ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

After Dawn had disappeared, fresh and rosy-fingered, I decided to curl up on my couch, pizza in hand, and watch the epic cinematic spectacular that is Gladiator... again.

Upon re-watching this marvel I was able to come up with a few possible questions in reference to the world of the gladiator:

1. How historically accurate is Ridley Scott's Gladiator in reference to the events of Ancient Rome?
2. Why did the Roman populace indulge in the bloody sport of gladiator battles, rather than enjoy the peace of poetry and plays? (why was it so popular?)
3. How did the ranking system work in reference to gladiators and gladiator battles?
4. When, how and why did gladiator fights begin, and what purpose did they serve in the culture of Rome?

I am still formulating different questions and ideas for my special study, however, these questions display my thinking pattern at the moment.

"The beating heart of Rome is not the marble of the senate, it's the sand of the coliseum." - Gracchus

A Special Kind of Study

And so, in the depths of the term one holidays, and as Dawn appeared, many-a-time, fresh and rosy-fingered, I have begun work on my Special Study.

Still unsure on what exactly I wish to study, I am currently in the process of brainstorming ideas and possible questions for this assignment.

Having a keen interest in Ancient Rome, I thought the world of the gladiator might be a good basis, I mean, who wouldn't want to research people fighting lions in an arena? I figure I may be able to study the 2000 film Gladiator and analyse its historic accuracy to Ancient Rome. I could also do a study into the ranking system of the gladiators, and the hierarchical system of Classical Rome. Another idea I have is to do a comparison on the Ancient Roman world and the world of the popular novel (and now film) series The Hunger Games, and break apart the similarities, differences and ideology there.Wars and leadership also interest me, so a look into the leaders of the Greco-Roman classical world and how they compare and differ from our leaders of today could prove very interesting. There are a lot of ideas to study for this assessment but I am leaning more towards the world of Ancient Rome and the gladiator.

Too bad this thing doesn't stretch out the renaissance... I could've done Assassin's Creed II...

Beginning my Blogger Odyssey

As Dawn appeared, fresh and rosy-fingered, I started up my Classics Blog.