Romans, Definition of their Violence vs. Modern Society

A detailed Summary of Romans, Definition of their Violence vs. Modern Society

Romans, Definition of their Violence vs. Modern Society

In many modern books written about Ancient Rome and her people, the Romans are often portrayed as brutal and unforgiving people who enjoyed violence and thought it was amusing to see people being injured and killed to the point of obsession. It is my aim to establish whether this classification of the Romans is justified or if it is simply and exaggeration of what a small group of people believed.

While it is known that in Rome there were gladiatorial fights, public beatings and the keeping of slaves, it is also important to understand just exactly how advanced the Romans were. The Longman Dictionanary of the English language defines civilized as "of or being peoples of nations in a state of civilization." And then defines civilization as "a relatively high level of cultural development; specifically the stage of cultural development at which writing and the keeping of records is attained." By this definition the Romans were civilized, the educated being able to write and detailed records being kept by many historians.

The Romans also had written law's and government, including an assembly for the poorer classes. In fact, their system of law was actually quite a

In modern sources, it is often portrayed that slaves were treated more harshly than was actually the case. Slaves in Rome actually did have some benefits - "It is clear that slaves owned land, property, ships, interests in business concerns, even slaves of their own, and that their rights were protected by law." In most cases, slaves were citizens of conquered land who had been spared and put into slavery instead of being executed. This in itself was a benefit. Often slaves were trained by their 'masters' in a craft, giving them skills and again benefiting them. "For a man from a 'backward' race might be brought within the pale of civilization, educated and trained in a craft or profession, and turned into a useful member of society." Although this extract is clearly written by someone not a slave, it proves that a slave may learn a lot and actually benefit from slavery. In fact, Satricon of Petronius, who was once a slave actually said, "Thank heavens for slavery, it made me what you see today." Although this only the account of one man, it shows that at least some people actually recognized the benefits that slavery brought them.

Although much of the evidence portrays the Romans as brutal, unforgiving and obsessed with violence, we must look at exactly why this is thought. When writers try to prove that the Romans were obsessed with violence, they often refer to: gladiatorial fights, chariot racing, wild beast hunts, and the keeping of slaves. However, when you look at this list of entertainments you see that they are all similar to things that have been/are done in the modern w

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Approximate Word count = 1074
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History