Sunny Divine
Mr. Sumler
Western Civ
28 November 2015
“Gladiator” Reflection Hollywood has a tendency to romanticize the classic “rise to power” tales we all know such as the Roman Empire. In the movie “Gladiator” there are of course many glamorized historical inaccuracies, but there are also many historically accurate scenes that are equally entertaining.
One of the first few scenes presented to us is when the emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, asks Maximus, the greatest general of the Roman army, to be his successor. Marcus goes on to say that his son Commodus is not a moral man and can not rule. Maximus is the son Marcus should’ve had therefore making him not only the best choice for Rome, but the only choice. Maximus is not corrupted by …show more content…
Naturally Commodus becomes very jealous and upset, and soon smothers his father to death before he could tell anyone else his choice of successor. Commodus then gives Maximus one chance to pledge loyalty to Commodus and Maximus harshly turns his offer away because he knows the truth about Marcus’ death. After Commodus’ offer is turned down he gives orders to have Maximus and his family murdered, their home, and their cropland burned to the ground.
In ancient Roman religion and law the sacramentum was an oath or vow that rendered the swearer sacer. The sacramentum militare was the oath taken by soldiers pledging their loyalty to the consul and later the emperor. Since the soldier is rendered sacer it would explain why he was subjected to harsher penalties such as execution and corporal punishment. These punishments were considered inappropriate for civilian citizens. The sacramentum was also sworn by gladiators during this …show more content…
These people were sold and trained for combat in special gladiatorial schools. After receiving training the gladiators were forced to participate and fight to the death in games held all over Rome. Gladiators of all ages and sexes were sent into the arena with no weapons to face certain death from wild animals. Aside from entertainment these games also fulfilled both political and social function. The games were necessary for the “contentment of the masses.” (Spielvogel, 185.)
In the film, Maximus and the other gladiators go to fight at the most famous amphitheater, the Colosseum. The Colosseum is full of thousands of people and has a very spatial arena. Later on in the film, wild animals such as tigers are released into the arena showing that not only does the Colosseum hold many people it can also hold many other things. This gives us a general idea of just how massive the Colosseum was.
The Colosseum is one of the most famous amphitheaters in the world. It was built in Rome in 29 B.C.E. and could hold up to 50,000 people. Romans were the first people to in antiquity to use concrete on a massive scale and made considerable use of curvilinear forms. A considerable amount of resources and Roman ingenuity went into building such massive structures especially in arrangements involving wild beasts. Sometimes the Colosseum would even be filled with water to hold small scale naval battles. (Spielvogel, 182-185.)
Mr. Sumler
Western Civ
28 November 2015
“Gladiator” Reflection Hollywood has a tendency to romanticize the classic “rise to power” tales we all know such as the Roman Empire. In the movie “Gladiator” there are of course many glamorized historical inaccuracies, but there are also many historically accurate scenes that are equally entertaining.
One of the first few scenes presented to us is when the emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, asks Maximus, the greatest general of the Roman army, to be his successor. Marcus goes on to say that his son Commodus is not a moral man and can not rule. Maximus is the son Marcus should’ve had therefore making him not only the best choice for Rome, but the only choice. Maximus is not corrupted by …show more content…
Naturally Commodus becomes very jealous and upset, and soon smothers his father to death before he could tell anyone else his choice of successor. Commodus then gives Maximus one chance to pledge loyalty to Commodus and Maximus harshly turns his offer away because he knows the truth about Marcus’ death. After Commodus’ offer is turned down he gives orders to have Maximus and his family murdered, their home, and their cropland burned to the ground.
In ancient Roman religion and law the sacramentum was an oath or vow that rendered the swearer sacer. The sacramentum militare was the oath taken by soldiers pledging their loyalty to the consul and later the emperor. Since the soldier is rendered sacer it would explain why he was subjected to harsher penalties such as execution and corporal punishment. These punishments were considered inappropriate for civilian citizens. The sacramentum was also sworn by gladiators during this …show more content…
These people were sold and trained for combat in special gladiatorial schools. After receiving training the gladiators were forced to participate and fight to the death in games held all over Rome. Gladiators of all ages and sexes were sent into the arena with no weapons to face certain death from wild animals. Aside from entertainment these games also fulfilled both political and social function. The games were necessary for the “contentment of the masses.” (Spielvogel, 185.)
In the film, Maximus and the other gladiators go to fight at the most famous amphitheater, the Colosseum. The Colosseum is full of thousands of people and has a very spatial arena. Later on in the film, wild animals such as tigers are released into the arena showing that not only does the Colosseum hold many people it can also hold many other things. This gives us a general idea of just how massive the Colosseum was.
The Colosseum is one of the most famous amphitheaters in the world. It was built in Rome in 29 B.C.E. and could hold up to 50,000 people. Romans were the first people to in antiquity to use concrete on a massive scale and made considerable use of curvilinear forms. A considerable amount of resources and Roman ingenuity went into building such massive structures especially in arrangements involving wild beasts. Sometimes the Colosseum would even be filled with water to hold small scale naval battles. (Spielvogel, 182-185.)