Cultural Differences In Ancient Rome And Modern Morality

Much of what has happened in the past has been viewed through a modern lens, or rather seen in comparison to the current time period. This is problematic because morality and rightness in different periods and cultures are significantly different to the Western view on morality. Rome, as it happens, is a major contender for the differences in Ancient morality versus modern morality. Some of their societal norms, such as gladiatorial fighting, the constant warring, and the abundance of slavery have been looked down upon once they were uncovered in the current times.
When we contemplate societies outside of our own, we always find something that we do not agree with, and this includes societies in our distant and not-so-distant past. When we …show more content…
Many people know at least a little bit about the fact that Rome had gladiator fights, and most assume that the fights were all to the death, and therefore Romans were bloodthirsty. For the Romans, these fights were simply not seen in this way. Fighting during the time of Ancient Rome was very common, and most people—men—had to eventually go into the military and fight battles or wars. For the Romans, the gladiatorial fights were preparation for the bloodshed that every Roman had to one day go through, and so was seen as a good, or rather okay, activity for the slaves or those who sold themselves into it . As for the thought that all gladiators perished in these spectacles: this did not always happen. Most contestants died outside of the arena battles, or if they did die, it was because they were so badly hurt that a moral mercy kill would only be to help the gladiator from the torture that could have been suffered if he (or she) were left to slowly die. In fact, some gladiators were even freed if they did well enough in the arena, or when their contracts were up, they could have enough money to have a better life than they would have previously …show more content…
Unlike the slavery formerly in America, Roman slavery was not based on race, and could be anyone that they conquered or who was sold into the slavery. However, slavery in Roman was very good for their economies. Latifundias could be maintained without using the labor of men who could be fighting in Rome’s wars, and therefore food and goods could still be provided to Rome and her people even during times of war. Even without the slaves, not many Roman citizens were willing to work the grueling and low-level jobs that were required at latifundias . Some extremely poor people in Rome would even sell themselves into slavery so that they could have a better life than they would have had, and they could eventually save up enough money to buy themselves out of slavery and have enough left over money to have a semi-normal life than they had had before going into slavery. Slavery in Rome was a good thing for the Republic, and the Romans did not necessarily see the institution as morally