1 00:00:12,192 --> 00:00:15,355 This arena was built 1,800 years ago 2 00:00:15,395 --> 00:00:19,058 by the ancient Romans for gladiators to fight in. 3 00:00:20,567 --> 00:00:22,967 It is still being used today. 4 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:29,333 This is Nimes in the south of France. 5 00:00:29,376 --> 00:00:32,345 0n the great Whitsun festival, the Feria of Nimes, 6 00:00:32,379 --> 00:00:35,041 something like a million people come to witness 7 00:00:35,082 --> 00:00:39,109 a combat that has gone on here since the arena was first built. 8 00:00:40,754 --> 00:00:43,348 This was always a place for blood. 9 00:00:43,390 --> 00:00:44,880 A place where the Roman crowd 10 00:00:44,925 --> 00:00:47,985 watched animals and humans put to death. 11 00:00:53,900 --> 00:00:56,926 And the central figures in that drama were a group of men 12 00:00:56,970 --> 00:00:59,803 whose profession was to murder and to die 13 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:01,831 for the delight of the crowd. 14 00:01:01,875 --> 00:01:05,072 Men who dominated the imaginations of the Romans 15 00:01:05,112 --> 00:01:07,808 for more than 700 years. 16 00:01:07,848 --> 00:01:09,338 The gladiators. 17 00:01:22,028 --> 00:01:26,055 Gladiators fought in hundreds of specially constructed arenas 18 00:01:26,099 --> 00:01:27,930 all over the Roman world. 19 00:01:31,138 --> 00:01:32,662 This is Capua, 20 00:01:32,706 --> 00:01:35,903 and the home of the most famous of all gladiators. 21 00:01:35,942 --> 00:01:40,140 Spartacus fought and killed in this very arena 22 00:01:40,180 --> 00:01:42,307 for the crowd's delight. 23 00:01:42,349 --> 00:01:44,579 In fact, that's when he led his revolt. 24 00:01:44,618 --> 00:01:48,179 Spartacus's gladiators were trying to put a stop to these games. 25 00:01:54,828 --> 00:01:58,730 But why did they happen at all? How can anyone come to terms 26 00:01:58,765 --> 00:02:00,824 with the extraordinary brutality 27 00:02:00,867 --> 00:02:03,927 of the events that went on in here? 28 00:02:03,970 --> 00:02:06,939 Should we admire ancient Roman civilization? 29 00:02:06,973 --> 00:02:10,204 or do we really owe a vote of thanks to the people who destroyed it? 30 00:02:10,243 --> 00:02:12,871 The so-called barbarians. 31 00:02:20,487 --> 00:02:24,355 The physical remains of Roman civilization are astonishing. 32 00:02:24,391 --> 00:02:26,916 We look at them and see a life of elegance, 33 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,020 high culture and sophistication. 34 00:02:30,063 --> 00:02:33,590 But that does not mean that they shared our values. 35 00:02:35,535 --> 00:02:37,969 This is a street in Pompeii. 36 00:02:38,004 --> 00:02:41,167 It's a Roman city that's been frozen in time. 37 00:02:41,208 --> 00:02:43,972 In the year 79 AD, to be precise, 38 00:02:44,010 --> 00:02:46,877 when it was blasted with volcanic ash and gas 39 00:02:46,913 --> 00:02:49,245 by the eruption of Vesuvius. 40 00:02:49,282 --> 00:02:53,514 Pompeii allows us to peer back through the ages 41 00:02:53,553 --> 00:02:57,319 and glimpse life as it was lived in ancient Roman times. 42 00:02:58,325 --> 00:03:01,055 Life and death. 43 00:03:06,566 --> 00:03:10,559 These images of horrific death, the victims caught by the eruption, 44 00:03:10,604 --> 00:03:13,095 evoke our pity and compassion. 45 00:03:16,943 --> 00:03:20,470 But this, perhaps, is where we and the Romans part company. 46 00:03:20,514 --> 00:03:23,039 pity and compassion were not emotions 47 00:03:23,083 --> 00:03:25,916 any self-respecting Roman would admit to. 48 00:03:30,257 --> 00:03:33,351 In 80 AD the emperor Trajan constructed 49 00:03:33,393 --> 00:03:37,056 a vast theater of death in the center of Rome. 50 00:03:45,906 --> 00:03:48,101 It has been known since the Middle Ages 51 00:03:48,141 --> 00:03:49,574 as the coliseum. 52 00:03:49,609 --> 00:03:53,443 Named because of a colossal statue of Nero that stood outside, 53 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,948 and was melted down long ago. 54 00:03:59,953 --> 00:04:04,356 The name stuck because the building itself is colossal. 55 00:04:04,391 --> 00:04:07,554 60,000 spectators came free of charge 56 00:04:07,594 --> 00:04:10,529 to watch spectacles of killing. 57 00:04:11,531 --> 00:04:13,396 The scale is enormous. 58 00:04:13,433 --> 00:04:17,733 Trajan, when he celebrated his victory over, effectively, Romania, 59 00:04:17,771 --> 00:04:21,867 had four months of celebration, day after day, 60 00:04:21,908 --> 00:04:25,241 in which 9,000 gladiators were occupied 61 00:04:25,278 --> 00:04:27,803 and 11,OOO animals killed. 62 00:04:27,847 --> 00:04:31,943 So there was a lot of meat, a lot of carcass 63 00:04:31,985 --> 00:04:33,543 to be disposed of. 64 00:04:33,587 --> 00:04:35,111 What did they do with them? 65 00:04:35,155 --> 00:04:39,592 The humans were presumably flushed out into the Tiber. 66 00:04:39,626 --> 00:04:41,753 It was a demonstration to the population 67 00:04:41,795 --> 00:04:45,697 of, ''This is what we do with people whom we don't like.'' 68 00:04:45,732 --> 00:04:49,224 people were put in the arena to kill and be killed 69 00:04:49,269 --> 00:04:52,568 by animals and by each other. 70 00:04:52,606 --> 00:04:54,574 The bullfight is the last trace 71 00:04:54,608 --> 00:04:57,839 of what used to happen in arenas like Nimes. 72 00:05:07,354 --> 00:05:09,549 The crowd don't see this as cruel. 73 00:05:09,589 --> 00:05:13,116 For them, this is a spectacle of grace and courage... 74 00:05:16,396 --> 00:05:18,796 and the closeness of death. 75 00:05:20,967 --> 00:05:23,231 This is as close as we can get 76 00:05:23,269 --> 00:05:25,794 to the events here 2,000 years ago. 77 00:05:29,676 --> 00:05:31,405 But don't be misled. 78 00:05:31,444 --> 00:05:34,345 Bullfighting may be the great-great-great-grandson 79 00:05:34,381 --> 00:05:37,077 of the gladiator fights of ancient Rome, 80 00:05:37,117 --> 00:05:41,178 but the things the gladiators were doing within these walls 81 00:05:41,221 --> 00:05:43,985 were fundamentally very different. 82 00:05:45,592 --> 00:05:48,720 Roman gladiators put on a public spectacle 83 00:05:48,762 --> 00:05:52,391 of human murder for entertainment. 84 00:05:52,432 --> 00:05:54,662 The killing of animals was just an introduction, 85 00:05:54,701 --> 00:05:56,965 though even that was on a much grander scale 86 00:05:57,003 --> 00:05:59,471 than any modern-day bullfight. 87 00:05:59,506 --> 00:06:02,600 one Roman general brings 140 elephants. 88 00:06:02,642 --> 00:06:06,942 Just think of the amazing logistics 89 00:06:06,980 --> 00:06:12,008 of organizing hunts for elephants or 40 tigers, leopards, 90 00:06:12,052 --> 00:06:14,077 crocodiles, even. 91 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,248 It was natural history meets showbiz. 92 00:06:17,290 --> 00:06:20,691 Animals were paraded for the crowd to admire, to wonder at, 93 00:06:20,727 --> 00:06:23,161 to fear and finally to dominate 94 00:06:23,196 --> 00:06:25,255 as they watched them die. 95 00:06:28,368 --> 00:06:30,962 The amphitheater was a large killing machine, 96 00:06:31,004 --> 00:06:34,770 and like the best machines, the mechanism was secret. 97 00:06:34,808 --> 00:06:38,539 What we see now exposed here at capua are those very secrets 98 00:06:38,578 --> 00:06:42,412 that so surprised and excited the ancient audiences. 99 00:06:43,850 --> 00:06:47,581 We're going down into the underground stages of Capua. 100 00:06:47,620 --> 00:06:49,952 This is where the animals and prisoners were kept 101 00:06:49,989 --> 00:06:52,287 and where the stage machinery was stored. 102 00:06:52,325 --> 00:06:56,261 It's a sort of combination of scene dock, prison and zoo. 103 00:06:56,296 --> 00:06:59,424 And you can see the great drains here where they could wash away 104 00:06:59,466 --> 00:07:02,264 the filth and the blood after the shows. 105 00:07:02,302 --> 00:07:06,966 The whole place required a vast army of stagehands. 106 00:07:07,006 --> 00:07:09,031 And it's said that the emperor Claudius 107 00:07:09,075 --> 00:07:11,066 once thought they hadn't done their job properly, 108 00:07:11,111 --> 00:07:13,978 so he had the stagehands sent up into the arena 109 00:07:14,013 --> 00:07:16,538 to fight in place of the gladiators. 110 00:07:16,583 --> 00:07:19,916 So, never be a stagehand in ancient Rome. 111 00:07:22,622 --> 00:07:25,955 Elaborate scenery rose up, recreating landscapes - 112 00:07:25,992 --> 00:07:28,859 hills, jungles, savannah - of the savage world 113 00:07:28,895 --> 00:07:31,090 where these beasts roamed free. 114 00:07:37,470 --> 00:07:39,961 The animals themselves were kept in cages, 115 00:07:40,006 --> 00:07:43,032 sometimes hundreds of them, under the amphitheater floor 116 00:07:43,076 --> 00:07:45,943 and hoisted in lifts to appear through trap doors 117 00:07:45,979 --> 00:07:47,674 onto the sand. 118 00:07:54,053 --> 00:07:56,817 To provide enough animals for these shows, 119 00:07:56,856 --> 00:07:59,290 the Romans hunted so intensively 120 00:07:59,325 --> 00:08:01,225 that they eventually wiped out 121 00:08:01,261 --> 00:08:04,822 the large animals of Europe and the Middle East. 122 00:08:06,499 --> 00:08:09,229 Mark you, the danger wasn't all one way. 123 00:08:09,269 --> 00:08:11,863 This relief shows a ship caught in a storm. 124 00:08:11,905 --> 00:08:13,930 The sail is being hurriedly taken in 125 00:08:13,973 --> 00:08:16,874 and the lighthouse shows they're being driven into danger. 126 00:08:16,910 --> 00:08:19,845 And on board is a cargo of lions. 127 00:08:19,879 --> 00:08:21,972 0h, dearI 128 00:08:23,650 --> 00:08:25,982 No one doubted that killing wild animals 129 00:08:26,019 --> 00:08:27,953 was a thoroughly civilized thing to do, 130 00:08:27,987 --> 00:08:29,579 but it was just the warmup. 131 00:08:29,622 --> 00:08:33,888 The Roman crowds didn't just come to see ostriches and ibexes killed, 132 00:08:33,927 --> 00:08:36,020 they were waiting for the gladiators. 133 00:08:36,062 --> 00:08:39,691 But there was a whole program to get through first. 134 00:08:39,732 --> 00:08:41,666 In the middle of the day, public executions. 135 00:08:41,701 --> 00:08:43,362 Some people think it was rather boring 136 00:08:43,403 --> 00:08:46,566 and perhaps the rich people go out or pretend to go out, 137 00:08:46,606 --> 00:08:48,972 and not to be seen to be watching 138 00:08:49,008 --> 00:08:51,875 something quite so vulgar and disgusting. 139 00:08:53,446 --> 00:08:55,778 some prisoners were killed by wild animals. 140 00:08:55,815 --> 00:08:57,976 some were forced to kill each other. 141 00:08:58,017 --> 00:09:00,542 But the real killer was Rome itself. 142 00:09:00,587 --> 00:09:02,578 And the audience was Rome. 143 00:09:03,857 --> 00:09:07,315 predators are going after prey. 144 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:12,855 And the predator could be the Roman state, 145 00:09:12,899 --> 00:09:18,360 going after an inappropriately behaving member of that state, or an enemy, 146 00:09:18,404 --> 00:09:20,395 or it could be just... 147 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:23,898 a natural predator, like a human against a weaker animal, 148 00:09:23,943 --> 00:09:27,401 or a ferocious beast against an unferocious beast. 149 00:09:29,349 --> 00:09:33,376 Rome saw itself as an embattled island of civilization 150 00:09:33,419 --> 00:09:36,513 surrounded by a savage world. 151 00:09:36,556 --> 00:09:39,957 The arena turned this world view inside out. 152 00:09:39,993 --> 00:09:43,292 Here, the savage world was surrounded and contained 153 00:09:43,329 --> 00:09:45,320 by the civilized. 154 00:09:48,301 --> 00:09:51,828 It was a living demonstration of the power of Rome. 155 00:09:51,871 --> 00:09:53,498 And people who challenged that power 156 00:09:53,539 --> 00:09:57,202 were thrown into the savage space beyond the frontiers. 157 00:10:00,747 --> 00:10:04,148 That savage space was down there on the sand. 158 00:10:08,888 --> 00:10:11,857 criminals, including christians who refused to acknowledge 159 00:10:11,891 --> 00:10:16,123 the emperor as divine, had to be shown to be powerless 160 00:10:16,162 --> 00:10:20,121 in the face of the savagery that only Rome could tame. 161 00:10:21,467 --> 00:10:24,868 (Wallace-Hadrill) Many of these animals must have been half-dead themselves 162 00:10:24,904 --> 00:10:26,599 by the time they reached the arena. 163 00:10:26,639 --> 00:10:29,005 There's an account of one martyr 164 00:10:29,042 --> 00:10:31,806 who actually has to seize the animal 165 00:10:31,844 --> 00:10:35,041 and pull it towards him 166 00:10:35,081 --> 00:10:36,912 to make him go for the kill. 167 00:10:36,950 --> 00:10:41,444 otherwise you can spend hours out there being horribly mauled 168 00:10:41,487 --> 00:10:44,081 but never killed, never finished off, 169 00:10:44,123 --> 00:10:47,854 and indeed for the audience, that was... that was part of the fun of it. 170 00:10:49,395 --> 00:10:53,092 The games that go on in Nimes are in some ways an echo 171 00:10:53,132 --> 00:10:55,760 of the Roman delight in variety. 172 00:10:55,802 --> 00:10:59,363 They too liked to watch unusual watersports. 173 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,406 In the year 52 AD, for example, 174 00:11:03,443 --> 00:11:08,745 the emperor Claudius held a little public spectacle on a lake outside Rome. 175 00:11:08,781 --> 00:11:12,444 He put 19,ooo captured soldiers onto boats, 176 00:11:12,485 --> 00:11:15,545 surrounding them with artillery, and told them to get on and fight. 177 00:11:17,523 --> 00:11:21,220 2,000 years ago, sensation-seeking Roman audiences 178 00:11:21,260 --> 00:11:24,889 demanded more than sack races in a paddling pool with a bull. 179 00:11:36,576 --> 00:11:38,874 After the lunchtime executions, 180 00:11:38,911 --> 00:11:42,472 the day would move to its climax. 181 00:11:42,515 --> 00:11:45,416 In the afternoon, six hours, 1:3o to 7:3o, 182 00:11:45,451 --> 00:11:47,419 gladiatorial fights. 183 00:11:47,453 --> 00:11:51,514 Quite slowly paced. Gladiators are expensive. 184 00:11:51,557 --> 00:11:54,219 Uh, of course, an occasional emperor 185 00:11:54,260 --> 00:12:01,063 will put 3,ooo men in a day, but... 186 00:12:01,100 --> 00:12:04,592 even 5,ooo animals in a day, but that's quite exceptional. 187 00:12:04,637 --> 00:12:09,301 Your normal gladiatorial contest is 2o, 25 fights, 188 00:12:09,342 --> 00:12:11,173 25 fights in an afternoon. 189 00:12:13,046 --> 00:12:15,378 This mosaic, found in a Roman villa, 190 00:12:15,415 --> 00:12:18,543 shows games put on by the man that owned the place. 191 00:12:18,584 --> 00:12:22,111 The mosaic was expensive - well, the games cost a fortune, 192 00:12:22,155 --> 00:12:24,146 they were important. 193 00:12:26,859 --> 00:12:30,192 They are celebrations of courage, endurance, 194 00:12:30,229 --> 00:12:33,665 resistance to pain, bravery, steadfastness 195 00:12:33,699 --> 00:12:38,068 and then, finally, the willingness to die if you're conquered 196 00:12:38,104 --> 00:12:40,902 and the victory, the glorious triumph of the winner. 197 00:12:42,542 --> 00:12:44,772 That sign, the Greek letter theta, 198 00:12:44,811 --> 00:12:47,336 stands for ''thanatos'' - dead. 199 00:12:48,748 --> 00:12:50,773 Their names are there too. 200 00:12:50,817 --> 00:12:54,878 Rodan was killed for entertainment at a public show. 201 00:12:59,125 --> 00:13:03,494 (Shelby ) The names are usually one-word names 202 00:13:03,529 --> 00:13:05,997 which are slave names or pet names almost. 203 00:13:06,032 --> 00:13:08,865 They are given to animals and to gladiators alike. 204 00:13:11,938 --> 00:13:16,102 If you just look at pompeii casually, you see what you want to see - 205 00:13:16,142 --> 00:13:18,337 a civilized and peaceful way of life, 206 00:13:18,377 --> 00:13:20,038 really rather enviable. 207 00:13:20,079 --> 00:13:23,446 But look more closely at the beautiful walls 208 00:13:23,483 --> 00:13:25,781 and something rather different emerges. 209 00:13:28,955 --> 00:13:32,584 This alleyway leads to the cheapest seats in the theater. 210 00:13:32,625 --> 00:13:35,253 probably got a pretty rough crowd hanging out here. 211 00:13:35,294 --> 00:13:39,025 And not surprisingly, the walls are covered with graffiti. 212 00:13:39,065 --> 00:13:41,829 This bit shows us what was on the minds 213 00:13:41,868 --> 00:13:44,496 of the young men of ancient pompeii. 214 00:13:49,742 --> 00:13:52,677 Whoever drew this stuff may have been outside the theater, 215 00:13:52,712 --> 00:13:55,408 but his mind was inside the amphitheater 216 00:13:55,448 --> 00:13:57,507 on the other side of town. 217 00:13:59,752 --> 00:14:04,280 Even in private houses, we find graffiti of gladiators. 218 00:14:04,323 --> 00:14:06,985 In this case there's actual portraits of them, 219 00:14:07,026 --> 00:14:09,824 with their names and with their scores. 220 00:14:09,862 --> 00:14:12,831 This one here is oceanus, he's got 13 victories, 221 00:14:12,865 --> 00:14:18,428 Aracintus, Severus, and here's Albanus, sold, 222 00:14:18,471 --> 00:14:22,271 he's sold, he's a freedman, and he's got 19 victories. 223 00:14:22,308 --> 00:14:23,866 Top man! 224 00:14:24,944 --> 00:14:27,811 These are the ghostly traces of sports heroes 225 00:14:27,847 --> 00:14:31,180 with short lives but a passionate following. 226 00:14:32,451 --> 00:14:35,545 We're in the gladiators' barracks in pompeii, 227 00:14:35,588 --> 00:14:39,718 and all round here are the dressing rooms of the stars. 228 00:14:39,759 --> 00:14:42,819 Well, the gladiators certainly saw themselves as heartthrobs. 229 00:14:42,862 --> 00:14:45,854 According to the archaeological record, in one of them, 230 00:14:45,898 --> 00:14:47,490 there used to be a bit of graffiti 231 00:14:47,533 --> 00:14:51,299 calling one of the gladiators ''Suspirium puellarum'' - 232 00:14:51,337 --> 00:14:53,965 ''Makes young girls pant!'' 233 00:14:55,341 --> 00:14:59,277 Certainly, sex and the arena have always gone, well, 234 00:14:59,312 --> 00:15:01,906 to say hand in hand is probably a bit of a euphemism. 235 00:15:01,948 --> 00:15:04,940 For example, in the cells over there, 236 00:15:04,984 --> 00:15:07,646 which were reserved for the more mature gladiators, 237 00:15:07,687 --> 00:15:10,178 in the ashes they discovered the body of a woman 238 00:15:10,223 --> 00:15:11,952 in expensive jewelry. 239 00:15:11,991 --> 00:15:15,950 She was surrounded by no less than 18 gladiators. 240 00:15:15,995 --> 00:15:17,986 perhaps she'd gone in collecting autographs? 241 00:15:18,030 --> 00:15:19,861 or perhaps she'd just gone in for a chat. 242 00:15:19,899 --> 00:15:23,096 We'll probably never know, but we do know that gladiators 243 00:15:23,135 --> 00:15:25,194 packed plenty of sex appeal. 244 00:15:25,238 --> 00:15:27,536 For example, their sweat was collected 245 00:15:27,573 --> 00:15:31,509 and used as an aphrodisiac by the fashionable women of Rome. 246 00:15:31,544 --> 00:15:34,445 And a spear dipped in gladiator's blood 247 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,711 was used in weddings to part the bride's hair. 248 00:15:38,985 --> 00:15:41,146 (Hopkins) Gladiators represent virility. 249 00:15:41,187 --> 00:15:46,648 They are an enhanced image of the Roman citizen at work. 250 00:15:46,692 --> 00:15:49,286 so when you went to someone's house, there was a picture, 251 00:15:49,328 --> 00:15:52,923 an image of a gladiator that you pulled on, 252 00:15:52,965 --> 00:15:57,095 the bells made up of gladiators 253 00:15:57,136 --> 00:15:59,832 fighting against wild animals 254 00:15:59,872 --> 00:16:03,035 which come out of their erect penises. 255 00:16:03,075 --> 00:16:06,977 But although gladiators were glamorous, sexy and popular, 256 00:16:07,013 --> 00:16:09,607 oddly enough, they had no social standing. 257 00:16:09,649 --> 00:16:12,948 As far as the elite of Rome were concerned, they were scum. 258 00:16:12,985 --> 00:16:16,819 probably because most of them were slaves or captives of war. 259 00:16:16,856 --> 00:16:20,053 And even if you weren't already, any recruit to the gladiators 260 00:16:20,092 --> 00:16:23,789 became a prisoner the moment he stepped into this place. 261 00:16:23,829 --> 00:16:27,060 He had to take an oath surrendering all hope of survival, 262 00:16:27,099 --> 00:16:29,795 saying he was prepared to be burnt, to be bound, 263 00:16:29,835 --> 00:16:31,826 to be slain by the sword. 264 00:16:31,871 --> 00:16:34,533 And he would live in one of those cells over there, 265 00:16:34,573 --> 00:16:36,700 bound in chains to begin with 266 00:16:36,742 --> 00:16:40,769 and he would be taught to fight in this very courtyard. 267 00:16:40,813 --> 00:16:45,443 And yet, despite these conditions and despite the lack of status 268 00:16:45,484 --> 00:16:47,918 and the appalling chances of survival, 269 00:16:47,953 --> 00:16:53,186 nevertheless, many young men actually volunteered to become gladiators. 270 00:16:53,225 --> 00:16:55,887 There must have been some perks to the job. 271 00:16:55,928 --> 00:16:57,793 (Crowd cheering) 272 00:16:57,830 --> 00:17:00,390 0f course, there was the lure of fame. 273 00:17:01,767 --> 00:17:04,292 I mean, look at the sheer size of the amphitheaters. 274 00:17:04,337 --> 00:17:06,965 pompeii had seats for 20,000 people - 275 00:17:07,006 --> 00:17:10,567 4,000 more than the whole population in the city. 276 00:17:10,609 --> 00:17:12,474 And there was, it seems, 277 00:17:12,511 --> 00:17:15,639 also an illusion of security for them. 278 00:17:15,681 --> 00:17:19,777 (shelby ) They belonged to a group, a family of gladiators 279 00:17:19,819 --> 00:17:23,550 that took care of them, that buried them if they died, 280 00:17:23,589 --> 00:17:26,524 and they were very close to their troop members. 281 00:17:26,559 --> 00:17:29,653 If you had no skills and you were a trained fighter, 282 00:17:29,695 --> 00:17:34,564 then to go back into this fairly safe environment, 283 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:37,398 even though it involved putting your life on the line all the time, 284 00:17:37,436 --> 00:17:39,233 it makes a certain amount of sense. 285 00:17:40,539 --> 00:17:44,532 And gladiators didn't necessarily expect to have to kill each other. 286 00:17:44,577 --> 00:17:47,045 In fact, a fight to the death was relatively rare, 287 00:17:47,079 --> 00:17:49,070 not because it was thought to be cruel 288 00:17:49,115 --> 00:17:52,084 but because deliberately killing off trained stock 289 00:17:52,118 --> 00:17:54,143 was expensive. 290 00:17:54,186 --> 00:17:58,486 But we do know that in one list of 20 dead gladiators, 291 00:17:58,524 --> 00:18:01,982 only three had survived to their 12th fight. 292 00:18:04,363 --> 00:18:06,524 Well, it's all very well talking about gladiators, 293 00:18:06,565 --> 00:18:09,500 but what was it like to be one? 294 00:18:09,535 --> 00:18:12,129 Well, there's only one way to find out. 295 00:18:27,253 --> 00:18:29,653 Mike Loades is a theatrical fight arranger 296 00:18:29,688 --> 00:18:33,624 and knows as much as anyone about what gladiators actually did. 297 00:18:33,659 --> 00:18:37,288 0f course, he teaches people how to fight for show, 298 00:18:37,329 --> 00:18:40,958 but, after all, that's what gladiators were expected to do. 299 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,333 In order to be the sports superstars of the day 300 00:18:44,370 --> 00:18:48,363 which they were, they would have to fight with a degree of style, 301 00:18:48,407 --> 00:18:50,500 they would have to have the panache, 302 00:18:50,543 --> 00:18:52,773 they would be able to move in big shapes 303 00:18:52,812 --> 00:18:55,144 and make the thing look dramatically exciting. 304 00:18:55,181 --> 00:18:57,046 But that is not phony, 305 00:18:57,082 --> 00:18:58,709 that is fighting well. 306 00:18:58,751 --> 00:19:00,150 Teach me to be a gladiator. 307 00:19:00,186 --> 00:19:02,381 Well, the first thing we need to do is build you up a bit, 308 00:19:02,421 --> 00:19:05,913 - and the practice... - I was afraid you might say that! 309 00:19:05,958 --> 00:19:07,858 The training is over here at the pell. 310 00:19:07,893 --> 00:19:09,690 oK, guys. 311 00:19:09,728 --> 00:19:11,889 - Have a go with that. - oK. 312 00:19:11,931 --> 00:19:14,331 - Blimey, it is heavy, isn't it? - It is a little. 313 00:19:14,366 --> 00:19:17,301 Couple of hours of that, though, and you'll feel fine. 314 00:19:17,336 --> 00:19:20,601 Now, I think we should just have the glasses off, however. 315 00:19:20,639 --> 00:19:23,130 oK, so... 316 00:19:23,175 --> 00:19:25,143 And I'm gonna go aaargh! 317 00:19:25,177 --> 00:19:26,542 Blimey, I see what you mean. 318 00:19:26,579 --> 00:19:28,979 I keep hitting it with the wrong bit of the sword! 319 00:19:35,221 --> 00:19:37,246 oK, keep it going, intention in those blows. 320 00:19:39,592 --> 00:19:41,924 There were many different kinds of gladiators, 321 00:19:41,961 --> 00:19:45,658 each with his own special armor and weapons. 322 00:19:45,698 --> 00:19:48,531 They were all supposed to be different enemies of Rome, 323 00:19:48,567 --> 00:19:50,865 from history or from fantasy. 324 00:19:56,609 --> 00:19:58,509 But, as Mike showed me, 325 00:19:58,544 --> 00:20:02,776 the first thing they all had to learn was to fight with no kit at all. 326 00:20:06,485 --> 00:20:09,249 The first gladiators just had swords, 327 00:20:09,288 --> 00:20:12,257 but they were soon pitted against men with other weapons. 328 00:20:12,291 --> 00:20:13,883 Like a spear. 329 00:20:15,027 --> 00:20:16,858 obviously, it's a throwing weapon, 330 00:20:16,896 --> 00:20:19,330 but it could also be used for the thrust, 331 00:20:19,365 --> 00:20:21,629 and the sharp blades of the head 332 00:20:21,667 --> 00:20:24,227 could be used for wide swinging cuts, 333 00:20:24,270 --> 00:20:26,431 the whole could be used as a staff weapon. 334 00:20:30,409 --> 00:20:33,810 They also used it for throwing at each other. 335 00:20:35,981 --> 00:20:40,281 The trouble with throwing weapons is it's a terrible way to disarm yourself. 336 00:20:40,319 --> 00:20:42,879 one option is to try and catch the weapon, 337 00:20:42,922 --> 00:20:45,618 turn it and throw it back again. 338 00:20:47,293 --> 00:20:50,854 They liked to set different styles of warrior against each other. 339 00:20:50,896 --> 00:20:53,194 The classic combination was the net man, 340 00:20:53,232 --> 00:20:55,325 the retiarius, with his trident 341 00:20:55,367 --> 00:20:57,232 against the murmillo, 342 00:20:57,269 --> 00:21:00,932 with bits of scaly armor and a fish-tailed helmet. 343 00:21:00,973 --> 00:21:03,168 These were fantasy warriors. 344 00:21:03,208 --> 00:21:06,871 Neptune the fisherman versus the sea monster. 345 00:21:10,749 --> 00:21:12,444 But how could a man with a sword 346 00:21:12,484 --> 00:21:15,453 be beaten by a man using a net? 347 00:21:15,487 --> 00:21:19,446 (Mike ) The properties of the net are it obviously has a dramatic function 348 00:21:19,491 --> 00:21:22,722 for the final entrapment of the murmillo, 349 00:21:22,761 --> 00:21:25,355 the perimeter rope was weighted, it had lead weights 350 00:21:25,397 --> 00:21:28,594 all around the perimeter rope, therefore the net itself 351 00:21:28,634 --> 00:21:31,762 can be used as a strike weapon in its own right, 352 00:21:31,804 --> 00:21:33,066 rather like a chain. 353 00:21:35,808 --> 00:21:38,038 The net is quite slow in flight. 354 00:21:38,077 --> 00:21:41,672 The murmillo would simply move out of the way. 355 00:21:46,885 --> 00:21:49,979 Mark you, it doesn't seem much of a weapon, really, does it? 356 00:21:50,022 --> 00:21:53,116 I mean, I don't feel exactly trapped by this net. 357 00:21:53,158 --> 00:21:57,857 I have to say. If I was a fish, maybe I would. 358 00:21:57,896 --> 00:22:00,797 You're quite right, in order for the net to be effective, 359 00:22:00,833 --> 00:22:03,131 it's not actually thrown, it's still held 360 00:22:03,168 --> 00:22:05,363 by the retiarius, and what happens, 361 00:22:05,404 --> 00:22:08,669 he needs to draw the murmillo into close range. 362 00:22:11,276 --> 00:22:13,870 And then he can use it to hook him down. 363 00:22:13,912 --> 00:22:16,972 Now generally the retiarius would not kill with the trident. 364 00:22:17,016 --> 00:22:19,883 He would use the dagger and if the plea for mercy came, 365 00:22:19,918 --> 00:22:21,317 and it was denied, 366 00:22:21,353 --> 00:22:24,811 then the death blow would usually come with the dagger. 367 00:22:24,857 --> 00:22:26,347 Aaaargh! 368 00:22:29,128 --> 00:22:33,121 The actual day of the games was a long one. 369 00:22:33,165 --> 00:22:36,066 (Hopkins) I suppose the lower classes come in first 370 00:22:36,101 --> 00:22:38,695 and when everyone's there, sitting in their serried ranks, 371 00:22:38,737 --> 00:22:40,170 all senators together, 372 00:22:40,205 --> 00:22:44,539 all citizens together, women at the top, no slaves, 373 00:22:44,576 --> 00:22:46,806 then the emperor appears. 374 00:22:46,845 --> 00:22:51,544 First of all soldiers, musicians and emperor. 375 00:22:51,583 --> 00:22:55,019 It's a solemn state occasion, it's an inauguration. 376 00:22:57,756 --> 00:23:04,286 swagger, dress, trumpets, but it's religion as well. 377 00:23:04,329 --> 00:23:07,025 So there's a sacrifice first, there's music, 378 00:23:07,066 --> 00:23:10,524 it's something that's celebrating gods, virtue, 379 00:23:10,569 --> 00:23:12,127 the Roman state. 380 00:23:12,171 --> 00:23:17,541 It's not just a game, here we're celebrating the triumph of Rome. 381 00:23:17,576 --> 00:23:18,975 The triumph of Rome over nature, 382 00:23:19,011 --> 00:23:21,138 the triumph of Rome over conquered barbarians. 383 00:23:21,180 --> 00:23:23,740 Rome is at the center of the universe. 384 00:23:24,850 --> 00:23:27,819 Roman citizens were in control. 385 00:23:27,853 --> 00:23:31,118 Gladiators had to stop and ask permission before the kill, 386 00:23:31,156 --> 00:23:34,785 but the thumbs-down signal we associate with that 387 00:23:34,827 --> 00:23:37,728 may never have existed. 388 00:23:37,763 --> 00:23:41,130 When they first started making films of the Roman amphitheater, 389 00:23:41,166 --> 00:23:43,930 they had to work out what gesture was it 390 00:23:43,969 --> 00:23:47,063 that the man in charge of the games used. 391 00:23:47,106 --> 00:23:51,099 And they read their ancient sources, and it says, 392 00:23:51,143 --> 00:23:54,078 ''With pressed thumb you indicate.'' 393 00:23:54,113 --> 00:23:56,138 What did ''with pressed thumb'' mean? 394 00:23:56,181 --> 00:23:58,342 Did it mean pressing like that or that? 395 00:23:58,383 --> 00:24:02,012 And they made it, the filmmakers made a decision that 396 00:24:02,054 --> 00:24:05,820 that would mean you live, and that would mean you die. 397 00:24:05,858 --> 00:24:08,827 We don't actually know that they were genuine Roman gestures, 398 00:24:08,861 --> 00:24:11,295 but they've entered into common usage. 399 00:24:11,330 --> 00:24:14,527 The decision depended on the crowd. 400 00:24:14,566 --> 00:24:17,000 0nce the Republic had become the Empire, 401 00:24:17,035 --> 00:24:19,970 this was the only assembly where the voices 402 00:24:20,005 --> 00:24:24,874 of Roman citizens were heard by their masters and obeyed. 403 00:24:26,445 --> 00:24:29,346 A cowardly fighter would be likely to get the death sign. 404 00:24:34,219 --> 00:24:37,882 In fact, the reaction in the bullfight is very similar. 405 00:24:39,224 --> 00:24:41,954 This is a particularly brave bull 406 00:24:41,994 --> 00:24:43,985 and not a particularly brave matador. 407 00:24:44,029 --> 00:24:46,020 (Crowd jeering) 408 00:24:51,236 --> 00:24:53,830 The bullfight goes horribly wrong, 409 00:24:53,872 --> 00:24:55,533 the kill is a disaster, 410 00:24:55,574 --> 00:24:59,340 and the animal has to be dispatched with a knife. 411 00:24:59,378 --> 00:25:01,369 Matador slinks away. 412 00:25:01,413 --> 00:25:04,405 Fortunately there's no longer a thumbs down, 413 00:25:04,449 --> 00:25:07,816 but his reputation destroyed, nevertheless. 414 00:25:07,853 --> 00:25:10,321 The crowd's praise goes to the dead bull. 415 00:25:10,355 --> 00:25:13,153 These are the emotions of the amphitheater, 416 00:25:13,192 --> 00:25:15,183 just as they always were. 417 00:25:20,165 --> 00:25:23,032 Every town throughout the empire was made Roman 418 00:25:23,068 --> 00:25:26,697 by having its amphitheater, no matter how small. 419 00:25:26,738 --> 00:25:29,138 Killing people as a spectator sport 420 00:25:29,174 --> 00:25:32,075 was the mark of Romanness. 421 00:25:33,979 --> 00:25:36,777 There's a very interesting case of a king of Syria, 422 00:25:36,815 --> 00:25:40,273 Antiochus of Syria, who wanted to be a good Roman, 423 00:25:40,319 --> 00:25:44,688 and he was trying to put on gladiatorial games in his home town. 424 00:25:44,723 --> 00:25:46,520 And when he did it for the first time, 425 00:25:46,558 --> 00:25:48,822 the local people protested, and they said, 426 00:25:48,861 --> 00:25:52,058 ''This is simply awful. What are you doing?'' 427 00:25:52,097 --> 00:25:55,066 And, interesting, he then perseveres 428 00:25:55,100 --> 00:25:58,263 and he tries it the next time, with bloodshed 429 00:25:58,303 --> 00:26:00,669 but no deaths and they take it. 430 00:26:00,706 --> 00:26:04,836 And then little by little he accustoms them to the spectacle, 431 00:26:04,877 --> 00:26:07,311 until they get full-blown gladiatorial games. 432 00:26:07,346 --> 00:26:09,644 And I think that must... it must have been very strange 433 00:26:09,681 --> 00:26:11,512 if you're on the edge of the Roman world 434 00:26:11,550 --> 00:26:14,246 that isn't yet used to this way of life. 435 00:26:15,153 --> 00:26:18,520 But the Romans were used to it, and each show had to have 436 00:26:18,557 --> 00:26:22,049 some novelty about it to keep the spectators happy. 437 00:26:22,094 --> 00:26:24,528 Gladiator armor became spectacular. 438 00:26:24,563 --> 00:26:27,532 0ne year it was a sensation to see them clad in silver, 439 00:26:27,566 --> 00:26:29,557 the next, that was old hat. 440 00:26:33,238 --> 00:26:35,706 There's always the search for a new thrill. 441 00:26:35,741 --> 00:26:39,734 In Nimes today it takes the form of a bull run through the streets. 442 00:26:39,778 --> 00:26:43,441 The bulls are penned in by riders on magnificent camargue horses, 443 00:26:43,482 --> 00:26:47,384 and young men run in and try to wrestle the bulls to a standstill. 444 00:26:51,056 --> 00:26:53,616 This too contains echoes of the past. 445 00:26:58,030 --> 00:27:01,989 The Romans demanded more and more extravagant forms of violence. 446 00:27:02,034 --> 00:27:06,471 The coliseum began to upstage the theaters by putting on plays, 447 00:27:06,505 --> 00:27:08,871 but when the script here called for a death, 448 00:27:08,907 --> 00:27:11,102 the actor really died. 449 00:27:11,977 --> 00:27:15,469 At least one occasion, dramas in which female prisoners 450 00:27:15,514 --> 00:27:17,277 were forced to have sex with animals, 451 00:27:17,316 --> 00:27:19,079 before finally being killed. 452 00:27:19,117 --> 00:27:22,712 This is snuff theater performed in front of emperors 453 00:27:22,754 --> 00:27:25,154 and tens of thousands of spectators. 454 00:27:25,190 --> 00:27:28,353 How on earth did such a state of affairs come about? 455 00:27:30,062 --> 00:27:34,522 Well, it all seems to have started as a form of human sacrifice at funerals. 456 00:27:34,566 --> 00:27:36,864 2,300 years ago, 457 00:27:36,902 --> 00:27:40,360 a wealthy Roman would buy some slaves and have them fight to the death 458 00:27:40,405 --> 00:27:42,373 as part of the funeral rites. 459 00:27:45,177 --> 00:27:47,805 (Hopkins) Roman religion was a religion of sacrifice, 460 00:27:47,846 --> 00:27:51,373 so blood is central to the Roman experience, and people died. 461 00:27:51,416 --> 00:27:55,785 Half those ever born are dead by the age of five, 462 00:27:55,821 --> 00:27:59,689 a third of people survived to the age of 20. 463 00:27:59,725 --> 00:28:02,888 Death is...death and disease is prevalent, 464 00:28:02,928 --> 00:28:06,762 and there's probably an insensitivity to the pain of the lower classes 465 00:28:06,798 --> 00:28:08,288 on the part of the upper classes. 466 00:28:12,070 --> 00:28:14,664 This painting, now being carefully restored, 467 00:28:14,706 --> 00:28:19,370 is on the inside of the tomb of a young magistrate of pompeii. 468 00:28:19,411 --> 00:28:22,710 His father had to show his social position, 469 00:28:22,748 --> 00:28:25,376 so there's the family silver... 470 00:28:26,985 --> 00:28:28,953 and there's the gladiatorial show 471 00:28:28,987 --> 00:28:31,080 he put on for his son's funeral. 472 00:28:31,123 --> 00:28:33,648 It showed the family's place in society, 473 00:28:33,692 --> 00:28:37,184 by making a human blood offering to go with the burial. 474 00:28:41,166 --> 00:28:43,726 It gradually became a very popular event 475 00:28:43,769 --> 00:28:45,600 and when Rome was still a republic, 476 00:28:45,637 --> 00:28:48,162 families who wanted to win votes in elections 477 00:28:48,206 --> 00:28:51,801 would put on a good slaughter when they were given the chance. 478 00:28:53,445 --> 00:28:54,912 It was called a duty, 479 00:28:54,946 --> 00:28:57,244 and that would still be the name of the game 480 00:28:57,282 --> 00:28:59,614 when Rome was ruled by emperors. 481 00:29:01,820 --> 00:29:04,948 It was the opinion of the poor that the rich had a duty 482 00:29:04,990 --> 00:29:06,617 to keep them entertained. 483 00:29:06,658 --> 00:29:09,559 About a million people lived in Rome's crowded apartments 484 00:29:09,594 --> 00:29:13,030 and many had no work and no income. 485 00:29:13,065 --> 00:29:17,126 They survived off free handouts of grain from the state, 486 00:29:17,169 --> 00:29:19,262 and to spread the work around, 487 00:29:19,304 --> 00:29:22,171 every other day was a public holiday. 488 00:29:22,207 --> 00:29:24,869 It's said that bread and circuses 489 00:29:24,910 --> 00:29:30,610 were the only things that prevented these narrow streets from exploding. 490 00:29:30,649 --> 00:29:34,210 But the way that Roman rulers amused the population 491 00:29:34,252 --> 00:29:37,050 was truly monstrous. 492 00:29:37,089 --> 00:29:40,490 I mean, to us, it seems absolutely incomprehensible 493 00:29:40,525 --> 00:29:43,153 that, you know, thousands of people and the emperor 494 00:29:43,195 --> 00:29:45,163 could come here and watch, you know, 495 00:29:45,197 --> 00:29:47,563 a woman being raped by animals and then being killed. 496 00:29:47,599 --> 00:29:50,625 How can they possibly say they're humane? 497 00:29:50,669 --> 00:29:52,694 We can't say they're humane, 498 00:29:52,737 --> 00:29:55,205 but they felt themselves to be humane 499 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,038 because they worry about different things. 500 00:29:58,076 --> 00:30:01,534 They're not worrying about the lives of criminals 501 00:30:01,580 --> 00:30:04,208 or people like Christians, 502 00:30:04,249 --> 00:30:06,979 who they feel are subverting the order. 503 00:30:07,018 --> 00:30:08,315 Um... 504 00:30:09,354 --> 00:30:14,382 To them, it's...it's good that evil people should suffer. 505 00:30:14,426 --> 00:30:17,452 0f course, it wasn't just good, it was fun. 506 00:30:17,496 --> 00:30:20,056 There are even references to death shows 507 00:30:20,098 --> 00:30:22,089 at private dinner parties. 508 00:30:22,134 --> 00:30:25,433 (Reader) ''When they have finished dining and are filled with drink, 509 00:30:25,470 --> 00:30:27,301 ''they call in the gladiators. 510 00:30:27,339 --> 00:30:29,273 ''As soon as one has his throat cut, 511 00:30:29,307 --> 00:30:31,400 ''the diners applaud with delight. '' 512 00:30:34,346 --> 00:30:36,337 It certainly seems to have been quite normal 513 00:30:36,381 --> 00:30:39,441 to decorate houses with expensive pictures of deaths 514 00:30:39,484 --> 00:30:41,884 that the householder had paid for. 515 00:30:45,690 --> 00:30:47,385 If the owner of the house 516 00:30:47,425 --> 00:30:51,953 put an image in his house that was something he had paid for, 517 00:30:51,997 --> 00:30:54,989 then it tended to show the kinds of scenes 518 00:30:55,033 --> 00:30:57,524 that had been enacted in the arena 519 00:30:57,569 --> 00:30:59,696 for which he had paid a lot of money 520 00:30:59,738 --> 00:31:02,866 and deserved a lot of public credit as far as he was concerned, 521 00:31:02,908 --> 00:31:04,773 and he wanted his guests to enjoy it. 522 00:31:04,809 --> 00:31:08,404 The fact that it's used as decoration 523 00:31:08,446 --> 00:31:12,974 enhances the fact that there's a viewer, who is a winner 524 00:31:13,018 --> 00:31:16,852 and a viewed object with people in it 525 00:31:16,888 --> 00:31:19,914 who are losers in society 526 00:31:19,958 --> 00:31:22,324 and who are not part of society. 527 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:27,525 And there's an enjoyment in punishing them and watching it. 528 00:31:28,667 --> 00:31:32,000 Today we have a mixed attitude to violence as entertainment, 529 00:31:32,037 --> 00:31:34,801 but we know that it's a crowd puller. 530 00:31:34,839 --> 00:31:36,830 (Man ) Battlecade Extreme Fighting. 531 00:31:36,875 --> 00:31:38,342 Whatever it takes to win. 532 00:31:38,376 --> 00:31:41,174 Live on pay per view, April 26. 533 00:31:41,213 --> 00:31:45,274 Maybe the nearest sport today is extreme fighting, 534 00:31:45,317 --> 00:31:48,047 a sport that takes mortal combat 535 00:31:48,086 --> 00:31:51,112 out of the video arcade and back into the ring. 536 00:31:51,156 --> 00:31:54,489 Joe, Joe, Joe. put the hooks in, put the hooks in it, that's it! 537 00:31:55,694 --> 00:31:59,095 It has huge audiences and no rules. 538 00:31:59,130 --> 00:32:01,098 (Man ) No rules, we take all the rules out 539 00:32:01,132 --> 00:32:04,761 and put like two men to fight, with no rules. 540 00:32:04,803 --> 00:32:08,239 Like, you can, you can kick in the face, 541 00:32:08,273 --> 00:32:10,264 you can punch him in the face with no gloves, 542 00:32:10,308 --> 00:32:12,139 that's what extreme fighting is all about. 543 00:32:13,612 --> 00:32:15,842 How do you know when the fight has ended? 544 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:19,008 When there's one give up, or he passed out. 545 00:32:19,050 --> 00:32:22,508 That's... that's pretty easy to define. 546 00:32:22,554 --> 00:32:24,454 I think everyone's intrigued by, you know, 547 00:32:24,489 --> 00:32:27,981 two guys going in mortal combat in front of a thousand people. 548 00:32:28,026 --> 00:32:30,551 There's something intriguing about that, definitely. 549 00:32:30,595 --> 00:32:33,928 There's plenty of violence in our entertainment. 550 00:32:33,965 --> 00:32:35,990 In fact, it's a big draw. 551 00:32:36,034 --> 00:32:39,333 In fact, it may be the reason why you switched on this program. 552 00:32:39,371 --> 00:32:41,430 Well, it may be a reason why we're making it. 553 00:32:41,473 --> 00:32:43,668 But at least we're all worried about it. 554 00:32:45,910 --> 00:32:48,242 0ur worries aren't simply ethical. 555 00:32:48,280 --> 00:32:51,147 We're told that violent entertainment creates criminals 556 00:32:51,182 --> 00:32:53,480 and so puts us in danger. 557 00:32:56,154 --> 00:33:00,420 An entire county of children were studied in upstate New York, 558 00:33:00,458 --> 00:33:02,722 and they were followed over 3o years, 559 00:33:02,761 --> 00:33:06,595 and the results of that study, done by Huesmann and Eron, 560 00:33:06,631 --> 00:33:10,123 showed that the amount of violence viewed at age eight 561 00:33:10,168 --> 00:33:12,193 predicted, not correlated with, 562 00:33:12,237 --> 00:33:15,331 but predicted criminality at age 3o. 563 00:33:17,008 --> 00:33:21,240 American violence is incredibly unclear as to... 564 00:33:21,279 --> 00:33:23,804 how to live your life, who the good guys are, 565 00:33:23,848 --> 00:33:25,372 who deserves punishment, 566 00:33:25,417 --> 00:33:29,751 what kind of retribution is valid, if ever, and what isn't. 567 00:33:29,788 --> 00:33:31,813 So American violence, I think, 568 00:33:31,856 --> 00:33:34,381 makes all the values of the culture fuzzy. 569 00:33:35,527 --> 00:33:38,291 It seems odd that the Romans weren't worried at all 570 00:33:38,330 --> 00:33:40,423 about the effects of their entertainment. 571 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:46,263 (Levine ) I think, actually, that the Romans would have as hard a time 572 00:33:46,304 --> 00:33:49,239 understanding our forms of violence 573 00:33:49,274 --> 00:33:52,266 as we have understanding theirs. 574 00:33:52,310 --> 00:33:58,874 I think, to the Romans, violence was lessons in how to live, how to die, 575 00:33:58,917 --> 00:34:00,908 how to bring glory to Rome, 576 00:34:00,952 --> 00:34:04,911 they were community events, half the days in Rome were... 577 00:34:04,956 --> 00:34:07,925 were for spectacles and holidays and things like that. 578 00:34:07,959 --> 00:34:10,985 Um, they served a whole bunch of... 579 00:34:11,029 --> 00:34:14,726 of functions in terms of reinforcing community values. 580 00:34:18,770 --> 00:34:22,501 Roman attitudes to violence were clearly different from ours. 581 00:34:22,540 --> 00:34:26,101 This ostentatious fresco records, without apology, 582 00:34:26,144 --> 00:34:28,806 a riot at pompeii between local supporters 583 00:34:28,847 --> 00:34:31,577 and gladiator fans from another town. 584 00:34:33,451 --> 00:34:36,909 There were a few, a very few Romans who spoke out against the games, 585 00:34:36,955 --> 00:34:40,288 but they did so for rather surprising reasons. 586 00:34:40,325 --> 00:34:44,591 For example, Julius Caesar once put on a particularly extravagant show. 587 00:34:44,629 --> 00:34:49,566 The great orator Cicero went to watch and gave it a bad review. 588 00:34:49,601 --> 00:34:53,230 (Reader) ''What pleasure can there be for a civilized man 589 00:34:53,271 --> 00:34:57,708 ''when either some powerless man is ripped to shreds by a powerful beast 590 00:34:57,742 --> 00:35:01,940 ''or some magnificent animal is transfixed by a spear? 591 00:35:01,980 --> 00:35:04,346 ''But if this kind of show must be viewed, 592 00:35:04,382 --> 00:35:06,577 ''we saw nothing new. '' 593 00:35:07,619 --> 00:35:10,349 Well, they certainly saw something new on the last day, 594 00:35:10,388 --> 00:35:14,848 a battle between 5oo soldiers and 5oo elephants. 595 00:35:14,893 --> 00:35:17,589 And everyone felt very sorry for the elephants. 596 00:35:17,629 --> 00:35:20,826 ''The common crowd found much to admire in this event 597 00:35:20,865 --> 00:35:22,992 ''but did not really enjoy it. 598 00:35:23,034 --> 00:35:26,663 ''0n the contrary, a certain pity was aroused in them 599 00:35:26,704 --> 00:35:29,332 ''and they came to the opinion that this beast 600 00:35:29,374 --> 00:35:33,174 ''shared a certain affinity with the human race. '' 601 00:35:34,312 --> 00:35:35,802 Which is odd, really - 602 00:35:35,847 --> 00:35:39,112 they didn't show the slightest compassion for human beings. 603 00:35:42,187 --> 00:35:46,817 When Spartacus rebelled with his gladiators 604 00:35:46,858 --> 00:35:48,120 and slaves against Rome, 605 00:35:48,159 --> 00:35:51,959 and after a long battle the Roman legions won, 606 00:35:51,996 --> 00:35:55,591 the Romans tried to wipe out the prospect of any further slave rebellion 607 00:35:55,633 --> 00:35:59,091 by lining the road from Naples to Rome 608 00:35:59,137 --> 00:36:03,836 with 6,ooo crucified gladiators and rebels. 609 00:36:03,875 --> 00:36:05,638 Rome was a violent society. 610 00:36:07,846 --> 00:36:12,283 We think of the Romans as a civilization of high culture. 611 00:36:12,317 --> 00:36:15,514 We accept the picture of them as elegant and delightful people 612 00:36:15,553 --> 00:36:17,885 surrounded by savage barbarians. 613 00:36:20,091 --> 00:36:23,219 But at the very heart of Roman civilization 614 00:36:23,261 --> 00:36:28,756 was brutality, slaughter, state-sponsored murder, 615 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:31,564 done for the delight of the population. 616 00:36:33,771 --> 00:36:38,606 Ruthlessness was not something to be ashamed of in ancient Rome. 617 00:36:42,213 --> 00:36:45,205 When emperor Marcus Aurelius set up a column in Rome 618 00:36:45,250 --> 00:36:47,810 to celebrate his victories over the barbarians, 619 00:36:47,852 --> 00:36:50,844 it did not show the barbarians as violent - 620 00:36:50,889 --> 00:36:53,653 it's the Roman army that takes on that role, 621 00:36:53,691 --> 00:36:56,854 decapitating old men, seizing women and children 622 00:36:56,895 --> 00:36:58,886 and burning civilians' homes. 623 00:37:01,332 --> 00:37:03,823 It started off as a very militaristic society. 624 00:37:03,868 --> 00:37:07,599 They conquered the whole of the Mediterranean basin, they were soldiers. 625 00:37:07,639 --> 00:37:12,235 So fighting wars was central to the Roman experience. 626 00:37:12,277 --> 00:37:16,509 Fighting wars in which you stuck swords into other people, for real. 627 00:37:17,849 --> 00:37:20,249 When we see images like these on the news 628 00:37:20,285 --> 00:37:21,912 they're meant to make us horrified - 629 00:37:21,953 --> 00:37:25,354 this is how we're told to imagine serbian soldiers in the Balkans 630 00:37:25,390 --> 00:37:27,517 and consider them war criminals. 631 00:37:27,559 --> 00:37:30,756 For the Romans, these were moments to be proud of 632 00:37:30,795 --> 00:37:32,626 and stick on your column. 633 00:37:32,664 --> 00:37:34,291 In fact, they reminded the Romans 634 00:37:34,332 --> 00:37:37,768 that they were meant to be a ruthless people. 635 00:37:40,238 --> 00:37:43,537 But for most Roman soldiers, the arena was the closest 636 00:37:43,575 --> 00:37:45,634 they ever got to seeing someone killed. 637 00:37:45,677 --> 00:37:48,202 The Empire itself was mostly at peace, 638 00:37:48,246 --> 00:37:52,342 and it's been reckoned that the odds of a Roman soldier dying on the battlefield 639 00:37:52,383 --> 00:37:54,374 were about one in a thousand. 640 00:37:56,087 --> 00:37:59,079 Life had become peaceful and elegant 641 00:37:59,123 --> 00:38:01,614 and not really Roman enough. 642 00:38:02,727 --> 00:38:06,527 (Wallace-Hadrill) They were very nervous that the sort of things 643 00:38:06,564 --> 00:38:11,831 that they took to might make them enfeebled. 644 00:38:11,869 --> 00:38:14,895 Now, the arena is, in a sense, it's...it's an antidote 645 00:38:14,939 --> 00:38:18,602 to the decadence, not an aspect of decadence. 646 00:38:18,643 --> 00:38:21,009 The Romans don't think that they are decadent. 647 00:38:21,045 --> 00:38:23,036 They fear that they might be 648 00:38:23,081 --> 00:38:26,744 and the amphitheater helps them not to be. 649 00:38:27,819 --> 00:38:31,550 In a sense, the arena was Rome, 650 00:38:31,589 --> 00:38:34,319 and the spectators were participating in a... 651 00:38:34,359 --> 00:38:39,387 a demonstration of Rome's visible and total power over the world, 652 00:38:39,430 --> 00:38:41,523 but it could backfire. 653 00:38:41,566 --> 00:38:44,558 on one occasion a spectator shouted out a joke 654 00:38:44,602 --> 00:38:46,263 against the emperor Domitian. 655 00:38:46,304 --> 00:38:49,171 So he had a placard hung round the fellow's neck, 656 00:38:49,207 --> 00:38:51,141 had him paraded around the arena 657 00:38:51,175 --> 00:38:53,666 and then savage dogs were set on him. 658 00:38:53,711 --> 00:38:55,406 on another occasion, 659 00:38:55,446 --> 00:38:58,279 during one of Caligula's little extravaganzas, 660 00:38:58,316 --> 00:39:01,945 they ran out of prisoners to throw to the wild beasts, 661 00:39:01,986 --> 00:39:05,422 so Caligula, who's a real showman at heart, 662 00:39:05,456 --> 00:39:07,981 had a section of the audience seized 663 00:39:08,026 --> 00:39:11,393 and thrown into the arena to be killed instead. 664 00:39:11,429 --> 00:39:13,397 ''The show must go on!'' 665 00:39:15,633 --> 00:39:19,399 The idea that a man should show himself proud, bold, 666 00:39:19,437 --> 00:39:22,270 courageous, is not specific to Rome. 667 00:39:22,306 --> 00:39:24,604 But to the Romans, it was cowardly 668 00:39:24,642 --> 00:39:26,610 to fight against your fate. 669 00:39:28,279 --> 00:39:32,943 There's one extraordinary anecdote under Caligula, 670 00:39:32,984 --> 00:39:35,544 that I think sums up, in a sense, 671 00:39:35,586 --> 00:39:39,215 how odd the Roman expectations were. 672 00:39:39,257 --> 00:39:43,956 That a group of net men, retiarii, are being chased, 673 00:39:43,995 --> 00:39:48,125 and the retiarii have made an accord in advance 674 00:39:48,166 --> 00:39:50,191 and they've decided ''We're going to surrender 675 00:39:50,234 --> 00:39:52,498 ''and get out of this one easily, because statistically 676 00:39:52,537 --> 00:39:54,528 ''our chances of getting off are quite good,'' 677 00:39:54,572 --> 00:39:59,339 and they all lie down simultaneously and surrender, 678 00:39:59,377 --> 00:40:01,368 and they expect to be let off, 679 00:40:01,412 --> 00:40:03,539 and the emperor gives them the thumbs down, 680 00:40:03,581 --> 00:40:07,915 whereupon one of the retiarii jumps up, 681 00:40:07,952 --> 00:40:10,420 turns his trident against the chasers 682 00:40:10,455 --> 00:40:13,117 and proceeds to kill them all. 683 00:40:13,157 --> 00:40:17,526 And Caligula is so furious, he says, 684 00:40:17,562 --> 00:40:21,089 ''I have never seen such a cruel sight.'' 685 00:40:21,132 --> 00:40:24,226 Roman morality often turns our own on its head. 686 00:40:24,268 --> 00:40:29,467 For example, the Romans regarded compassion as a moral defect. 687 00:40:29,507 --> 00:40:32,135 It was one thing for a ruler to show clemency, 688 00:40:32,176 --> 00:40:34,440 because clemency was produced by reason 689 00:40:34,479 --> 00:40:35,810 and political necessity, 690 00:40:35,847 --> 00:40:38,941 but compassion was produced by the emotions. 691 00:40:38,983 --> 00:40:40,712 Therefore, according to Seneca, 692 00:40:40,752 --> 00:40:42,913 belonging to the worst kind of people, 693 00:40:42,954 --> 00:40:44,979 to old women and silly females. 694 00:40:46,924 --> 00:40:50,485 seneca despised Junius Brutus for pleading for his life 695 00:40:50,528 --> 00:40:52,894 when he was ordered to bare his neck to the ax. 696 00:40:52,930 --> 00:40:56,957 This behavior was regarded as ''turpissima'', most shameful. 697 00:40:58,369 --> 00:41:01,065 When a Roman was disgusted by death in the arena, 698 00:41:01,105 --> 00:41:03,335 he probably wasn't watching gladiators. 699 00:41:05,009 --> 00:41:07,500 The gladiators usually fought in the afternoon. 700 00:41:07,545 --> 00:41:09,843 If you arrived early, as Seneca once did, 701 00:41:09,881 --> 00:41:12,406 you were treated to the sight of prisoners 702 00:41:12,450 --> 00:41:15,681 being forced to fight unprotected until they were all dead. 703 00:41:17,455 --> 00:41:19,923 (Reader) ''It's pure unadulterated murder. 704 00:41:19,957 --> 00:41:23,256 ''There's no helmet, no shield to repel the blade. 705 00:41:23,294 --> 00:41:27,094 ''Why bother with skill? All that just delays death. 706 00:41:27,131 --> 00:41:30,464 ''As soon as a man kills, they shout for him to kill another 707 00:41:30,501 --> 00:41:32,560 ''or be killed. '' 708 00:41:32,603 --> 00:41:34,969 He's specifically disgusted 709 00:41:35,006 --> 00:41:40,535 because the excuse for the bloodshed has been removed. 710 00:41:40,578 --> 00:41:44,537 If the excuse is that it promotes manliness 711 00:41:44,582 --> 00:41:47,813 to have the spectacle of people dying bravely, 712 00:41:47,852 --> 00:41:49,786 there's nothing manly about the spectacle 713 00:41:49,821 --> 00:41:53,552 of someone just being chopped up, a defenseless person being attacked. 714 00:41:53,591 --> 00:41:57,254 seneca had no objection to gladiators being killed - 715 00:41:57,295 --> 00:42:01,231 they were manly fighters whose deaths were educational. 716 00:42:01,265 --> 00:42:03,859 cicero, pliny, they all said the same. 717 00:42:05,369 --> 00:42:07,564 (Reader) 'Just look at the gladiators 718 00:42:07,605 --> 00:42:10,472 ''and look at the wounds they endure. 719 00:42:10,508 --> 00:42:13,443 ''If they have given satisfaction to their masters, 720 00:42:13,477 --> 00:42:16,446 ''they are happy to die. '' 721 00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:18,846 (second reader) ''Not spineless, not flabby, 722 00:42:18,883 --> 00:42:20,680 ''but an inspiring spectacle 723 00:42:20,718 --> 00:42:24,313 ''demonstrating the love of praise and desire for victory. '' 724 00:42:24,856 --> 00:42:26,084 Did it work? 725 00:42:26,123 --> 00:42:29,684 Well, Cicero was lucky enough to be able to test it for himself. 726 00:42:29,727 --> 00:42:32,252 He was condemned to death by the state. 727 00:42:32,296 --> 00:42:36,198 When the executioners overtook him, he was being carried in his litter, 728 00:42:36,234 --> 00:42:38,532 and faced with death, I'm glad to say 729 00:42:38,569 --> 00:42:42,096 that Cicero proved he'd learnt his lesson from the gladiators. 730 00:42:43,641 --> 00:42:46,735 He thrust his head forward and accepted the death blow 731 00:42:46,777 --> 00:42:49,109 as he'd been shown in the amphitheater. 732 00:42:54,819 --> 00:42:56,878 The Roman Empire and its gladiators 733 00:42:56,921 --> 00:42:58,912 did eventually disappear, 734 00:42:58,956 --> 00:43:01,322 but not because it was conquered and destroyed - 735 00:43:01,359 --> 00:43:03,293 there's no day when Rome actually fell - 736 00:43:03,327 --> 00:43:05,625 but because it changed. 737 00:43:09,934 --> 00:43:12,596 0ne change was that early in the 4th century, 738 00:43:12,637 --> 00:43:15,037 christianity became an official religion. 739 00:43:16,407 --> 00:43:19,604 suddenly compassion for the weak and mercy to the defeated 740 00:43:19,644 --> 00:43:21,805 were supposed to be respectable emotions, 741 00:43:21,846 --> 00:43:24,815 and what's more, some christians even opposed the games. 742 00:43:24,849 --> 00:43:27,511 (Reader) ''They not only allow people who plead for mercy 743 00:43:27,551 --> 00:43:30,042 ''to be killed, but even demand it. 744 00:43:30,087 --> 00:43:33,079 ''Why, they even order people who have been struck down 745 00:43:33,124 --> 00:43:34,648 ''and are sprawled in the sand 746 00:43:34,692 --> 00:43:36,592 ''to have their bodies torn apart, 747 00:43:36,627 --> 00:43:39,994 ''in case anyone fools them by pretending to be dead. '' 748 00:43:40,031 --> 00:43:42,795 (second reader) ''This cruel and bloodthirsty sport, 749 00:43:42,833 --> 00:43:46,098 ''the wickedness of the fighting. '' 750 00:43:46,137 --> 00:43:49,300 But though some christians denounced the games as wicked, 751 00:43:49,340 --> 00:43:51,831 there were others who, as good Romans, 752 00:43:51,876 --> 00:43:53,776 were determined to keep them going, 753 00:43:53,811 --> 00:43:56,302 they just stopped killing fellow christians. 754 00:43:57,615 --> 00:44:01,210 Christians in power continued an awful lot of the same kinds 755 00:44:01,252 --> 00:44:05,211 of public, quite violent, bloody punishments 756 00:44:05,256 --> 00:44:08,487 that the Romans had condoned in the arena before them. 757 00:44:08,526 --> 00:44:12,553 But the Roman world was not only being emasculated by christianity. 758 00:44:12,596 --> 00:44:14,291 As the new religion grew, 759 00:44:14,332 --> 00:44:16,994 vast numbers of non-Romans forced their way 760 00:44:17,034 --> 00:44:20,492 into the western empire, the so-called barbarians. 761 00:44:20,538 --> 00:44:22,597 And whenever they took control of a city, 762 00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:26,167 the gladiatorial games seem to have stopped. 763 00:44:28,646 --> 00:44:32,548 The very word ''vandal'' means a mindless destroyer, 764 00:44:32,583 --> 00:44:36,349 but in fact the vandals and the Goths and the visigoths 765 00:44:36,387 --> 00:44:40,483 were admired by disaffected Romans, and for good reason. 766 00:44:40,524 --> 00:44:42,458 A 5th-century writer, salvian, 767 00:44:42,493 --> 00:44:46,088 explained that the barbarians might not have washed very often, 768 00:44:46,130 --> 00:44:49,327 but they had more moral sense than the Romans. 769 00:44:50,434 --> 00:44:53,426 (Reader) ''We Romans oppress each other. 770 00:44:53,471 --> 00:44:56,668 ''A man cannot be safe unless he is wicked. 771 00:44:56,707 --> 00:44:59,972 ''so, many people, well-educated and from good families, 772 00:45:00,011 --> 00:45:01,774 ''flee to our enemies. '' 773 00:45:01,812 --> 00:45:04,440 ''They would rather endure a foreign civilization 774 00:45:04,482 --> 00:45:06,279 ''among the barbarians, 775 00:45:06,317 --> 00:45:09,411 ''than cruel injustice among the Romans. '' 776 00:45:11,922 --> 00:45:14,390 The Romans would enjoy the paradox, wouldn't they? 777 00:45:14,425 --> 00:45:16,290 That it was the barbarians who... 778 00:45:16,327 --> 00:45:18,124 They're trying desperately 779 00:45:18,162 --> 00:45:22,155 to show their superiority over the barbarians with these games, 780 00:45:22,199 --> 00:45:25,168 and the moment that the barbarians move in, 781 00:45:25,202 --> 00:45:27,033 the games cease to matter. 782 00:45:27,071 --> 00:45:29,938 The presence of the barbarians is... 783 00:45:29,974 --> 00:45:33,569 is the biggest factor that transforms their world. 784 00:45:35,413 --> 00:45:38,109 This is a barbarian king shown with symbols 785 00:45:38,149 --> 00:45:39,810 of a Roman triumph. 786 00:45:39,850 --> 00:45:42,182 The newcomers were happy to be seen as Romans, 787 00:45:42,219 --> 00:45:45,848 but they didn't see any need to stage public executions 788 00:45:45,890 --> 00:45:48,984 or imitations of fighting for entertainment. 789 00:45:50,594 --> 00:45:52,721 The frontiers collapsed 790 00:45:52,763 --> 00:45:56,665 and the Romans were no longer able to sit around this sand like gods, 791 00:45:56,700 --> 00:45:59,362 deciding who lived and who died. 792 00:45:59,403 --> 00:46:01,928 The world of the savages had taken over, 793 00:46:01,972 --> 00:46:03,769 as far as the Romans were concerned. 794 00:46:05,109 --> 00:46:07,270 The visigoths turned this arena 795 00:46:07,311 --> 00:46:10,712 into what historians have called a fortified encampment. 796 00:46:10,748 --> 00:46:14,479 Well, actually they lived in it. It was a sort of housing estate. 797 00:46:18,055 --> 00:46:22,082 The Roman amphitheater was an ideological statement - 798 00:46:22,126 --> 00:46:26,222 ''Here is what Rome stands for and has always stood for. '' 799 00:46:26,263 --> 00:46:30,666 The architecture was simply a huge and complex stage set 800 00:46:30,701 --> 00:46:33,101 for Romans to be taught lessons of brutality 801 00:46:33,137 --> 00:46:35,605 and to despise weakness. 802 00:46:37,108 --> 00:46:41,807 It's no accident that Roman architecture has been so copied by modern states. 803 00:46:41,846 --> 00:46:44,974 It expresses power and authority. 804 00:46:45,015 --> 00:46:48,849 This is the Roman temple at Nimes, 2,000 years old, 805 00:46:48,886 --> 00:46:50,820 and this is the us Treasury... 806 00:46:53,991 --> 00:46:56,152 ..and the British Museum. 807 00:46:58,662 --> 00:47:01,028 Architecture means something, 808 00:47:01,065 --> 00:47:04,728 and this is the favored architecture of Western power. 809 00:47:07,037 --> 00:47:10,302 The Roman museum, dedicated to displays of ancient Rome, 810 00:47:10,341 --> 00:47:12,673 was created by Mussolini 811 00:47:12,710 --> 00:47:16,146 to connect his fascist rule with that of the emperors, 812 00:47:16,180 --> 00:47:19,843 and with the message of the gladiatorial games - 813 00:47:19,884 --> 00:47:22,079 compassion is weakness, 814 00:47:22,119 --> 00:47:25,179 ruthlessness is power. 815 00:47:34,398 --> 00:47:38,391 I think one reason we talk about Roman games 816 00:47:38,435 --> 00:47:42,098 is that we're conscious of the seeds of the cruel... 817 00:47:42,139 --> 00:47:44,198 of the same cruelty in ourselves, 818 00:47:44,241 --> 00:47:47,233 and we kind of want to understand, 819 00:47:47,278 --> 00:47:49,576 could we be there? 820 00:47:58,889 --> 00:48:00,880 We need to be careful when we find ourselves 821 00:48:00,925 --> 00:48:04,884 being impressed by Roman civilization. 822 00:48:04,929 --> 00:48:09,229 And even more careful when we assume that such things can't happen again.