|
by
Doug Ward |
NOVEMBER 2008-The great popularity of the ancient Roman games is well known.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Emperor or a wealthy private citizen,
a spectator at the Colosseum was treated to an
action-packed tripleheader. In the morning there were hunts, with men hunting
animals or animals fighting against each other. In the middle of the day there
were executions of criminals or political prisoners, sometimes carried out by
animals. The headline attraction, gladiatorial combat, took place in the
afternoon.
The
body count after a day at the arena was often very high. It has been estimated
that in the first century AD, the loser in a gladiatorial fight lost his life
about twenty five per cent of the time. By the third century, this figure is
thought to have risen to about fifty per cent. These estimates are based on
limited data, but they seem to suggest that the public's thirst for violence
escalated over time.1
Because
of the blatant disregard for life exhibited at these events, the games were
condemned by both Jews and Christians.2
One scripture cited by both groups as an admonition to avoid such entertainment
was Psalm 1:1-2:
"Blessed is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night."
If
anything qualified as a "seat of the scornful", they reasoned, it was
a seat in the amphitheater. At the very least, attendance at the games caused a
person's thoughts to stray far from meditation on the ways of God.3
Jewish
oral law allowed two exceptions to the prohibition on attendance at the games.
An Israelite could attend for the purpose of arguing that the life of a fallen
gladiator be spared, or to be able to testify on behalf of a dead gladiator's
widow so that the widow would be allowed to remarry. These exceptions were
accompanied by the stipulation that the attendee not get caught up in the
spirit of the event.4
However,
being "at the arena but not of it" was much easier said than done. In
Book 6
of his Confessions, Augustine of Hippo tells the story of his young
friend Alypius, who goes to Rome to study law. At one
point Alypius allows himself to be dragged to the
amphitheater by some classmates. Though confident in
his ability to resist the allure of the games, Alypius
is completely carried away by the action and becomes an ardent fan of the
gladiatorial battles.
Alypius was not alone. As Rome conquered more territory, the cities
in its provinces quickly began to build amphitheaters and stage events modeled
after the ones in Rome. By the third century AD there were over 200
amphitheaters around the empire.5 There was
something truly contagious about the arena.
|
A
Historical and Psychological Study |
How can we account for the tremendous popularity of the Roman games? One
scholar who has investigated this question is Prof. Garrett G. Fagan of Penn
State University. Fagan has recently completed a book manuscript on the crowd
dynamics of the Roman arena, drawing upon a combination of ancient historical
and archaeological evidence and modern psychological studies of group behavior.
He summarized his findings in an Archaeological Institute of America lecture at
Miami University on November 11, 2008.
Professor
Fagan explained that the highly organized seating arrangements in the
amphitheater enhanced the experience of the spectators. Following a ruling made
by the Emperor Augustus in 19 BC, spectators were grouped in specific sections
of the arena according to factors like social class, age, gender, livelihood,
and native region. Government officials and nobility were given the best seats,
while people from lower social classes sat further away from the action. Being
seated with one's peer group enhanced a spectator's sense of identity and
connectedness with that group.
The
action at the arena also would have helped the various groups of spectators in
the crowd to bond together. One can imagine a group cheering together for a
particular gladiator or calling in unison for the punishment of some criminal.
The level of excitement was raised further by musicians who provided
instrumental accompaniment to the proceedings, accentuating key junctures in
the battles.
At
the amphitheater the spectators were treated like "lords for a day"
by the sponsors of the games. The sponsor might ask the crowd's opinion on
whether an exceptional performance in the arena was deserving of a monetary
reward. At the end of a gladiatorial battle, the crowd gave its "thumbs
up" or "thumbs down" to indicate whether the life of the loser
should be spared. For a brief period the spectators at the games were in a
position of power.
Fagan's
description of the crowd's experience at the Roman games helps us account for
the addictive popularity of these events. It also invites comparison with
today's spectator sports. At today's arenas and stadiums, crowds do not come to
watch executions or battles to the death, and they are not granted power over
the lives of the athletes. Seating is based on ticket prices rather than strict
social class distinctions. However, there are also plenty of similarities
between ancient and modern sporting events. Our sports
are rarely deadly but often violent, and the violence is part of the attraction
for some spectators. Music and other devices are used to raise the level of
excitement, and crowds often behave badly.
In a
large stadium crowd, there will often be someone holding up a sign bearing the
message "John 3:16." Perhaps some "Psalm 1:1-2" signs would
also be appropriate.
1See Fik Meijer, The Gladiators: History's Most Deadly Sport,
translated from the Dutch by Liz Waters, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 2005, p.
61.
2For further discussion
of Christian opposition to the games and abuse of animals at the arena, see the article "Exotic
Animals for the Roman Arena" in Issue 21 of Grace & Knowledge.
3For an example of
Christian application of Psalm 1:1-2 to Roman entertainment see Tertullian, De Spectaculis 3.
The Babylonian Talmud addresses this subject in tractate Abodah
Zarah 18b.
4See the Tosefta, Abodah Zarah 2.7; or the Babylonian Talmud, Abodah Zarah 18b.
5Meijer,
p. 118.
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