Sports origin is deeply rooted in the rich history of Rome and ancient Greece. Olympic games in ancient Greek represent one of the oldest and most foundational types of sports recorded in history. Colosseum is a familiar battlefield where gladiators hosted several ferocious and suspenseful chariot races. Both the violence-driven Roman culture and the athletic Greek culture set the standards for different games and competitions that followed. Romans’ perspective on sports was different from that of Greeks as the latter were less violent because their competitions did not demand the death of any of the participants.
The Roman gladiators encouraged violence, while the Greece Olympians encouraged peace during their competitions. There were a treaty and people in charge of suspending war in Greek athletics competitions, prohibiting entry of armies to city Elis, and forbidding legal disputes and executions. The truce was tasked with the provision of safety to the spectators and athletes during the travel to the competitions (Edelman & Wilson, 2017). On the other hand, gladiator games were a highly violent kind of sport and entertainment. In the arenas where the competitions of gladiators were performed, there was the execution of prisoners, animal slaying, and fighting to the death (Matz, 2019). The death battles between gladiators showed a culture that celebrated violence as opposed to Greeks, who celebrated peaceful athletics competitions.
The two cultures attached different importance to religion as Greek athletics viewed it as more important compared to Roman gladiators. Greeks associated their competitions with a celebration of their god, Zeus. 100 oxen were sacrificed during Greek athletics competitions on the middle days of the competitions for Zeus (Matz, 2019). Greeks considered their Olympics as blessed by Zeus and always praised him for their victories. Equally, Roman’s gladiatorial experiences were established as a religious practice; however, this changed as the games lost religious context. Although some people joined at will, the Roman gladiators involved prisoners of war and slaves who were forced to participate in deadly battles against their wish. Religion did not have great importance to Romans, and all praise was directed to their emperor.
Both Roman gladiators and Greek athletes had significant cultural implications. Both competitions stirred the action of authors as well as poets to record various events through writing (Edelman & Wilson, 2017). Additionally, the two games encouraged the advancement of architecture, mathematics, and statuette due to the demand for stadiums and statues to host and praise the events. The Greek athletic competitions promoted celebrations of wealth, athletic abilities, and religion. Conversely, gladiatorial games were often planned and organized by influential people to entertain citizens at the expense of bloodshed and other peoples’ lives (Edelman & Wilson, 2017). In gladiatorial events, the wealthy used the platform to flaunt their riches in favor of violence, while Greek Olympics promoted peaceful actions.
The two events involved commercialization and enjoyment of a certain social class in society. Victory athletes were celebrated as winners and regarded as blessed and favored by Zeus in Greece society (Edelman & Wilson, 2017). Conversely, despite being a slave, a gladiator was assigned a higher prestige compared to other people. Many people would volunteer to become gladiators to acquire fame and riches (Edelman & Wilson, 2017). Both cultures praise the winners in the competitions showing the value they attached to the sport. Greek Olympics attracted many spectators contributing to revenue during the games. Conversely, commercialization for gladiators was evident in their promotion of violent cultural events during peaceful times.
Romans’ perspective on sports clashed with that of Greeks as the latter encouraged peace in competitions. Roman gladiatorial events were organized with no regard for celebrating peaceful events as they involved execution and death battles. Gladiators did not consider religion as important compared to Greek athletics, who considered the competitions a blessing by Zeus. The two games influenced the advancement of mathematics and architecture due to the need to build stadiums and statues. Generally, Roman gladiators and Greek athletics competitions are the oldest foundational forms of competitions in history that share similarities and differences.
References
Edelman, R., & Wilson, W. (2017). The Oxford handbook of sports history. Oxford University Press.
Matz, D. (2019). Ancient Roman sports, Az: Athletes, venues, events and terms. McFarland.