{"id":51,"date":"2019-10-04T15:17:20","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T19:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=51"},"modified":"2020-08-13T14:19:15","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T18:19:15","slug":"origins-of-gladiatorial-munera","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/chapter\/origins-of-gladiatorial-munera\/","title":{"raw":"Origins of Gladiatorial Munera","rendered":"Origins of Gladiatorial Munera"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">In this section you will learn<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The many ancient theories of the origins of Roman gladiatorial games<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How the Romans themselves explained where these games came from and why they liked them<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_908\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-908\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-179x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"504\" \/><\/a> Funeral Stele with Figure Guiding a Horse and Rider.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThere were a range of spectacles in ancient Rome: gladiatorial shows; chariot racing; theatre; and so on. Of these spectacles gladiatorial <em>[pb_glossary id=\"82\"]munera[\/pb_glossary]<\/em> are often seen as uniquely Roman; while, for example, the Greeks engaged enthusiastically in chariot racing (it was an [pb_glossary id=\"694\"]Olympic[\/pb_glossary] event as well as being celebrated at a number of other games), they could not supply an origin for the <em>munera<\/em>. While we are uncertain of their true beginnings, we do know that our first records of gladiators in Rome show that gladiatorial fights were given as part of <em>munera<\/em>, games vowed by private individuals, usually to mark the death of a close male relative. As private games, the expense was borne entirely by the person holding them: unlike chariot racing or theatre you could not access public funds (you also did not need to have a current position as an elected magistrate, which turned out to be helpful for people who wanted to get favour among the people). Various origins were proposed for the <em>munera<\/em>; sometimes they were said to be an importation from [pb_glossary id=\"573\"]Etruria[\/pb_glossary]; others said they came from the Samnites (an Italian tribe, once great enemies of the Romans). Modern scholars debate precisely where the games came from with very few agreeing on their initial source. However, it must be said that it was convenient for the Romans to insists shows of all sorts \u2013 including theatre \u2013 as coming from outside Rome, especially when passing moral judgment on the expense and lavishness of these events. In the passage below Tertullian (c.160-c 240), a Christian author, fumes about the origins of the gladiatorial games in an extract from his work <em>On Spectacles.<\/em> Tertullian came from Carthage and was vehement in his disgust at what he called idolatry; how reliable he is, given his agenda, is a moot point.\r\n<blockquote>We still have to examine the most famed and popular spectacle: it is called <em>[pb_glossary id=\"82\"]munus[\/pb_glossary]<\/em> from being an <em>officium<\/em>, for <em>munus<\/em> and <em>officium<\/em> are synonyms.[footnote]No, they\u2019re not. Both mean duty, but munus also means gift, especially a gift given to the dead.[\/footnote] People in the past thought they were performing a duty to the dead with this form of spectacle after they moderated its nature with a more refined form of cruelty. Long ago, since they believed that the souls of the dead are appeased by human blood, they purchased captives or slaves of poor quality and sacrificed them at funerals. Afterwards, they preferred to disguise this unholy practice by making it something to enjoy. Thus, after they trained the people they had obtained these ways to wield the weapons they had as best they could (training them to learn how to die!), they then exposed them to death at the tombs on the day appointed for sacrifices in honor of the dead. And so it was that they consoled themselves with murder. <em>That<\/em> is the origin of the gladiatorial <em>munus<\/em>. But gradually their refinement developed along with their cruelty; these inhuman people could not rest satisfied or gain pleasure unless wild animals tore humans to pieces. What was then a sacrifice offered for the appeasement of the dead was no doubt considered a rite in honor of the dead. This sort of thing is, therefore, idolatry, because idolatry, too, is a kind of rite in honor of the dead: both are services rendered to the dead.\r\n\r\nAdditionally, demons live in the images of the dead. And now consider the titles also: although this type of exhibition has moved from being an act to honor the dead to one which honours the living (for example, those who hold quaestorships, magistracies, flaminates,[footnote]A type of priesthood.[\/footnote] and priesthoods) still, since the guilt of idolatry taints the dignity of the title, whatever is carried out in the name of this dignity shares necessarily in the taint of its origin. We must also consider the paraphernalia which are thought to belong to the ceremonies of the actual offices as also being idolatrous. For the purple robes, the fasces,[footnote]Certain Roman magistrates (consuls, praetors, curule aediles, quaestors) were entitled to be accompanied by lictors who carried fasces, a bundle of rods with an axe sticking out. These symbolized their power to punish as part of their duties.[\/footnote] the fillets,[footnote]The bands of wool priests and priestesses wore on their heads when performing ceremonies.[\/footnote] and crowns--finally, also, the announcements made in meetings and on advertisements[footnote]We actually have some advertisements for these shows from Pompeii; see the section on advertising and marketing gladiators.[\/footnote] and the final dinners[footnote]The cena libera, a public feast given the night before ludi to gladiators and those who were due to be executed in the arena.[\/footnote] given the evening before games\u2014have the Devil\u2019s pageantry and the invocation of demons. In conclusion, what shall I say about that horrible place which not even perjurers can bear? For the amphitheatre is consecrated to more numerous and more terrible names than the Capitol, although the Capitol is the temple of all demons.[footnote]The Capitoline Hill held many temples for various deities and in particular the temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus.[\/footnote] There as many unclean spirits live as there are seats. And to say a final word about the arts concerned, we know that Mars and Diana are the patrons of both types of <em>[pb_glossary id=\"95\"]ludi[\/pb_glossary]<\/em>.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/back-matter\/aii-author-biographies\/#Tertullian\">Tertullian<\/a>, <em>On Spectacles <\/em>12<\/blockquote>\r\nThe events the Roman historian Livy describes below took place in 308 BCE after the Second Samnite War; Livy places the origin of the games \u2013 and of the type of gladiator known as [pb_glossary id=\"109\"]Samnite[\/pb_glossary], which was later to die out \u2013 in Campania, to the South of Rome.\r\n<blockquote>The Senate voted a triumph for the [pb_glossary id=\"107\"]Dictator[\/pb_glossary]. The armour he had captured was by far the greatest sight in the procession and they thought them so magnificent that the gilded shields were distributed amongst the owners of the silversmiths' shops to adorn the Forum. People say this is the origin of the [pb_glossary id=\"57\"]aediles[\/pb_glossary]\u2019 custom of decorating the Forum when the covered chariots of the three Capitoline deities[footnote]The Capitoline triad: Juno; Jupiter; and Minerva.[\/footnote] are conducted in procession through the Forum. The Romans used this armour to honour the gods, but the Campanians, who despised and hated the Samnites, made the gladiators who performed at their banquets wear it, and they then called these gladiators \"Samnites.\"\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/back-matter\/aii-author-biographies\/#Livy\">Livy<\/a>, <em>From the Founding of the City <\/em>9.40<\/blockquote>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_796\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-796 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc-300x282.jpg\" alt=\"Map of Italy at 500BC (https:\/\/www.timemaps.com\/history\/italy-500bc\/)\" width=\"300\" height=\"282\" \/><\/a> Map of Italy at 500AD. Capua is south-east of the centre.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe Romans sometimes said the games came specifically from Capua, a Campanian city, which was where most of the gladiatorial <em>ludi<\/em> (training schools) were later located.\r\n<blockquote>It was then their [the people of Capua] ancient custom to make their feasts more exciting with the slaughter of men and they combined with their dining the vicious spectacle of armed men fighting. Often the fighters died right among the wine goblets of the feasters and their tables dripped with gushing blood.\r\n\r\nSilius Italicus, <em>Punica <\/em>11.51-54<\/blockquote>\r\nHowever, others claimed the Etruscans to the north of Rome were the originators of the gladiatorial <em>munera<\/em>. In the following the Greek writer Athenaus quotes people on the various theories of the origins of single combat and gladiatorial games:\r\n<blockquote>Some Campanian groups practice single combat at their drinking parties. But Nicolas of Damascus, one of the philosophers of the Peripatetic school,[footnote]A philosophical school founded by Aristotle in the 4th century BCE; Nicolaus was a Jewish philosopher of the 1st century CE.[\/footnote] in the hundred-and-tenth book of his <em>History<\/em>, relates that the Romans at their feasts practise single combats, writing as follows, \"The Romans used to put on spectacles of single combats, not only in their public shows and in their theatres, having taken the custom from the Etruscans, but they did so also at their banquets. And so, peop1e often invited their friends to an entertainment, promising them, in addition to other things that they should see two or three pairs of single combatants. And when they had had enough of eating and drinking, they then called in the combatants: and as soon as one of them was killed, the guests clapped, being delighted at the show. In one case a man left it in his will that some beautiful women, whom he had purchased as slaves, should engage in single combat: and in another case a man desired that some youthful boys whom he had loved should do so; but the people would not tolerate such notorious proceedings, and declared the will invalid.\" And Eratosthenes says, in the first book of his <em>Catalogue of the Victors at Olympia<\/em>, that the Etruscans used to box to the music of the flute.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_910\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-scaled.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-910 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-1024x662.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"662\" \/><\/a> Gladiators at a Banquet, by Giovanni Lanfranco[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBut Poseidonius,[footnote]A Greek philosopher and historian who lived c. 150s-50s BCE.[\/footnote] in the twenty-third book of his <em>Histories<\/em>, says, \"The Celts sometimes have single combats at their entertainments. After gathering armed, they go through their exercises, and make feints at, and sometimes they even go so far as to wound each another. And being irritated by this, if the bystanders do not stop them, they will proceed even to kill one another. But in ancient times,\" he continues, \"there was a custom that a hind quarter of pork was put on the table, and the bravest man took it; and if any one else laid claim to it, then the two rose up to fight till one of them was killed. And other men in the theatre having received some silver or gold money, and some even for a number of earthen vessels full of wine, having been guaranteed that the gifts promised would really be given and distributed them among their nearest and dearest, laid down on doors with their faces upwards, and then allowed some bystander to cut their throats with a sword.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Euphorion the Chalcidian[footnote]Euphorion of Chalcis, a Greek historian born in the 270s BCE.[\/footnote] in his <em>Historical Memorials<\/em>, writes this: \"However, among the Romans it is common for five minae to be offered to any one who chooses to take it, to allow his head to be cut off with an axe, so that his heirs might receive the reward: and very often many have returned their names as willing, so that there has been a regular contest between them as to who had the best right to be beaten to death.\"[footnote]It would be wise not to believe this or the claim in the previous paragraph. A minae is about 100 drachmas, and is not very much. The Greeks did not always think very highly of the Romans.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nAnd Hermippus, in the first book of his treatise on <em>Lawgivers<\/em>, asserts that the Mantineians[footnote]Mantineia\u00a0 was a city in Arcadia in Greece.[\/footnote] were the original inventors of men fighting in single combat, and that Demonax, one of their citizens, was the original one to come up with this idea;[footnote]Not actually a reliable historical fact.[\/footnote] and that the Cyrenaeans were the next to follow their example. And Ephorus, in the sixth book of his <em>History<\/em>, says- \"The Mantineians and Arcadians were in the habit of practising warlike exercises, and even to this day they call the military dress and the ancient fashion of arming 'the Mantineian', since they invented it. And in addition to this, the exercises of single combat were first invented in Mantineia, and Demeas was the first to come up with the idea.\"\r\n\r\nAthenaeus, 4.153f-154a[footnote]Quoting Nicolas of Damascus[\/footnote]<\/blockquote>\r\nWherever the fights came from, the Romans embraced gladiatorial combat very rapidly. The historian [pb_glossary id=\"584\"]Tacitus[\/pb_glossary] blamed passion for the games and spectacles for taking the Roman people away from more important matters:\r\n<blockquote>And indeed there are characteristic and specific vices in this city, which I think are formed in the mother\u2019s womb: a love of actors and madness for gladiators and horses. How can someone totally occupied by and obsessed with these have time for the noble arts?\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/back-matter\/aii-author-biographies\/#Tacitus\">Tacitus<\/a>, <em>Dialogue on Oratory <\/em>29<\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--readings\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Bibliography and Further Reading<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Fagan, Garrett. 2013. Gladiatorial combat as alluring spectacle. in A Companion to sport and spectacle in Greek and Roman society: 465-477.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Futrell, Alison. 1997. Blood in the arena: The spectacle of Roman power. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press: 9\u201319<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Mouratidis, John. 1996. On the origin of the gladiatorial games. Nikephoros 9:111\u2013134.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Wiedemann, Thomas. 1992. Emperors and gladiators. London: Routledge: 30\u201334.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<hr \/>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">In this section you will learn<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<ul>\n<li>The many ancient theories of the origins of Roman gladiatorial games<\/li>\n<li>How the Romans themselves explained where these games came from and why they liked them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_908\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-908\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-908\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-179x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-179x300.jpg 179w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-610x1024.jpg 610w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-768x1290.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-915x1536.jpg 915w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-65x109.jpg 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-225x378.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter-350x588.jpg 350w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter.jpg 1072w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-908\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Funeral Stele with Figure Guiding a Horse and Rider.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>There were a range of spectacles in ancient Rome: gladiatorial shows; chariot racing; theatre; and so on. Of these spectacles gladiatorial <em><a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_82\">munera<\/a><\/em> are often seen as uniquely Roman; while, for example, the Greeks engaged enthusiastically in chariot racing (it was an <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_694\">Olympic<\/a> event as well as being celebrated at a number of other games), they could not supply an origin for the <em>munera<\/em>. While we are uncertain of their true beginnings, we do know that our first records of gladiators in Rome show that gladiatorial fights were given as part of <em>munera<\/em>, games vowed by private individuals, usually to mark the death of a close male relative. As private games, the expense was borne entirely by the person holding them: unlike chariot racing or theatre you could not access public funds (you also did not need to have a current position as an elected magistrate, which turned out to be helpful for people who wanted to get favour among the people). Various origins were proposed for the <em>munera<\/em>; sometimes they were said to be an importation from <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_573\">Etruria<\/a>; others said they came from the Samnites (an Italian tribe, once great enemies of the Romans). Modern scholars debate precisely where the games came from with very few agreeing on their initial source. However, it must be said that it was convenient for the Romans to insists shows of all sorts \u2013 including theatre \u2013 as coming from outside Rome, especially when passing moral judgment on the expense and lavishness of these events. In the passage below Tertullian (c.160-c 240), a Christian author, fumes about the origins of the gladiatorial games in an extract from his work <em>On Spectacles.<\/em> Tertullian came from Carthage and was vehement in his disgust at what he called idolatry; how reliable he is, given his agenda, is a moot point.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We still have to examine the most famed and popular spectacle: it is called <em><a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_82\">munus<\/a><\/em> from being an <em>officium<\/em>, for <em>munus<\/em> and <em>officium<\/em> are synonyms.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"No, they\u2019re not. Both mean duty, but munus also means gift, especially a gift given to the dead.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-1\" href=\"#footnote-51-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a> People in the past thought they were performing a duty to the dead with this form of spectacle after they moderated its nature with a more refined form of cruelty. Long ago, since they believed that the souls of the dead are appeased by human blood, they purchased captives or slaves of poor quality and sacrificed them at funerals. Afterwards, they preferred to disguise this unholy practice by making it something to enjoy. Thus, after they trained the people they had obtained these ways to wield the weapons they had as best they could (training them to learn how to die!), they then exposed them to death at the tombs on the day appointed for sacrifices in honor of the dead. And so it was that they consoled themselves with murder. <em>That<\/em> is the origin of the gladiatorial <em>munus<\/em>. But gradually their refinement developed along with their cruelty; these inhuman people could not rest satisfied or gain pleasure unless wild animals tore humans to pieces. What was then a sacrifice offered for the appeasement of the dead was no doubt considered a rite in honor of the dead. This sort of thing is, therefore, idolatry, because idolatry, too, is a kind of rite in honor of the dead: both are services rendered to the dead.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, demons live in the images of the dead. And now consider the titles also: although this type of exhibition has moved from being an act to honor the dead to one which honours the living (for example, those who hold quaestorships, magistracies, flaminates,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"A type of priesthood.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-2\" href=\"#footnote-51-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> and priesthoods) still, since the guilt of idolatry taints the dignity of the title, whatever is carried out in the name of this dignity shares necessarily in the taint of its origin. We must also consider the paraphernalia which are thought to belong to the ceremonies of the actual offices as also being idolatrous. For the purple robes, the fasces,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Certain Roman magistrates (consuls, praetors, curule aediles, quaestors) were entitled to be accompanied by lictors who carried fasces, a bundle of rods with an axe sticking out. These symbolized their power to punish as part of their duties.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-3\" href=\"#footnote-51-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a> the fillets,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"The bands of wool priests and priestesses wore on their heads when performing ceremonies.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-4\" href=\"#footnote-51-4\" aria-label=\"Footnote 4\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[4]<\/sup><\/a> and crowns&#8211;finally, also, the announcements made in meetings and on advertisements<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"We actually have some advertisements for these shows from Pompeii; see the section on advertising and marketing gladiators.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-5\" href=\"#footnote-51-5\" aria-label=\"Footnote 5\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[5]<\/sup><\/a> and the final dinners<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"The cena libera, a public feast given the night before ludi to gladiators and those who were due to be executed in the arena.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-6\" href=\"#footnote-51-6\" aria-label=\"Footnote 6\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[6]<\/sup><\/a> given the evening before games\u2014have the Devil\u2019s pageantry and the invocation of demons. In conclusion, what shall I say about that horrible place which not even perjurers can bear? For the amphitheatre is consecrated to more numerous and more terrible names than the Capitol, although the Capitol is the temple of all demons.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"The Capitoline Hill held many temples for various deities and in particular the temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-7\" href=\"#footnote-51-7\" aria-label=\"Footnote 7\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[7]<\/sup><\/a> There as many unclean spirits live as there are seats. And to say a final word about the arts concerned, we know that Mars and Diana are the patrons of both types of <em><a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_95\">ludi<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/back-matter\/aii-author-biographies\/#Tertullian\">Tertullian<\/a>, <em>On Spectacles <\/em>12<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The events the Roman historian Livy describes below took place in 308 BCE after the Second Samnite War; Livy places the origin of the games \u2013 and of the type of gladiator known as <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_109\">Samnite<\/a>, which was later to die out \u2013 in Campania, to the South of Rome.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Senate voted a triumph for the <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_107\">Dictator<\/a>. The armour he had captured was by far the greatest sight in the procession and they thought them so magnificent that the gilded shields were distributed amongst the owners of the silversmiths&#8217; shops to adorn the Forum. People say this is the origin of the <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_57\">aediles<\/a>\u2019 custom of decorating the Forum when the covered chariots of the three Capitoline deities<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"The Capitoline triad: Juno; Jupiter; and Minerva.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-8\" href=\"#footnote-51-8\" aria-label=\"Footnote 8\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[8]<\/sup><\/a> are conducted in procession through the Forum. The Romans used this armour to honour the gods, but the Campanians, who despised and hated the Samnites, made the gladiators who performed at their banquets wear it, and they then called these gladiators &#8220;Samnites.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/back-matter\/aii-author-biographies\/#Livy\">Livy<\/a>, <em>From the Founding of the City <\/em>9.40<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_796\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-796\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-796 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc-300x282.jpg\" alt=\"Map of Italy at 500BC (https:\/\/www.timemaps.com\/history\/italy-500bc\/)\" width=\"300\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc-300x282.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc-65x61.jpg 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc-225x212.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc-350x329.jpg 350w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Map-italy500bc.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-796\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Map of Italy at 500AD. Capua is south-east of the centre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Romans sometimes said the games came specifically from Capua, a Campanian city, which was where most of the gladiatorial <em>ludi<\/em> (training schools) were later located.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>It was then their [the people of Capua] ancient custom to make their feasts more exciting with the slaughter of men and they combined with their dining the vicious spectacle of armed men fighting. Often the fighters died right among the wine goblets of the feasters and their tables dripped with gushing blood.<\/p>\n<p>Silius Italicus, <em>Punica <\/em>11.51-54<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>However, others claimed the Etruscans to the north of Rome were the originators of the gladiatorial <em>munera<\/em>. In the following the Greek writer Athenaus quotes people on the various theories of the origins of single combat and gladiatorial games:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Some Campanian groups practice single combat at their drinking parties. But Nicolas of Damascus, one of the philosophers of the Peripatetic school,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"A philosophical school founded by Aristotle in the 4th century BCE; Nicolaus was a Jewish philosopher of the 1st century CE.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-9\" href=\"#footnote-51-9\" aria-label=\"Footnote 9\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[9]<\/sup><\/a> in the hundred-and-tenth book of his <em>History<\/em>, relates that the Romans at their feasts practise single combats, writing as follows, &#8220;The Romans used to put on spectacles of single combats, not only in their public shows and in their theatres, having taken the custom from the Etruscans, but they did so also at their banquets. And so, peop1e often invited their friends to an entertainment, promising them, in addition to other things that they should see two or three pairs of single combatants. And when they had had enough of eating and drinking, they then called in the combatants: and as soon as one of them was killed, the guests clapped, being delighted at the show. In one case a man left it in his will that some beautiful women, whom he had purchased as slaves, should engage in single combat: and in another case a man desired that some youthful boys whom he had loved should do so; but the people would not tolerate such notorious proceedings, and declared the will invalid.&#8221; And Eratosthenes says, in the first book of his <em>Catalogue of the Victors at Olympia<\/em>, that the Etruscans used to box to the music of the flute.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_910\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-910\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-910 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-1024x662.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-1024x662.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-768x497.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-1536x993.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-2048x1324.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-65x42.jpg 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-225x146.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/848\/2020\/06\/Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_Lanfranco-350x226.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-910\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gladiators at a Banquet, by Giovanni Lanfranco<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But Poseidonius,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"A Greek philosopher and historian who lived c. 150s-50s BCE.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-10\" href=\"#footnote-51-10\" aria-label=\"Footnote 10\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[10]<\/sup><\/a> in the twenty-third book of his <em>Histories<\/em>, says, &#8220;The Celts sometimes have single combats at their entertainments. After gathering armed, they go through their exercises, and make feints at, and sometimes they even go so far as to wound each another. And being irritated by this, if the bystanders do not stop them, they will proceed even to kill one another. But in ancient times,&#8221; he continues, &#8220;there was a custom that a hind quarter of pork was put on the table, and the bravest man took it; and if any one else laid claim to it, then the two rose up to fight till one of them was killed. And other men in the theatre having received some silver or gold money, and some even for a number of earthen vessels full of wine, having been guaranteed that the gifts promised would really be given and distributed them among their nearest and dearest, laid down on doors with their faces upwards, and then allowed some bystander to cut their throats with a sword.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>And Euphorion the Chalcidian<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Euphorion of Chalcis, a Greek historian born in the 270s BCE.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-11\" href=\"#footnote-51-11\" aria-label=\"Footnote 11\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[11]<\/sup><\/a> in his <em>Historical Memorials<\/em>, writes this: &#8220;However, among the Romans it is common for five minae to be offered to any one who chooses to take it, to allow his head to be cut off with an axe, so that his heirs might receive the reward: and very often many have returned their names as willing, so that there has been a regular contest between them as to who had the best right to be beaten to death.&#8221;<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"It would be wise not to believe this or the claim in the previous paragraph. A minae is about 100 drachmas, and is not very much. The Greeks did not always think very highly of the Romans.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-12\" href=\"#footnote-51-12\" aria-label=\"Footnote 12\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[12]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And Hermippus, in the first book of his treatise on <em>Lawgivers<\/em>, asserts that the Mantineians<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Mantineia\u00a0 was a city in Arcadia in Greece.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-13\" href=\"#footnote-51-13\" aria-label=\"Footnote 13\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[13]<\/sup><\/a> were the original inventors of men fighting in single combat, and that Demonax, one of their citizens, was the original one to come up with this idea;<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Not actually a reliable historical fact.\" id=\"return-footnote-51-14\" href=\"#footnote-51-14\" aria-label=\"Footnote 14\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[14]<\/sup><\/a> and that the Cyrenaeans were the next to follow their example. And Ephorus, in the sixth book of his <em>History<\/em>, says- &#8220;The Mantineians and Arcadians were in the habit of practising warlike exercises, and even to this day they call the military dress and the ancient fashion of arming &#8216;the Mantineian&#8217;, since they invented it. And in addition to this, the exercises of single combat were first invented in Mantineia, and Demeas was the first to come up with the idea.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Athenaeus, 4.153f-154a<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Quoting Nicolas of Damascus\" id=\"return-footnote-51-15\" href=\"#footnote-51-15\" aria-label=\"Footnote 15\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[15]<\/sup><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Wherever the fights came from, the Romans embraced gladiatorial combat very rapidly. The historian <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_51_584\">Tacitus<\/a> blamed passion for the games and spectacles for taking the Roman people away from more important matters:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>And indeed there are characteristic and specific vices in this city, which I think are formed in the mother\u2019s womb: a love of actors and madness for gladiators and horses. How can someone totally occupied by and obsessed with these have time for the noble arts?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/back-matter\/aii-author-biographies\/#Tacitus\">Tacitus<\/a>, <em>Dialogue on Oratory <\/em>29<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--readings\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Bibliography and Further Reading<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<ul>\n<li>Fagan, Garrett. 2013. Gladiatorial combat as alluring spectacle. in A Companion to sport and spectacle in Greek and Roman society: 465-477.<\/li>\n<li>Futrell, Alison. 1997. Blood in the arena: The spectacle of Roman power. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press: 9\u201319<\/li>\n<li>Mouratidis, John. 1996. On the origin of the gladiatorial games. Nikephoros 9:111\u2013134.<\/li>\n<li>Wiedemann, Thomas. 1992. Emperors and gladiators. London: Routledge: 30\u201334.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"media-attributions clear\" prefix:cc=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/ns#\" prefix:dc=\"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/\"><h2>Media Attributions<\/h2><ul><li about=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter.jpg\"><a rel=\"cc:attributionURL\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Roman_-_Funeral_Stele_with_Figure_Guiding_a_Horse_and_Rider_-_Walters_2318_-_Three_Quarter.jpg\" property=\"dc:title\">Funeral Stele with Figure Guiding a Horse and Rider<\/a>  &copy;  <a rel=\"dc:creator\" href=\"http:\/\/thewalters.org\/\" property=\"cc:attributionName\">Walters Art Museum<\/a>    is licensed under a  <a rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike)<\/a> license<\/li><li about=\"https:\/\/www.timemaps.com\/history\/italy-500bc\/\"><a rel=\"cc:attributionURL\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timemaps.com\/history\/italy-500bc\/\" property=\"dc:title\">Map &#8211; italy500bc<\/a>  &copy;  <a rel=\"dc:creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timemaps.com\/\" property=\"cc:attributionName\">TimeMap of World History<\/a>    is licensed under a  <a rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/choosealicense.com\/no-license\/\">All Rights Reserved<\/a> license<\/li><li about=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_(Lanfranco).jpg\"><a rel=\"cc:attributionURL\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gladiadores_en_un_banquete_(Lanfranco).jpg\" property=\"dc:title\">Gladiators at a Banquet<\/a>  &copy;  <a rel=\"dc:creator\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/en:Giovanni_Lanfranco\" property=\"cc:attributionName\">Giovanni Lanfranco<\/a>    is licensed under a  <a rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/mark\/1.0\/\">Public Domain<\/a> license<\/li><\/ul><\/div><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-51-1\">No, they\u2019re not. Both mean duty, but munus also means gift, especially a gift given to the dead. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-2\">A type of priesthood. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-3\">Certain Roman magistrates (consuls, praetors, curule aediles, quaestors) were entitled to be accompanied by lictors who carried fasces, a bundle of rods with an axe sticking out. These symbolized their power to punish as part of their duties. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-4\">The bands of wool priests and priestesses wore on their heads when performing ceremonies. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-4\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 4\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-5\">We actually have some advertisements for these shows from Pompeii; see the section on advertising and marketing gladiators. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-5\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 5\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-6\">The cena libera, a public feast given the night before ludi to gladiators and those who were due to be executed in the arena. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-6\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 6\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-7\">The Capitoline Hill held many temples for various deities and in particular the temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-7\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 7\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-8\">The Capitoline triad: Juno; Jupiter; and Minerva. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-8\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 8\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-9\">A philosophical school founded by Aristotle in the 4th century BCE; Nicolaus was a Jewish philosopher of the 1st century CE. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-9\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 9\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-10\">A Greek philosopher and historian who lived c. 150s-50s BCE. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-10\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 10\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-11\">Euphorion of Chalcis, a Greek historian born in the 270s BCE. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-11\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 11\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-12\">It would be wise not to believe this or the claim in the previous paragraph. A minae is about 100 drachmas, and is not very much. The Greeks did not always think very highly of the Romans. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-12\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 12\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-13\">Mantineia\u00a0 was a city in Arcadia in Greece. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-13\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 13\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-14\">Not actually a reliable historical fact. <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-14\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 14\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-51-15\">Quoting Nicolas of Damascus <a href=\"#return-footnote-51-15\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 15\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div><div class=\"glossary\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\" id=\"definition\">definition<\/span><template id=\"term_51_82\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_82\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>Literally \u201cgift\u201d, \u201cduty\u201d, or \u201cfavour\u201d, particularly one owed to the dead. As gladiatorial shows were given to honour the dead and in accordance with vows they were called munera. A munus in this sense was a private obligation and thus the cost was paid by whoever vowed it, not the state. Later the munera were integrated into the other games and incorporated into imperial spectacles.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_51_694\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_694\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>These were celebrated every four years from 776 BCE on at Olympia in central Greece. They were only open to those with Greek ancestry, though that was stretched for Roman emperors. <\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_51_573\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_573\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>A people that controlled much of central Italy; at one point, even over Rome. They were eventually conquered by the Romans, and some Romans claimed descent from them. They spoke and wrote a non-Latin language. <\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_51_95\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_95\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>A ludus may refer to any type of school, including a gladiatorial one. Ludi also refers to games, the public games held as part of religious rituals.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_51_109\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_109\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>One of the original types of gladiators, named after an Italian tribe that was once an enemy of the Romans; when the Romans became friendly with them, this type vanished, to be replaced by the Thracian.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_51_107\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_107\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>An emergency position, appointed by the Senate in times of crisis, a dictator could only serve for six months, but during that period he had absolute authority. Caesar had himself voted dictator for life which a) was certainly illegal and b) turned out to be a very short time thanks to the c. 70 members of the Senate (some of whom were his close friends) who stabbed him to death in 44.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_51_57\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_57\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>The first rank on the cursus honorum, the course of public offices, these magistrates were in charge of maintaining public buildings and space and supervised and organized the public festivals. There were two types of aedile, curule, and plebeian.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_51_584\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_51_584\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>Publius Cornelius Tacitus was born outside Italy, possibly in Gaul, to an equestrian family and went on to become a senator and eventually consul. One of the greatest Roman historians, whose histories do not survive intact. He wrote the <em>Annals<\/em> and <em>Histories<\/em> which survive in part; and a biography of his father-in-law Agricola (the <em>Agricola<\/em>), an ethnographic work on Germany (the<em> Germania<\/em>), and one on oratory (the <em>Dialogue on Oratory<\/em>): these last three are extant.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><\/div>","protected":false},"author":801,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[47],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-51","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-standard"],"part":35,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/801"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51\/revisions\/1148"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/35"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/spectaclesintheromanworldsourcebook\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}