EPISODE 31 Gladiators in Ancient Rome (Part 2): The Spirit of the Gladiator

“It’s the steel that they love” Juvenal

“I needed money for wine” Titus Pullo in HBO’s series Rome

“We can live vicariously through that moment, or use it to fuel what we desire in life.” Jake Rossen  

"You must die erect and invincible. What difference will it make if you gain a few more days or years? We are born into a world in which no quarter is given." Seneca

“He who has learned how to die has learned how not to be a slave.” Seneca

"Joy... is the victim's revolt and revenge against dishonor and powerlessness." Carlin Barton

Ancient Romans were obsessed with gladiatorial combat. In this two-part series, we time-travel back to get a sense of what the Games (of which gladiatorial combat was the main attraction) were like. In this episode: how gladiators were both superstars and despised outcasts at the same time, gladiators’ groupies, Marcus Aurelius’ wife taking a bath in gladiator’s blood, Commodus and his 620-0 record in the arena, the clash between Christianity and gladiators, the evolution of MMA in the early 1990s, having your violent cake and eating it too, gladiatorial video games, Titus Pullo’s badassery, Conan’s prayer (The video of my daughter mentioned in this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJIh5zNfmm8), the Red Hot Chili Peppers, MMA fighter Enson Inoue, gladiatorial combat as a master course on Stoicism in action…

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