Are Gladiator Events Of Ancient Roman Sport?
Jared Doerr
11/17/14
Arguments and Reasoning
Gladiator Events: Sport or Not?
Are gladiator events of ancient Rome sport? Gladiator events were most certainly a violent form of entertainment and because of the violence I would think we would naturally feel that it is not a sport; however, before we can clarify whether or not gladiator events are sport, we first have to define what a “sport” is considered to be. I have broken down “sport” to contain three elements: some aspect of competiveness (a desire to win), some kind of physical exertion (strain on the body) and also some kind of mental exertion (problem solving skills). Based on these three elements, gladiator events in ancient Rome are most certainly sport. Ancient Roman gladiator events were definitely competitive. Imagine yourself in an arena fighting with another person. I would most certainly think there would be a desire to win for possible fame or to at least keep oneself from being injured. Of course in both the cases of winning and losing there is a chance of being injured; I would think there is more of a …show more content…
You may think that they are just too violent. Well gladiator events are most certainly violent, but no more violent than boxing and MMA. I believe that many people’s notions towards gladiator events strive from Hollywood films, which glorify the violence and make the events seem like free-for-alls. In actuality “most fights operated under fairly strict rules and regulations. Contests were typically single combat between two men of similar size and experience. Referees oversaw the action, and probably stopped the fight as soon as one of the participants was seriously wounded” (Andrews). That sounds quite similar to what happens in boxing and MMA. Both contain a strict rule set, weight class and referees stop the fight if they feel one opponent is too badly injured to
11/17/14
Arguments and Reasoning
Gladiator Events: Sport or Not?
Are gladiator events of ancient Rome sport? Gladiator events were most certainly a violent form of entertainment and because of the violence I would think we would naturally feel that it is not a sport; however, before we can clarify whether or not gladiator events are sport, we first have to define what a “sport” is considered to be. I have broken down “sport” to contain three elements: some aspect of competiveness (a desire to win), some kind of physical exertion (strain on the body) and also some kind of mental exertion (problem solving skills). Based on these three elements, gladiator events in ancient Rome are most certainly sport. Ancient Roman gladiator events were definitely competitive. Imagine yourself in an arena fighting with another person. I would most certainly think there would be a desire to win for possible fame or to at least keep oneself from being injured. Of course in both the cases of winning and losing there is a chance of being injured; I would think there is more of a …show more content…
You may think that they are just too violent. Well gladiator events are most certainly violent, but no more violent than boxing and MMA. I believe that many people’s notions towards gladiator events strive from Hollywood films, which glorify the violence and make the events seem like free-for-alls. In actuality “most fights operated under fairly strict rules and regulations. Contests were typically single combat between two men of similar size and experience. Referees oversaw the action, and probably stopped the fight as soon as one of the participants was seriously wounded” (Andrews). That sounds quite similar to what happens in boxing and MMA. Both contain a strict rule set, weight class and referees stop the fight if they feel one opponent is too badly injured to