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gladiatorial games originated from the widespread custom of putting on
shows, often bloody combats, during funeral ceremonies. Their place
of origin is uncertain; many scholars consider it to have been Samnite
Campania on the evidence of paintings of funeral games in 4th-century BC
chambered tombs, featuring the oldest known gladiatorial armour called
samnes, and because of the presence in the region of the first stone-built
amphitheatres.
From the time of their introduction onwards, the gladiatorial spectacles (munera) were one of the public events most popular with every level of society. Gladiators are portrayed on every-day objects such as pottery, glass drinking vessels, statuettes and gems, as well as in mosaics and paintings. During the 2nd century BC, the munera spread to Italy and the provinces, became progressively separated from the religious and private realms and were transformed into full-blown public entertainments. . |
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