A relief carving of gladiators locked in combat. (recently found)Click around in this informative site about the Roman Gladitorial Games.
This site has a wealth of information about how the games began, who the gladiators were, and the cultural and political aspects of staging such events. Other areas you could research would be female gladiators, weaponry/armor, and the moral aspects of such events.
Either by reading throug this site or researching other related sites, find some tidbit of information on gladiators/gladiatorial games that you did not already know. Post a synopsis of the information you found and tell me why you found it interesting.
Interestingly enough, you can buy this reproduction skull for your very own.
Also click around on the IMA site for their Roman art exhibition. GO SEE IT IF YOU CAN!!
Finally, I found this really disturbing Pepsi commercial. Do you know of any other appropriations of Roman culture/art in modern advertisement?
Comments for this post are due by Monday October 22nd.
Comments for this post are due by Monday October 22nd.
16 comments:
If you look up: CHEE-TOS CHIPS ROMAN COMMERCIAL ANIMATION on youtube it will show you this animated commercial, which is another example of a commercial based on the Romans. It's a little cheesy, but it's kinda funny
http://www.youtube.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNF_92q7kKY
This is a Twix commercial that kind of goes along with the pepsi one, only its a little more disturbing. I think that the gladiator games were kind of sick, and disturbing. even though alot of the movies and things we see on t.v. show basically the same things, only people's actual lives arn't at risk. If we didnt have t.v. now i would imagine that somewhere there would still be a sick game just like the gladiator games being played.
After lunch the gladiator contests were held. Gladiators were identified with ethic names which indicated the type of weaponry they used, not the actual ethnic identity. The evidence suggest gladiators faught hard to resist the psuedo-ethnic labeling and took care on their tombstones to indicate their true ethnic identities. I always wondered if they used their real names or not.
http://abacus.bates.edu/~mimber/Rciv/gladiator.htm
How it began is a little disturbing. As a gift for the dead? As if they can have it anyways! It's just strange how different cultures view the dead. I checked out the commercial....disturbing too....kinda ruined the song for me. :o)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XyhmUsgFnSI
This one's kind of funny...what is up with pepsi and using history??
I looked at the website you posted, and I didn't know that if a gladiator lived after the fight, he might be forced to fight again and again. The "reward" for a good fighter was that he might be relieved from further fighting. That's messed up! By the way, Anna Buckley and I went to the Roman Art exhibit a couple weekends ago. It was pretty amazing. I'm working on a paper about it right now for the extra credit..
Wow, what is wrong with Pepsi? When I think of Rome, I don't think Pepsi, nor do I think Beckham...
I do love the cheetos commercial. It is funny!
disturbing some facts in the gladiator history and the coliseum, guess the voluntary gladiators thought it would be easy to become one gladiator and get quick fame, but by the cost of being treated worst than an animal?
is quite impressive how now almost everything can be sold, more than 300 dollars for an ancient human skull from some unknown gladiator, not sure if I would be comfortable with some ancient real human skull in my living room or bedroom as a piece of history.
the commercial sure is disturbing, of course is not rare that most companies use the coliseum and gladiators to sell their products, there is an old commercial from German or Rome I think (from the 90's) that showed something similar, promoting a brand of shoes, the gladiator was going to fight against a 2 lions, 5 gladiators, and in front there was the gladiator saying something in foreign language (probably asking a last request, he says something and then bring the brand of shoes to him) he wear them and then after the emperor gives the sign the gladiator drops the sword and shield and run out of the Colosseum , the last it appear is the emperor saying something apparently a after the crowd is mad at him cause they lost the main event, the last it apper is the company motto in letters and the picture of the shoes.
omg the scream in the twix commercial made me laugh but neither commercials made me hungry or thirsty lol I think the capital punishment in the amphitheaters were crazy... criminals being faces with wild animals without weapons! could be a good idea depending on the crime they committed, but it seems a lil harsch. And especially looking at the picture of them tying up a criminal while a furocious panther is lunging at him....i'm sure glad games like those have been replaced with stuff like the "disney channel games" lol
Hmmmmm... very interesting, women used to be gladiators too. They occasionally put these women up against dwarves. The prospect of this is quite terrifying to me, fighting a dwarf. I just can't see women from this time getting into the fight-to-the-death thing. I learned quite a bit about gladiators.
Tina Naparla and I did go to that Roman Art exhibit and it was really amazing, but they did take away our pens away. :(
I would venture to say if the people who lived then grew up in our culture they would find it appalling. But, by the same token I think if we grew up then and your only source of entertainment from a relatively grueling and exhausting life was the Colosseum, then it would be very entertaining. Much of the criticism at the time, wasn't even over the brutality, but the hype generated by the spectators. We take for granted the many avenues there are today, and the ample leisure time we have today.
On a side note, I find the idea of a female gladiator battling a dwarf hilarious.
http://www.boneclones.com/BC-198.htm
It was rulers like Nero, Petronius, and Domitian that allowed women to partake in such events as gladiator fighting. As mentioned before by others, some women would be teamed up against dwarves, but some women would fight others on chariots. Needless to say after awhile regulations came into play and bans against women fighting were starting.
This website gives a little more info and it also shows a marble relief of Amazon and Achillia fighting.
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/gladiators/amazones.html
The gladiator games that were held are rather disturbing to me! So... they started out as basically a ceremony for the dead...kind of creepy, but ok. The gladiators were typically criminals of some sort, which kinda makes sense when it comes to the idea of the battles. But the fact that the people got entertainment from watching the battles just isn't right. I guess like someone else said, if we were back in their times and it was the only thing going on, then maybe. I just can't see it though! And the part that some of the women would go up against dwarfs? Come on now...so not fair! I don't know...I don't like the whole concept of it I guess.
I found this commercial that also shows the Colosseum, but it has nothing to do with the product!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPkQopsYQvo
When I read the website you provided I found some bit of information that I didn't know/though was interesting. It mentions that idnidviduals would acctually volunteer to be gladiators in some cirucmstances. The example they gave was a man that may have lost all of his inheritance and money. Either they could work but with little skill or become robbers to live. In this case it was better for them to give their lives for a respectable cause--gladiatior games opponent. If the person did well he could gain awards, which could lead to his freedom. This situation would end up giving him recongnition and respect.
"Gladiators1 were usually recruited from criminals, slaves (especially captured fugitives), and prisoners of war."
^^ Something I didnt know, I always thought gladiators where respected individuals who were trained since they were little to fight.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uPkQopsYQvo
"OHH, HEH"
..pointless commercial.
this post has been graded.
Интересно написано....но многое остается непонятнымb
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