"Emperors and Gladiators"

Paper Summary:

The paper looks at how Thomas Wiedemann in "Emperors and Gladiators" researches the presence of gladiators and their role in the Roman society and what they signified for the society as a whole. The paper opines that the book represents an interesting depiction of the way in which gladiators came to symbolize power for the ones organizing their fights, how they established themselves as cultural icons and representative figures for the Roman Empire and how their existence was even given a place in the mythological world of the Roman culture. The paper points out where there is a lack of a convincing base of argumentation, but concludes that Wiedemann's book is a useful source of information on the Roman society as a whole.

From the Paper:

"The history of the Roman Empire can be considered to be one of the most controversial yet most interesting pieces of history. It deals with an issue that has been a clear and constant subject for debate in all manuals of history. The talk about emperors and gladiators represented one of the most interesting themes of the history of ancient times and a lot of books addressed this issue. However, "Emperors and Gladiators" by Thomas Wiedemann tends to look at this relation from a different angle. In this sense, he discusses in his book the relationship that exists between the rulers and the ruled ones. However, he achieves this by pointing out several elements which determined the experience of the gladiators as well as the rulers."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Wiedemann, Thomas. Emperors and Gladiators. New York: Routledge, 1992.

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• Analytical Essay # 115076 : "Social Class and Concerns"
• Film Review # 42667 : "Machiavelli, Hobbes and Ridley Scott's "Gladiator"

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