The Age of Gladiators by Rupert Matthews
Author:Rupert Matthews
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-84858-474-4
Publisher: Arcturus Digital Limited
Published: 2011-09-19T00:00:00+00:00
Seneca's views and pronouncements had small impact. They had virtually none at all on the young Nero for he went on to become a great fan of the games. Seneca did however articulate a view held by a sizeable minority of Romans. The philosopher and historian Plutarch held government posts under Trajan and took the opportunity to write to provincial governors recommending that they should abolish gladiatorial combats in their jurisdiction. Most ignored him, though many did reduce the number of shows that took place.
About this same time, the two Greek cities of Athens and Corinth got embroiled in a furious rivalry. To demonstrate their superiority, the council of Athens decided to hold a great festival of art, literature and athletics, but also to include the Roman-style gladiatorial games. Introducing foreign activities was not popular with everybody and one Demonax declared in his speech 'Men of Athens, before you pass this rule you must destroy the Temple of Pity.'
Those pagans who objected to the gladiatorial bloodletting did so largely on the grounds that they corrupted those who watched them. The Christians had a different religion and a different way of looking at humanity. Christ specifically cared for people who were despised by society or were outcasts. He taught that respect and charity should be given to all humans.
The first Christian openly to denounce the slaughter in the arena was Tertullian, a writer from North Africa who practised as a lawyer in Rome before being converted to Christianity and returning to his home town to work as a preacher. He roundly condemned the games, writing 'he who shudders at the body of a fellow man who died a natural death common to all will, in the amphitheatre, gaze down with the most tolerant eyes on the bodies of men mangled, torn to pieces and defiled. Yes and he who comes to the spectacle to signify his approval of murder being punished will have a reluctant gladiator hounded on with lash and rod to do more murder.'
Even so the main thrust of Tertullian's writing was that the games should be banned because of the effect they had on the watching crowds rather than because of the cruelty of what went on in the arena.
Even the great Christian Augustine of Hippo was more worried about the effect the games had on the viewer than on the hapless men dying in the sand. He wrote about a young friend of his named Alypius who went to Rome to study law. One day this virtuous young Christian met some pagan friends in the street after lunch. They were off to the Colosseum to watch a gladiatorial combat and invited Alypius to join them. He refused, but they dragged him off with them anyway. Alypius declared 'You can drag my body there, but don't imagine that you can make me watch. Though I shall be there, I shall not be there. In this way I shall have the better of you and of your show.' The group of friends found seats, but Alypius sat with his eyes firmly shut.
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