Gladiator school of Vienna discovered

4 Comments

1. Elizabeth D says:

   30 August 2011 at 10:57 AM

   “He, not forsaking that secular course which his parents had charmed him to pursue, had gone before me to Rome, to study law, and there he was carried away incredibly with an incredible eagerness after the shows of gladiators. For being utterly averse to and detesting such spectacles, he was one day by chance met by divers of his acquaintance and fellow-students coming from dinner, and they with a familiar violence haled him, vehemently refusing and resisting, into the Amphitheatre, during these cruel and deadly shows, he thus protesting: “Though you hale my body to that place, and there set me, can you force me also to turn my mind or my eyes to those shows? I shall then be absent while present, and so shall overcome both you and them.” They hearing this, led him on nevertheless, desirous perchance to try that very thing, whether he could do as he said. When they were come thither, and had taken their places as they could, the whole place kindled with that savage pastime. But he, closing the passages of his eyes, forbade his mind to range abroad after such evils; and would he had stopped his ears also! For in the fight, when one fell, a mighty cry of the whole people striking him strongly, overcome by curiosity, and as if prepared to despise and be superior to it whatsoever it were, even when seen, he opened his eyes, and was stricken with a deeper wound in his soul than the other, whom he desired to behold, was in his body; and he fell more miserably than he upon whose fall that mighty noise was raised, which entered through his ears, and unlocked his eyes, to make way for the striking and beating down of a soul, bold rather than resolute, and the weaker, in that it had presumed on itself, which ought to have relied on Thee. For so soon as he saw that blood, he therewith drunk down savageness; nor turned away, but fixed his eye, drinking in frenzy, unawares, and was delighted with that guilty fight, and intoxicated with the bloody pastime. Nor was he now the man he came, but one of the throng he came unto, yea, a true associate of theirs that brought him thither. Why say more? He beheld, shouted, kindled, carried thence with him the madness which should goad him to return not only with them who first drew him thither, but also before them, yea and to draw in others. Yet thence didst Thou with a most strong and most merciful hand pluck him, and taughtest him to have confidence not in himself, but in Thee. But this was after. ”
   (St Augustine, Confessions. ever ancient ever new.)
2. teechrlady says:

   30 August 2011 at 11:00 AM

   I have a friend who is Mormon who I love to send stuff like this. Hopefully, one day she’ll get that if Jesus did walk around North America we’d have some kind of archaeological evidence.
3. Dave Snyder says:

   30 August 2011 at 1:07 PM

   The most interesting part of this discovery is that Vienna was on the outer borders of the Roman Empire at the times of these games. Therefore, while this was a Roman settlement, it is surprising that they were large enough in that vicinity to hold games. It may say more about the fact that Rome had more control of the so called “Barbarian” areas than previously assumed.
4. Suburbanbanshee says:

   30 August 2011 at 6:42 PM

   It might mean that land values were cheap, so were big barbarian slaves, and that there was some reasonably easy way to ship new gladiators from training camp to the “big leagues” in other towns. Sort of a gladiator farm.

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