Gregory Aldrete

There's a more symbolic interpretation that says the amphitheater is an expression of Roman dominance, a symbolic expression, because what you have are all segments of Roman society gathered together to control the fate of others. So you have foreigners, you have wild animals, you have criminals, you have other people.

And we are symbolically asserting our dominance over those groups by determining do you live or do you die. And that kind of works too. And the cynical one is humans like violence. I mean, when people watch a hockey game, what gets the most excited? The fight. When people watch car racing, violence. There's a crash. What's going to be shown on the news? It's the crash.

And we are symbolically asserting our dominance over those groups by determining do you live or do you die. And that kind of works too. And the cynical one is humans like violence. I mean, when people watch a hockey game, what gets the most excited? The fight. When people watch car racing, violence. There's a crash. What's going to be shown on the news? It's the crash.

And we are symbolically asserting our dominance over those groups by determining do you live or do you die. And that kind of works too. And the cynical one is humans like violence. I mean, when people watch a hockey game, what gets the most excited? The fight. When people watch car racing, violence. There's a crash. What's going to be shown on the news? It's the crash.

So there's something dark in human nature sometimes that likes violence, and maybe the Romans are just being more honest about it than we are.

So there's something dark in human nature sometimes that likes violence, and maybe the Romans are just being more honest about it than we are.

So there's something dark in human nature sometimes that likes violence, and maybe the Romans are just being more honest about it than we are.

On the other hand, to be fair, I mean there were Romans at the time who morally objected to them and said this is morally degenerate to take pleasure in this and that's wrong. So I think in all eras, you have a diversity of opinions. There's no unanimous take on what this is or what this means.

On the other hand, to be fair, I mean there were Romans at the time who morally objected to them and said this is morally degenerate to take pleasure in this and that's wrong. So I think in all eras, you have a diversity of opinions. There's no unanimous take on what this is or what this means.

On the other hand, to be fair, I mean there were Romans at the time who morally objected to them and said this is morally degenerate to take pleasure in this and that's wrong. So I think in all eras, you have a diversity of opinions. There's no unanimous take on what this is or what this means.

Was it – Well, the most common source, again, is prisoners of war. So if you conquer some people and they seem to be warlike, you might well consign some of them to fight in the arena. And the other thing about gladiators is they were highly trained professionals. Mm-hmm. So the gladiator schools who train them were spending a lot of money to train these people.

Was it – Well, the most common source, again, is prisoners of war. So if you conquer some people and they seem to be warlike, you might well consign some of them to fight in the arena. And the other thing about gladiators is they were highly trained professionals. Mm-hmm. So the gladiator schools who train them were spending a lot of money to train these people.

Was it – Well, the most common source, again, is prisoners of war. So if you conquer some people and they seem to be warlike, you might well consign some of them to fight in the arena. And the other thing about gladiators is they were highly trained professionals. Mm-hmm. So the gladiator schools who train them were spending a lot of money to train these people.

And it wasn't just we take some guy and throw him into the arena like you see in movies all the time. These were people that you'd invested a lot of money in. That's why you don't really want to see them killed. But yeah, mostly they're prisoners of war. I mean, in very rare instances, you might have a free person volunteering or even selling themselves to fight as gladiators. But

And it wasn't just we take some guy and throw him into the arena like you see in movies all the time. These were people that you'd invested a lot of money in. That's why you don't really want to see them killed. But yeah, mostly they're prisoners of war. I mean, in very rare instances, you might have a free person volunteering or even selling themselves to fight as gladiators. But

And it wasn't just we take some guy and throw him into the arena like you see in movies all the time. These were people that you'd invested a lot of money in. That's why you don't really want to see them killed. But yeah, mostly they're prisoners of war. I mean, in very rare instances, you might have a free person volunteering or even selling themselves to fight as gladiators. But

Much more common was that. And what's interesting is some people wouldn't do it. I mean, there's a lot of instances of gladiators refusing to fight and committing suicide, which you don't hear. So like there was one German who was supposed to fight as a gladiator and instead he stuck his head between the spokes of a wagon that was spinning and snapped his own neck.

Much more common was that. And what's interesting is some people wouldn't do it. I mean, there's a lot of instances of gladiators refusing to fight and committing suicide, which you don't hear. So like there was one German who was supposed to fight as a gladiator and instead he stuck his head between the spokes of a wagon that was spinning and snapped his own neck.

Much more common was that. And what's interesting is some people wouldn't do it. I mean, there's a lot of instances of gladiators refusing to fight and committing suicide, which you don't hear. So like there was one German who was supposed to fight as a gladiator and instead he stuck his head between the spokes of a wagon that was spinning and snapped his own neck.

There were a group of 29 Germans who all sort of said, we're not going to fight for the Romans' pleasure, and they strangled one another the night before they were supposed to fight. So, I mean, you have people sort of objecting to being complicit in this kind of performance as well.