Now, I know many people consider the Roman Gladiatorial Games some horrible, Barbaric thing. They rave on about how horrible it all was, and how savage and inhuman the Roman people were for watching it. Me? I can't stand people like them.
I've just never seen the Games as such a bad thing, really. Yes, they sometimes died. Yes, the people would sometimes demand death. It was not as often as people let on however. Most of the time both Gladiators came out of it. And even when they die, I don't think of it as so bad. Many were slaves, yes. But many were volunteers later on, and the people often enjoyed seeing them more then the slaves.
None of it really just appears so horrible in my mind. If I lived back then, I probably would have watched them, and enjoyed them. We all try and act so high and mighty about how moral we are, and how we value all life so. But really, at a NASCAR Race, when is the crowds momentum at its highest? When somebody wrecks and crashes. What is the entire purpose of stunt shows? If people didn't think they had a chance to crashing and at least getting badly injured, they wouldn't come. And they do get excited when it does happen.
Even in things like hockey matches, fights can become very brutal, and the fans love it. Now look at the Games, and tell me the Roman people were really so much worse, and so much more immoral than we are.