Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1897-06-03
THE ROMAN GAMES AND FES
TIVALS.
BY j. TYSON DoRTcH. L

| tHe Oreek. 1ne OfeeKS being more
successful in theirs because the no
blest thought it an honor to partici-
pate, while the early Romans, in
| their staunchness and nobleness of
character, considered it a disgrace
for one OF noble birth to contend be-
fore the eyes of the multitude; but in
the privacy of his home he was phys
ically the equal of the Greek.
The first Roman Games of which
VIC have any description, were those
exhibited by Marcus and Decimus
laBrutus at the funeral of their father
in the year 264 B. c. Thus they
originated in religious ceremony,
| and were henceforth considered as
such. When divine favor was de
sired from god, VOW of Games
and Festivals was made to him, and
each of the great gods had his own
festival month
The Saturnalian Games were the
greatest of these They were held
in the month of December, and
usually lasted seven days This was
time of general mirth and feasting,
co1nlnemorating the free and easy
rule of the ancient Saturn. All bus
mess affairs, both private and pub
lie, were stopped, slaves were put on
even criminals and captives were al =
lowed certain privileges.
But as the Romans became more
luxurious, and their character less
noble and refined, their nature de
manded more exciting spectacles
than comedies, tragedies, and musi-
cal exercises of the Greeks-it de
manded the real thing It was not
their nature to be satisfied with the
feigned death of an actor-they
wanted him really dead, and their
craving for blood-shed was gratifed
by the gladiatorial and wild beast
fights At first connected with the
Saturnalia they soon became too
popular to be restricted to certain
dates, and after time the taste for
these brutal contests grew to pas
sion, and unmindful of their reli-
gious sign fcance, politicians used
them as a road to popularity, and
successful generals in honor of their
victories. At the opening of the
Colosseum there was a slaughter of
IL 900 beasts, and the great Caesar
at one time exhibited 800 pairs of
Gladiators clad in silver armor.
There were two kinds of these
games: those exhibited at the Circus
Maximus, and those held at the Am
phitheatres The circus was the
betting ring Here were usually
which the Romans greatly delighted
in The throng who filed the Am
phitheatres were more numerous
and less select, although the noble
Romans had charge of affairs. Here
were held the gladiatorial contests
and the wild beast fights, the brutal
tiles of which still exist, in a slight
measure, in the Spanish bull fights
They show the coarseness, and the
cruelty, and the greed for blood in
the otherwise noble Roman charac-
ter. They were advertised generally
by public announcements, and on
the day of the exhibition, the Glad
iators marched to the Arena, where
| they were matched in pairs and had
their weapons and armor examined
by the officers in charge. Long be
fore the appointed hour hundreds
of spectators took their seats be-
| meath the awnings, gorgeous with
purple and gold Before the open
ing they were regaled with sweet
music and REFRESHMENTS. At the
shout of command and the sound of
bugle the contest began. When a
Gladiator was badly wounded he
threw down his arms, and held up
his fore-fnger as a plea for his life,
/ Il Iol, of a 0f bn
people, more often that of the
pire, that of the Emperor. The more
blood shed the more infiamed the
spectators grew, and even the maid
ems reviewed these combats with
eager eyes, and would unfeelingly
turn down their thumbs and show
not the slightest signs of pity for
the conquered The smell of blood
was drowned by the fragrance of
Oriental perfumery, dispersed
through the building by tubes, and
the shrieks of the dying were lost in
the medley of musical instruments.
The clots of blood were covered
with sawdust, and the killed and
mortally wounded were dragged
from the Arena by the numberless
attendants. The Romans at times
became so frenzied with the sight of
blood that they would rush into the
Arena and take part in the contest;
sometimes the Emperors, and even
women, thus debased themselves
The Emperor Aurelius Commodus
fought seven hundred and thirty
five times as common Gladiator
before his depraved subjects.
IF possible the wild beast fights
were even more revolving than the
Gladiatorial combats, because un
trained captives, and defenceles'
christians, some of them delicate wo
men, were pitted against feroclou
animals. At one time twenty mad
dened elephants were turned II
upon 600 war captives, and the ami
mails were often goaded against eacl
other. This slaughter caused
great demand for strange animals
, and all the provinces were searched
| for them, which when captured an,
carried to Rome brought exorbitan
prices. Noble game became scarce
and it was prohibited by law to XII
a lion, even in self defense. TIL
animals were kept shut up and wer
deprived of all food except jus
enough to sustain them, and the.
were infamed in every possible man
ner, so that they would be ferociou
on the day of their exhibition befor