Gladiators
Use the following website to answer the questions below. (You may wish to print out the page and write out your answers.)
Ablemedia/Classics Technology Center: http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/consortium/gladiators.html
History and Origin
1. What is the origin of the gladiator games?
2. When did the 1st known gladiatorial games occur? Why did it occur?
3. When did the 1st known Roman gladiatorial games occur? Why did it occur?
4. Where were the 1st Roman gladiatorial games held?
5. How many duels occurred during gladiator games in 183 BC?
6.How many duels occurred during gladiator games in 65 BC?
Who were the gladiators?
1. What type of people were gladiators?
2. What was the lanista?
3. Who became "professional" gladiators?
4. Who were the auctoritati? how did they become gladiators?
5. Who were the damanti ad mortem? How were they armed?
6. What happened to the common criminals? When could they go free?
7. Technically the gladiators were what?
Training and Combat
1. What eventually happened to the private ludi?
2. What are some weapons that they were trained with?
3. What was the relationship between the name of the gladiator and his weaponry/armor?
4. Identify:
ocrea
scutum
galea
gladius
subligacium
galerius
fascina
5. Were the gladiators paid for fighting?
6. How long did they have to fight before going free?
7. Where were the games fought? What was the most famous one?
8. What does "habet, hoc habet" mean?
9. How did the defeated gladiator request mercy?
10. How was the vote for life or death carried out?
11. If death were the decision, what would the defeated gladiator do?
12. How was he killed?
13. Who were the field cleaners dressed as? Why?
Public perception of gladiators
1. What kind of popular status did the gladiators have?
2. What was the actual social status of the gladiators?
3. What attitude the Romans seem to have on the games?
4. How did some Roman women view gladiators?
The Venatio
1. What is a venatio?
2. When was it held?
3. What were some locations for it?
4. What is a bestiarius?
5. What type of creatures were included in this event?
6. What kind of person was bestiarius?
7. What was humiliores? How were people killed in this even?
Female Gladiators:
1. Which Roman Emperor allowed women in the arena? When did he outlaw them from participating?
2. What was possibly found in 1996?
3. What might be the evidence of this?
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