Spectacle of Death

The Roman games truly were a specticle for the beholder. The spectator would have witness some of the most gruesome and gory violence possible. The violence was at the maximum replusiveness as phyiscally possible. With sharpened steel objects being thrust into the victim, slicing and dicing them to pieces. Swords and spears would tear open a man leaving his insides visable to the outside world. If a man was not cut to pieces by steel, he could be trampled by the horses and chariots that sometimes roamed the arena. This would crush the victim leaving them broken and battered, many would not even resemble humans after having their face crushed by the hoof of a stallion or the wheel of a chariot. If this didn't kill them the wild animals sent to fight the Gladiators very well could. They would tear their victim limb from limb, shreading them with their razor like teeth and claws. This truly was a specticle as only graphic human physical distruction could be.

I am currently reading the book, "Spectacles of Death In Ancient Rome," by Donald G. Kyle. Professor Kyle is the Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Arlington. He specializes in sports of the ancient world particularly Ancient Greece. This book truly is a facinating one, though I have just started to read the book. In the "Interpretations of Roman violence and spectacles" section, Kyle talks of how violence and blood sport continue through society from humans origins as a hunter/killer for survival.