Written by Xiao Shuyan
"The Grand Arena is there, then Rome is there,
The Grand Arena is dead, then Rome dies.
Rome dies, then the world dies." The three lines of widely circulated poems show that the Grand Arena is indispensable to ancient Rome.
Not every arena can be called a "big arena". The "Grand Arena" here specifically refers to the Amphitheatrum Flavium built outside the city of ancient Roman between 72 and 80 AD, which is what people today call " Colosseum ". Without it, the power and prestige of the Roman royal family would be reduced by half, and the passion and joy of the Roman people would be reduced by half.
From the day the Colosseum was built, to the 5th century AD, the Gladiator performance finally withdrew from the Grand Arena, and then the Roman Empire was destroyed. During the more than 300 years, the Grand Arena held several performance celebrations throughout the day every year. In the morning, there is a beast fighting performance and a hunting that follows; at noon, there is a break, and the prisoners and slaves are executed, and there are funny performances such as circus; in the afternoon, the real highlight is on stage: the gladiator performance.
To celebrate the completion of the Grand Arena, the Romans held a 100-day celebration. 9,000 animals were transported from all over the world for participating in beast fighting performances. Fifty thousand spectators filled the Grand Arena and wait and see, and some of them came from afar from Spain and other places.
Although such celebrations seem violent, bloody, inhumane and even difficult to understand today, at that time, just like all sports competitions, the fanaticism of sponsors, athletes and fans made the performances on the Colosseum lasting forever.
Gladiator Sir in the arena, mosaic mosaic details, 2nd century AD, collection of the Roman Polchis Gallery.
The sponsor who spent a lot of money
According to scholars' research, gladiator first appeared in Rome and was part of the grand funeral ceremony of nobles. Relatives believe that the desperate struggle of prisoners or slaves in the cemetery or square can alleviate the pain of the dead from the world to the underworld, and the strength, courage and determination displayed by the duel also symbolize the glorious virtues of the deceased during his lifetime.
The sacrifice origin of the gladiator performance is also reflected in the language: other dramas and chariot performances are called "ludus", which means "game, competition", and the gladiator performances and the beast fighting performances derived from them are called "munus", which means "obligation and responsibility".
There is no doubt that the funeral ceremony for sacrifices to living lives can only be borne by families with prominent status and strong financial resources. Therefore, from the beginning of its birth, the Gladiator performance has the function of demonstrating the family's wealth, status and power. By the 2nd century AD, the wealth of the Roman elite increased day by day, and the expenses at funerals also increased. There were even hundreds of gladiators participating in a performance. A gladiator performance with a large number of people and a wonderful battle can greatly enhance the social status of the family in the viewer's mind. The gladiator performance gradually deviated from the original intention of celebrating ancestors and became a way for those in power to please the public.
A "election campaign" in 122 BC may prove how important gladiator performance is to people's lives. In order to win the hearts of the people that year, Gragu, the elected and guardian, ordered that all the stands in the arena be given free of charge to the poor. In order to provide more viewing seats, he even demolished the stands overnight on the night of the performance day. This move has received great praise and his approval rating has also soared.
Wait until Augustus ascended the throne in 27 BC. He deeply realized that the gladiator performance was conducive to promoting the unity and prosperity of the Roman Empire, so he spared no expense in financial resources and energy to hold a variety of unprecedented performances for the people. According to the political will records he left himself, about 10,000 gladiators were killed in the eight gladiators games he held, and 3,500 animals were killed in 26 hunting shows he dedicated. In various provinces of the Roman Empire, the worship of emperors and gladiators gradually became united.
Beast Fighting Performance almost follows the Gladiator game. As the Roman Empire continued to expand, the colonies went directly to North Africa , and wild animals from foreign lands such as elephants and crocodiles also began to appear in Rome.As soon as these animals appeared, they caused a huge sensation among the audience, but after the initial sense of novelty disappeared, people began to think about whether these behemoths could be used for other purposes besides watching. As a result, these wild animals transported from all over Africa were sent to the arena to compete with the gladiators. For the Romans, the massacre of wild animals was proof of their conquest of uncivilized nature with great Roman civilization.
The scale of the Gladiator performance is becoming increasingly large, but Rome does not have enough spacious and decent space for the performance. In a small town in northern Rome, a wooden theater even collapsed due to too many audiences, resulting in more than 50,000 casualties. It was not until 70 AD that Emperor Vespasian finally built an amphitheater that matched the great Rome, the present Colosseum. The address of the Colosseum was specially chosen in the palace of the former Roman emperor Nero. Not only because of its beautiful terrain, but also hoped to end a unfortunate history in Rome. Nero was not only arrogant and extravagant, but also stubborn. Under his dictatorship, the people lived in poverty. After his death, a serious civil war broke out and the society was in serious confrontation. And Weispasian hopes that the Grand Arena will become a symbol of the new era, and that the emperor and his people will reunite, respect each other, and prevent the tragedy from happening again.
Interestingly, Vishbasian was a famous stingy among the Roman emperors. He is willing to spend a lot of money to build the Colosseum, and he must have realized that the Colosseum is the best way to strengthen his bond with the people. Replacing a Colosseum to empire for a long-term stability is a great investment.
The Colosseum, which took ten years to build, covers an area of 3,600 square meters, has an exterior wall of 52 meters, and can accommodate up to 90,000 people at the same time. It was praised by the ancient Roman poet Martial as a new miracle in the world:
"Ah, Memphis, don't boast about
Your amazing pyramid,
Aryans, your Babylon,
It is eclipsed and the glory is no longer there.
No one admires the Temple of Athena,
Delos altar has all its halo.
Although the Taj Mahal is so high that it is in the sky,
, it is no longer famous.
Miracles all give way to Caesar,
, and don't talk about anything else.
, Respasian's painstaking efforts are not in vain. Major architects praised the Colosseum, searching for its architectural sketches everywhere, and building similar theaters in towns in other provinces based on it as a model. On the one hand, this is out of admiration for the beauty of the Colosseum architecture, and on the other hand, they are eager to prove that they are united with Emperor Weispasian - Weispasian unified the empire and revived the economy. Is there any way to better express their worship and sincerity for the emperor than imitating the Colosseum? A grand hunting performance is being held in the arena. Hundreds of animals were ready to go on the field. Against the backdrop of the gentle and harmless antelope and giraffe, a huge lion seemed particularly terrifying. It shook its thick hair, let out a low roar, and was eagerly waiting for the upcoming delicious meal.
A slave named Andrew Chris was brought to the field. Unarmed, he will become the opponent of this lion. Surprisingly, the lion jumped out of the cage fiercely, but when he saw the slave, he petrified as if he was struck by lightning. He immediately changed into a gentle face, squatted down at the slave's feet, shook his tail and licked his feet and hands.
It turned out that Andrew Clisbon was a slave under an African governor. Because he could not bear the whipping and abuse, he decided to escape and finally hid in a remote cave. In the cave, he accidentally helped a lion whose foot was injured, and then he depended on the lion for three years, ate and lived with him. But in the end, he could not bear the isolated life. He left the cave and was caught by the soldiers and sent back to Rome. He was thrown to the arena by his original owner to feed the beasts.
Unexpectedly, the lion who lived with him also fell into the hands of the hunter and was sent to the Colosseum. Two old friends, one man and one beast, met here.
Beast fighting and gladiator performances usually have to fight to the death to the end, and the participants are often in danger, so gladiators are also regarded as the most humble and humble profession.
The original gladiators were prisoners of war captured by Roman soldiers during wars. They refused to recognize Roman authority and were sold as slaves or sent to the gladiator school for training. Since the 1st century AD, the "Gladiator School" has also become one of the ways for Roman citizens to deter slaves. Any slave, as long as he commits a serious crime, is in danger of being sent to the Gladiator School. This seems to be a net-opening to exempt slaves from death, but in fact, most people still cannot escape death in the cruel battle.
Of course, there are also a few prisoners of war and slaves who can win opponents and conquer the audience with their heroic performance, thus regaining freedom, and even gaining fame and reaching the sky in one step. The Roman people would pay his highest respect for the ever-winning champion in the arena, write his name all over the exterior walls of the Colosseum, record the moments when he personally scored his opponents, and even ask him for a few drops of blood to cure his epilepsy or fail to lift them.
The strong and masculine gladiator is also the dream lover of thousands of Roman girls. Whether it is a young woman or a girl, they may fall in love with a certain gladiator at first sight after watching the performance.
In the written record, there was an old wife who gave up her family, status and wealth, and eloped through the tremendous waves to take refuge in another country. Although this gladiator is neither tall nor handsome, and full of injuries, the glory and courage symbolized by the gladiator's identity are enough to attract women to break through the barriers of social classes.
The so-called reward must be a brave man. The glory of becoming a gladiator and the excitement of fighting life and death in the arena have also attracted many free people and even noble veterans to become gladiators. After the first century AD, the proportion of free men among gladiators continued to rise, even as the number of slaves and prisoners of war. They ignore the sarcasm of their peers, give up the reputation and reserve of the nobles, and enjoy this rare and huge attention.
The most "famous" gladiator is the Roman emperor Commod , who often makes the pseudonym Hercules (Hercules in Roman mythology) appear regularly. But obviously no gladiator dares to really stab the emperor, and guards will take strict safety measures when hunting animals to prevent the emperor from being injured. Therefore, in the eyes of others, the emperor's gladiator was just a "child's game".
But this is enough to illustrate the contradictions contained in Gladiator. In the eyes of the Romans at that time, although gladiators were failed prisoners of war and lowly slaves, their lives were as hard as grass, their courage and skills were traits that all men longed for. "In their indifference to death, people saw the spirit of self-sacrifice, which made many Romans sacrifice their lives for the country." (Historical Fick Major.)
"Gladiator: The Deadliest Game in History", author: Fick Major, translator: Li Xiaojun, version: Guangxi Normal University Press August 2009
Onlookers
Have gladiators who are ready to die, a fierce gladiator performance is also indispensable for enthusiastic audiences outside the venue.
In the duel arena, every citizen participated in the battle. More importantly, they can decide the outcome of the battle and the life and death of the gladiator - generally speaking, when the fight goes to the final stage, the winner will give a fatal blow, and the loser will bravely die, but there are a few situations. The winner is decided but the loser will still exist. He kneels down and begs for mercy and asks to save his life. At this point, the referee will ask the game organizer (usually the emperor) to make a ruling. Although the emperor can make a ruling on his own, he often turns to the audience for help.
This is one of the few moments when the Roman masses have power, and their voices determine the life and death of the gladiator at this time. They express their opinions by applauding or ridicule. If the audience shouts "Let him go", "pardon", and raises his thumb up, it means that the gladiator can return to the gladiator school alive; but if the roar of "slicing throat" echoes in the arena and the audience's thumbs are all facing down, he can only wait for the winner to cut his throat with a knife, and when he is tortured, the crowd will gloat and shout "I deserve it."
In addition to the sense of participation and power of life and death, later scholars and readers still find it difficult to understand why the Romans who claim to be civilized and elegant demeanors would be addicted to watching gladiators fight in close combat, flesh and blood, and open their bloody mouths for the wild beasts to tear the prisoners into pieces and swallow them down?
"Back to Rome as the Master", author: [Ancient Rome] Marcus Sidonius Falx / [English] Jerry Toner, translator: Gao Ruizi, version: Bass丨Beijing United Publishing Company, January 2021
This was also the confusion of some people at that time. In his book "Confessions", the ancient Roman Christian writer Augustine records the story of his favorite student, a rich child from North Africa: When Elip first arrived in Rome, he hated and avoided the brutal gladiator performances. But once, Elip was taken to the Colosseum by several classmates. He was asked to watch a day's death game to prove whether he was consistent with his words and deeds. When he arrived at the Colosseum, Elip closed his eyes and covered his ears, but he could not escape the deafening cheers of the audience around him. When he opened his eyes, he felt a huge impact. "With the appearance of blood, he drank a sip of inhuman spirits. He unconsciously joined the audience's crazy wild carnival, feasted his eyes, watched this sinful game, and indulged in the bloody sensory stimulation." By the end of the performance, he was completely different and was immersed in the gladiator performance from then on.
The story is enough to prove that the charm of the gladiator's performance is irresistible, and even the person who rejects it the most cannot escape its temptation. On the one hand, as Jerry Turner said, Roman society never believed that everyone was equal. They conquered foreign countries, punished slaves, and campaigned for group leaders. Brave, strength, and courage were their supreme glory. Gladiators were the concentrated embodiment of this "traditional virtue" and had an eternal temptation for the audience. On the other hand, for the lower-class people of Rome at that time, torture and corporal punishment did not only exist in the arena, but were also their personal experiences and commonplace. Public execution of criminals not only punishes crimes, but also provides an outlet for the lower class people who are also suffering from violence. At the same time, it can also kill the chicken to warn the monkey and maintain the long-term stability of Roman society.
It was not until after the 3rd century AD that the Roman Empire suffered internal and external troubles, and the financial conditions were too short to bear the huge expenses of collecting rare birds and animals and maintaining gladiators' schools. The gladiator performance gradually declined, and the people turned to seek cheaper ways of entertainment.
This article is from the special topic of "Little Roman Days" of "Beijing News·Book Review Weekly" on March 12.
Written by | Xiao Shuyan
Edited by | Wang Qing Li Yongbo
Proofreading | Xue Jingning Wu Xingfa
Source: Beijing News
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-