Cómo ser un gladiador: historia romana fascinante

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The class will begin with me introducing myself and asking the students what they are most interested in learning about in our gladiator class. I welcome all thoughts and questions.

First: Graffiti is our friend. We will learn by looking at ancient graffiti from Pompeii to see first hand how the knowledge of the games, individual gladiators, recreations of bouts, and images of the armor and weapons have been passed down to those of us in the modern world. We will learn a few of the basic armor types and their accompanying weapons and the styles of fighting that goes with each. We will learn how different gladiators with different styles of fighting were paired in the arena to make a more exciting game.

Second: Lions and Tigers and Gladiators, oh my! One of the types of games we will be looking at is gladiator vs impressive wild animal. The Romans loved to see almost any type of exotic animal in the arenas and we will look at some archaeological evidence to give us clues to the real story behind this type of spectacle. Why do you think lions were such a popular choice? What type of gladiator do you think would be the best to go up against a lion, and why? How and where were the animals cared for?  Do you think that a giraffe was ever seen in the Colosseum?

Third: The Colosseum. We will visit the inside of the Colosseum and learn about its architecture and some of its hidden features. There are still excavations going on all around the Colosseum and surrounding areas and new knowledge is uncovered all the time. I will give the students a peek at some of these new discoveries. We will learn what the Colosseum looked like in the ancient world and how it worked when it was in active use.  Did you know that complex sets could rise from the floor of the arena? What about the secret passage to the gladiator training school nearby? What did the Colosseum represent to the Romans and non Romans? Why do you think this huge building was paced in the very center of the city?

Fourth: Come on, let's all be Romans. We will finish by discussing the role that the gladiator games and arenas played in spreading Roman influence across the Empire. We will see examples from around the world of arenas and amphitheaters built by the Romans.  What is Romanization? Why would gladiatorial games be a good way to spread Roman culture?  Why don't we have Roman style games today, or do we? We will end by discussing how these games still influence us today and what, if any, examples there may be in the modern world of similar types of games.

Fifth: Be a Gladiator! Finally, we will end with each student discussing the type of gladiator he or she might want to be and why.