Wanfala Leson From History Bilong Rome
“SAPOS, olsem olketa man, mi faet witim olketa wild animal long Ephesus.” Samfala tingse toktok hia, long 1 Corinthians 15:32, minim dat aposol Paul kasem panis for faet long wanfala Roman stadium. Nomata hem mas duim datwan or nomoa, wei for faet go kasem dae hem samting wea pipol duim olowe long datfala taem. Wanem nao history talem iumi abaotem olketa stadium and samting wea happen long there?
From iumi olketa Christian, iumi laek for trainim conscience bilong iumi for followim tingting bilong Jehovah, wea savve helpem iumi for mekem olketa disison abaotem hapitaem. Olsem example, tingim tingting bilong Jehovah abaotem raf fasin, wea showaot long toktok hia: “No jealous long man wea duim raf fasin, no chusim eni wei bilong hem.” (Proverbs 3:31) Olketa firstfala Christian garem datfala kaonsel for leadim olketa taem planti wea stap raonem olketa barava enjoyim olketa faet midolwan olketa gladiator long Rome. Taem iumi tingim olketa samting wea happen long olketa faet hia, bae iumi lukim wanem leson nao showaot for olketa Christian distaem.
Tufala gladiator wea garem sword feisim each other long wanfala stadium long Rome. Taem olketa start for faet evriwan singaot for encouragem wan wea olketa laekem hem for win. Tufala evriwan faet for laef. No longtaem, from hem wiki and garekil, wanfala hia torowem sword bilong hem and foldaon long hand and knee bilong hem, from hem luksavve hem lus and hem begim narawan for mercy. Singaot bilong crowd hem kamap big fogud. Samfala long crowd singaot for hem kasem mercy, olketa narawan for hem mas dae. Evriwan luk go long Emperor. From hem tingim samting wea crowd singaot for hem, hem savve disaed for letem man hia stap laef or witim saen wea hem showim witim hand bilong hem givim order for hem dae.
Olketa bilong Rome barava laekem tumas olketa faet midolwan olketa gladiator. Maet iu sapraes for savve hao firstaem, olketa duim olketa faet olsem long funeral bilong olketa bigman. Samfala talem hao olketa faet olsem start witim wei wea Oscan or Samnite pipol wea stap long ples wea distaem hem midol part bilong Italy, sakrifaesim pipol. Olketa sakrifaes hia hem for mekem olketa spirit bilong pipol wea dae hapi. Olketa kolem kaen wei for faet wanfala munus, or “gift.” Olketa firstfala game long Rome kamap long 264 B.C.E. taem sixfala man faetem each other insaed buluka market. Long funeral bilong Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, olketa duim 22 faet. Long funeral bilong Publius Licinius, 120 man faetem each other. Long 65 B.C.E., Julius Caesar sendem go 640 gladiator long stadium.
Keith Hopkins, man wea studyim history talem hao “olketa funeral bilong olketa bigman hem for kasem olketa goal saed long politik, and olketa funeral game hem for kasem samting saed long politik . . . from olketa citizen wea vote laekem tumas funeral game hia. Tru nao, wei wea olketa faet midolwan olketa gladiator kamap moa big hem from wei wea olketa bigman laek for winim each other saed long politik.” Kasem rul bilong Augustus (27 B.C.E. go kasem 14 C.E.), olketa munus kamap olketa present wea kost tumas—for olsem hapitaem for olketa pipol—wea olketa richfala ruler offerim for kasem goal bilong saed long politik.
Olketa wea Faet and Training
Maet iu ask, ‘Hu nao olketa gladiator?’ Olketa maet olketa slave, criminal wea kasem judgment for dae, prisoner bilong war, or man wea laekem tumas faet olsem or wea laek for garem big nem and riches. Evriwan long olketa kasem training long olketa skul wea olsem prison. Datfala buk Giochi e spettacoli (Games and Spectacles) talem hao olketa gladiator wea duim training “evritaem garem olketa gard wea lukluk long olketa and kasem strict schedule, olketa hardfala rul, and barava nogud panis . . . Disfala wei for deal witim olketa lead go long wei wea planti killim dae seleva, and againstim olketa boss.” Skul for olketa gladiator long Rome wea big winim olketa narawan garem olketa smol rum for winim wan thousand prisoner. Evri man garem spesol skill. Samfala faet witim kaleko for faet, shield, and sword, olketa narawan witim net and spia wea garem thrifala point. Samfala kasem training for feisim olketa wild animal long narakaen show wea staka laekem, datfala hunt. Maet Paul storyim kaen show olsem.
Olketa wea organizem olketa show hia kasem help from olketa bisnisman wea faendem and trainim olketa wea 17 or 18 year for kamap olketa gladiator. Wei for baem and sellim olketa man olsem hem wei for kasem staka selen. Wanfala barava spesol show wea Trajan hem offerim for celebratem wanfala win bilong army garem 10,000 gladiator and 11,000 animal.
Wanfala Day Long Stadium
Long morning olketa duim olketa hunt. Maet olketa forcem olketa difren wild animal go insaed long stadium. Audience barava enjoyim faet midolwan long wanfala buluka and bear. Planti taem olketa taemap tufala animal hia tugeta mekem tufala faet go kasem taem wanfala hem dae, then wanfala man for hunt killim dae narawan hia. Olketa nara faet wea pipol laekem hem faet midolwan olketa lion and tiger, or elephant and bear. Olketa man for hunt showim savve wea olketa garem taem olketa killim dae olketa spesol animal wea kam from olketa difren kantri, nomata kost for tekem kam olketa animal hia hem hae—olketa leopard, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, hyena, camel, wild dog, boar, and antelope.
Olketa hunt hia kasem interest bilong crowd from olketa putim olketa difren samting long stadium. Olketa big ston, wata, and olketa tree for mekem hem luk olsem bush. Long samfala stadium, olketa animal seknomoa stap, from olketa kamap from olketa door long floor wea haed. Wei wea fasin bilong olketa animal savve change kwiktaem mekem hem moa interesting, bat samting wea mekem olketa hunt hia barava moa interesting hem wei for barava raf long olketa.
Next samting long program hem wei for killim man dae. Olketa trae for mekem each wan hem difren. Olketa duim olketa drama wea followim kastom story, wea olketa wea act insaed really dae.
Long aftanun, olketa difren grup bilong olketa gladiator wea garem olketa difren samting for faet and wea kasem training long olketa difren teknik faetem each other. Samfala wea pullim awe olketa dead body werem kaleko olsem god bilong world bilong olketa spirit.
Wei wea Hem Affectim Audience
Crowd barava laek for lukim faet, so olketa whipim man wea hol bak for faet for mekem hem kros and faet strong. Crowd singaot olsem: “Why nao hem fraet for feisim sword? Why nao hem no strong for hitim man? Hem shud [willing nomoa for] dae. Whipim hem for mekem hem strong for faet! Letem olketa hitim each other, witim naked skin wea stap redy for sword!” Bigman bilong Rome, Seneca, talem hao long wanfala spel olketa mekem disfala announcement: “Bae mifala killim dae samfala man moa insaed taem for spel for keepim interest bilong iufala!”
Iumi no sapraes hao, Seneca talemaot hao hem go bak long haos witim feeling for “raf and treatim man nogud winim bifor.” Hem fitim for iumi ting hevi long samting wea man hia honest for talemaot. Waswe, maet samting wea happen long olketa sports distaem affectim audience long sem wei, mekem olketa kamap “raf and treatim man nogud winim bifor”?
Maet samfala tingse olketa lucky from olketa seleva no dae long there. Taem wanfala man long audience talem fani samting abaotem Domitian, datfala emperor givim order for olketa pullim hem from chair bilong hem and torowem hem long olketa dog. From no inaf criminal stap for olketa killim dae, Caligula givim order for olketa kasholem wanfala sekson bilong crowd and torowem olketa long olketa animal. And taem olketa stage machine no waka olsem hem laekem, Claudius givim komand for olketa mechanic mas faet long stadium.
Wei wea audience ova tumas hem lead go long bigfala trabol and raoa. Olketa talem hao wanfala stadium long north saed bilong Rome foldaon and planti thousand dae. Wanfala raoa kamap long wanfala show long Pompeii long 59 C.E. Tacitus talem hao olketa faet midolwan long pipol bilong datfala ples and sekson from nara taon wea saportim saed bilong olketa start witim wei for tokspoelem each other, then torowem olketa ston, and hem finis witim wei for iusim sword. Samfala barava garekil, and planti dae.
Wanfala Leson wea Klia
Wanfala show (Sangue e arena, “Blood and Sand”) wea kamap no longtaem go nomoa long Colosseum long Rome hem olsem datfala olketa munus. Olketa showim olketa video abaotem olketa wea faetem buluka, boxing, olketa nogud accident taem olketa trak and motorcycle resis, olketa barava raf faet midolwan olketa athlete long olketa game, and olketa bigfala faet midolwan long olketa long crowd. Show hia end witim piksa wea showim Colosseum. Long tingting bilong iu, olketa wea lukim show hia shud ting hao long diswan? Haomas man nao bae lanem datfala leson?
Long samfala kantri distaem, pipol barava laek for lukim faet midolwan olketa man kokorako, buluka, and olketa raf sport. Pipol barava laekem tumas for lukim olketa car resis nomata laef bilong olketa man stap long danger. And tingim olketa show long television. Research wea olketa duim long wanfala western kantri showim hao wanfala pikinini maet lukim man killim dae narawan 10,000 taem and lukim raf fasin 100,000 taem long television bifor hem kasem age ten.
Man for raet long mek-thri century, Tertullian, talem hao hapi wea kamaot from olketa show hia “no savve join witim tru religion and trufala wei for obeyim trufala God.” Hem ting long olketa wea attend olsem kaban bilong olketa wea killim dae pipol. Waswe distaem? Maet iu ask, ‘Waswe, mi laek for lukim blood, dae, or raf fasin long television or long Internet?’ Hem savve help for remember hao Psalm 11:5 hem sei: “Jehovah seleva hem lukluk gud long raeteous man and nogud man tu, and soul bilong Hem barava heitim eniwan wea lovem raf fasin.”
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Olketa Faet for “Mekem Olketa wea Dae Finis Hapi”
Tertullian, man wea raet long mek-thri century hem sei: “Pipol long taem bifor garem biliv hao olketa savve givim service long olketa wea dae finis bihaen olketa changem lelebet diskaen show for mekem hem no raf tumas. Bikos, long datfala taem long olketa funeral olketa iusim blood bilong olketa rabis prisoner or slave wea olketa baem and wea olketa sakrifaesim for mekem soul bilong olketa wea dae finis hapi. Bihaen, olketa tingse hem bae gud for haedem wei wea diswan no showimaot respect long wei for mekem diswan samting wea givim hapi. So bihaen olketa trainim olketa wea olketa markem for duim best bilong olketa for iusim olketa samting for faet wea olketa garem fitim savve bilong olketa—olketa kasem training for lane hao for letem man killim olketa dae!—then olketa killim olketa dae long day olketa markem long ples bilong olketa grev. So pipol long datfala taem kasem comfort from dae long wei for killim man dae. Diswan nao hao datfala munus hem start. Bat gogo olketa show hia kamap raf fogud; from pipol barava no hapi, sapos olketa wild animal tu no share for brekem body bilong olketa man. Olketa ting long samting wea olketa offerim for mekem olketa wea dae finis hapi olsem wanfala funeral ceremony.”
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Hat and samting for protectim leg bilong gladiator bifor
[Olketa Piksa long page 29]
Olketa Christian bifor no acceptim hapitaem wea raf. Waswe iu?
[Olketa Credit Line]
Boxing: Dave Kingdon/Index Stock Photography; car crash: AP Photo/Martin Seppala
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Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona/Bridgeman Art Library