The Gladiator (Secret History of Rome's Warrior Slaves) - Softcover

Baker, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0091886546 ISBN 13: 9780091886547

Publisher: Vintage/Ebury (a Division of R, 2002

Synopsis

As he stepped into the massive, roaring space of the Coliseum, he would have been aware of two things: first the bodies of those who had fought and fallen, their blood mingling with the hot dust of the arena floor; second, a sound as ominous as the scenes before him - that of swords being sharpened.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Baker was born in Birmingham in 1964 and studied English at the University of Reading.

From Publishers Weekly

In a lurid, sometimes sensational, tabloid-like account of Roman gladiatorial life, British author Baker (Invisible Eagle: The History of Nazi Occultism) offers an encyclopedic examination. While there were a few famous gladiators, such as Spartacus, the majority of these warriors were unnamed slaves, criminals or prisoners of war whose lives were nasty, brutish and short. Baker points out that there were different groups of gladiators, each with its own style of fighting. The Thracians, for example, used a round shield and sword, while the retiarii (net-men) used a net and trident spear. The games themselves were sponsored by the emperor, whose popularity was often secured by the magnitude of the contests he hosted. Using historical accounts of various games, Baker imaginatively re-creates a day at the Coliseum in Rome, which included a series of fights between criminals one armed, the other defenseless staged in a round robin manner until only one criminal was left standing; the victor was then killed unceremoniously by a Roman guard. The afternoon brought on the great battles between the "trained" gladiators, like the Thracians and the retiarii. The blood and dust from one combat had barely cleared before another began. Although they reflected the virtue of killing and facing death with the courage and dignity that dominated the Roman Empire, gladiatorial contests came to an end in the fifth century, when Christianity became the official state religion and when the empire itself was weakening. Baker builds upon an already established wealth of scholarship e.g., Michael Grant's Gladiators (2000) as he offers a lively, voyeuristic glimpse into the ancient world. Fans of the Ridley Scott movie won't be disappointed.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage/Ebury (a Division of R
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0091886546
• ISBN 13: 9780091886547
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224