The most
extreme example
of callousness towards the value of life is the killing of people for entertainment. Today we
have violence in sports such as hockey, football and boxing, but this is
child’s play compared to the public
entertainment of many ancient cultures. Some actually killed people for sport. In over 200 locations throughout their Empire, the Romans killed people for sport.
THE ROMAN COLISEUM
Travelers
to Italy today will
most likely visit "The Forum." This site served as the political center and seat
of power in the Roman Empire 2,000 years ago. At the end of the Forum stands
the Coliseum. Rome, which was world-renowned for its building skills, considered
the Coliseum to be one of the greatest feats of Roman engineering. This giant arena,
completed in the year 80 CE, seated 50,000 people. It was the world's first Astrodome,
with a removable roof. The floor of the arena could be raised or lowered. The Coliseum
could be filled with water and boats could sail through it.
What was this marvel
of engineering used for? Virtually every day of the year, 50,000 men, women, and children
would come in for free. They would get a seat, a pillow to sit on, meat and wine, all for free. The first act of the day featured animals killing each other: The Romans went all over the empire to find wild, exotic beasts that could tear each other to pieces. Up to 1,000 animals fought at one time. The second act entailed feeding people to animals. Keep
in mind that Rome was a very "law and order" society and everything had to be
done legally -- you couldn't just throw anyone to the lions. The victim had to have been
convicted of a capital offense. If the Romans didn't have enough victims, they would find minor criminals to condemn to death. Intermissions consisted of mass executions of
condemned prisoners -- by burning, beheading, and flaying the skin off them while they were still alive.
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JEAN-LEON GEROME
"Pollice Verso" (Thumbs Down) |
The main event, as popular as the World Series, was the gladiatorial combat. In the arena, condemned prisoners, slaves, and captives of war fought to the
death, sometimes by the thousands. In 107 CE, the Emperor Trajan held a huge tournament in
which 10,000 gladiators fought. Spectators of this event witnessed at least 5,000 people
die. Even the Romans were not immune to the stench of death; the Coliseum was designed
with giant fountains which sprayed perfume into the air. The Romans didn't just use men as gladiators, they also used women, children, blind people, dwarfs, etc. -- anything to keep
the bloodthirsty masses entertained.
Rome was considered the most sophisticated civilization at that time in history, yet
the most barbaric. Do not mistake cultural and technological
sophistication with moral standards. There is no connection. 
Throughout history many of the
most cruel civilizations were also among the most advanced.
The attitude in antiquity towards the sanctity of human life was very different from
what we hold today.
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