm. The remainder of the gladiators fell under the category of Thracian. These combatants attire featured bands of leather around the leg or thigh. For their weapon they brandished a curved scimitar and used a small round shield opposed to the Samnites large oblong defense. These different types of gladiators often fought against each other and the contrast in the way they dresses he...