The Gladiatorial Games and Today's Riot

Everyone knows about the gladiatorial games, which have been held in the Amphitheater since its construction in 70 BC. It can seat the whole population of our precious city, containing 20,000 people. Unfortunately, we all know about the precedence taken for the magistrates, who can be seen in the first four rows of the theater, sitting in marble seats. Of course, while the rest of us “normal” individuals have to sit in the dirt. These games are not only used as a form of entertainment for us, but also for political value. Although, today our entertainment was taken away from us and will be gone for the next 10 years because of a horrendous riot that broke out during the games.

How the Games Work

Step 1. In order to begin, political officials (also known as businessmen) must first purchase gladiators who are used in order to further their political careers. The gladiators are most often slaves that have been put into gladiatorial school, and are chosen for their strength and bravery. These slaves usually only have one name compared to regular citizens of Pompeii who have three to four. Additionally, the owner of each slave is able to make the final life decision of whether these men are allowed to live or die.

The gladiatorial school is originally a house, also called the “gladiatorial barracks”(1). This training center trains chariot fighters as well as cavalrymen, and if you look on the pillars you can find graffiti, which contains statistics for these men’s game standings. There is also a large field called the Palaestra right next to the Amphitheater where they can practice and exercise. (2)

Step 2. The games would serve no purpose if there were no animals or other gladiators to put them against. The gladiators will fight in pairs, most likely against other pairs. Although, some will still fight against animals consisting of bulls, bears, and boars. There are six pairs of gladiators a day and the games will last for five days, making them extremely complex and expensive.

Step 3. Once they have all of the necessary gladiators and animals, next comes the fight. These fights will last all throughout the day, and always begin with the phrase, “Those who are about to die salute you.” (2) By the end of the day, the crowd will vote on whether the gladiator will live or die, and if they have chosen death, “he is expected to accept the final blow in a ritualized fashion, without crying out or flinching.” (2)

The Riot

Earlier today, a riot broke out outside of the Amphitheater. It is year 59 AD and now we are not permitted to hold another set of games until year 69 AD. There were people fighting everywhere, on the streets between the Palaestra and the Amphitheater, on the stairs of the arena, and even inside of the arena. This riot seems to have been caused by issues from the Social War from 91-88 BC, although it is not yet clear.

These games in particular were orchestrated by Livineius Regulus and citizens from Nuceria attended them. “The insults took the place of each others bets and bluffs, the stoning took the places of the insults, the unsheathing of swords took the place of the stoning.” (5) Livineius Regulus, all other orchestrators in charge of these games, and all involved in these riots have since been exiled from Pompeii.

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