Roman Gladiatorial Games

Gladiatorial games, was a mean to please the Roman population. Before they became a mean of entertainment for the Roman citizens, gladiatorial games began as being a funerary rite, to honor the memory of the dead. The reason for the gladiatorial games becoming a form of entertainment for the public is because of its popularity. Before the gladiatorial games, also known as the munera, became a mean of entertainment they also served as a purpose to boost the social morale during times of need, to help the Roman society to deal with threats and battles. Throughout this paper I will prove to you that the gladiatorial games were first started as funerary rites to honor the dead, which then turned into events to lift the Romans spirits and deal
The first known evidence for gladiatorial games in Rome are dated back to 264 B.C., when the sons of Junius Brutus preparing a munera in honor of the memory of their father. "The gladiatorial combats first appeared in Rome long after the Circus games, in 264 B.C., as a funerary rite reserved to the aristocracy. That year, indeed, the sons of Junius Brutus, descendants of the great Brutus, decided to honour the memory of their father by matching three pairs of slaves against one another, according to a custom which was not of Roman origin." . Another source to back this theory up is: "The canonical date given for the introduction of gladiatorial combat to Rome is 264 B.C., at the funeral games of Junius Brutus Pera, (…)" . In these two situations it is clear to see that the Roman gladiatorial combats were first started to honor the memory of the dead, other examples of different authority figures are that of M. Aemilius Lepidus. "(…) the three sons, Lucius, Marcus, and Quintus, gave funeral games for three days and twenty-two pairs of gladiators in the forum for [their father] M. Aemilius Lepidus, who had been consul twice and augur." , which took place in 216 B.C.. Theirs is also one more quote involving Caesar, and the gladiatorial games he put on, in honor of his fathers death, which I will be mentioning further on. Having a gladiatorial combat in
In which case he chose when, where and how they would be presented. "(…) in Rome at least all the gladiatorial combats, with the exception of those held in December, were offered to the people by the emperor. It was he who determined their scope, their duration and their date." The Emperor had the power to choose any day he would like, for the celebration of whatever he would like. Whether it for an anniversary, inaugurations or for victories, it was up to him to choose. Also during this time it was no longer the person putting the spectacle on, who pays, it was the city. Another known fact is that the gladiatorial combats were no longer dedicated to the dead, but they were now dedicated in honor of the Emperor. "For throughout the Empire the gladiatorial combats were for the most part given by the high priests of the imperial cult, provincial or municipal, and were dedicated not to the dead, as they had been formerly, but to the emperor, about whose person all the religious feeling aroused by the spectacles would crystallize."
Despite the increasing politicization of the public funeral, the munera were gradually dissociated from these events. The munera had much to offer as an implement of