Why is it that the Romans, as Thomas Wiedemann says, "did not see what went on in the amphitheatre as something wicked"?
...the greater the man becomes in the eyes of his people. This gain of prestige extends to those in politics who see the games as "essential networking" (Blk 2, p.33), giving them a chance to impress. The politics however do not stop there. These games that we so easily condemn were indeed one of the greatest examples of democracy. If elsewhere the emperor held utmost power but in the arena of the games, the power leverage shifts from the emperor to the crowd of spectators. In the arena, the emperor ceases to be the ultimate power. In his stead, the crowd makes the ultimate decision. This decision comes in the form of awarding the right of freedom to the gladiators who have defeated their opponents. Therein lay another reason why the Roman games were not viewed as cruel. In a society where social strata is important, the games gives slaves, criminals, defeated military opponents and men of free birth, all of which classified as the lowest strata of men, an opportunity to break free from debts and be reborn to a new identity. The Romans, "out of their clemency" (Resource Book 1, C11, p. 106), may award them a new life. These games became a form of "court of justice" (Resource Book 1, C 13, p. 110) for the Romans where punishment is mapped out to deserving criminals. The arena became "a symbol of the ordered world" (Resource Book 1, C11, p.104). For the Romans, public humiliation of the criminal restores the social order and it gives them the assurance that the convicted criminals are being punished. In a way, the games are viewed as being rather merciful because the community does not directly take away the criminal's life, instead leaves him to the power of nature. If he dies in the fight, then he deserves it. If he survives and wins, he comes alive again. Cicero, in his letter best sums up the attitude that was prevailing then. He said, "in the days when it was criminals who killed one another, no lesson in how to endure in the face of pain and death could be more efficacious" (Resource Book 1, C8, p.98). To the Romans, the games did not only serve to rid the society of criminals but it also helps to curb the problem of wild beasts that was prevalent then. The emperors likened this to "performing services for humanity that Hercules had once performed" (Resource Book 1, C 11, p.104). It was also a bid to show man's mastery over nature. The public themselves sees the "venatio" as a splendid show of animal strength. Martial, in his epigrams, called these shows "sacred"(Resource Book 1, C1, p.93) as he sings praises of the magnificence of the games and describes the animals' death as glorious. He is not alone in this. Apuleius and Statius, both lament the lost joy that could have been derived in watch...