A Study of why Gladiatorial Contests Took Place in Ancient Rome

A Study of why Gladiatorial Contests Took Place in Ancient Rome After the Carthage in 201 BC, the Roman Empire embarked through a dangerous time period where all gladiatorial fights were all the hype. The article â€Å"Murderous Games: Gladiatorial Contests in Ancient Rome† by Keith Hopkins, discusses the fights and how they were used for entertainment purpose; where war was considered â€Å"fun†. And at the time, Roman Empire consisted of 50 to 60 million people, which was one-fifth/one-sixth of the world’s population. The Roman Empire was a warrior state where animals and people were sacrificed. People of all backgrounds were sacrificed for funerals and for entertainment purposes. In this analysis, I will discuss their purpose, the animals involved, and Rome’s present ever since that time period. The purpose behind the gladiatorial fight was for pure entertainment. Rome was a cruel place where people were used for dangerous malpractices. At the time, Gladiatorial fights were acceptable in their eyes, but in today’s society, it is considered unethical. People worshipped the gladiators like they were pop-stars. They were famous and considered the greatest people in Rome; they were considered heroes to public. People also supported the gladiatorial fights due to fear, and if they objected against it, they were soon faced with the same dilemma as the gladiators, death. And when people went to the arena as the audience, and one time there was not enough criminals to be condemned to death, so instead they killed a crowd of people to the wild animals. The emperor was the one person that made the decisions. He made that decision because, sometimes, things did not go the way he would have liked them to. In many occasions, the audience would object and ask for favors, such as lowering their taxes, food, or an execution of a different person. But sometimes the people who were shouting were going to the consequences. During this time period, the emperor made the decisions and the people’s lives where in the hands of the emperor. Animals were also involved in this cruel activity that was a sport. A large amount of animals were used as entertainment and later put to die. Some of the many animals involved included elephants, ostriches, lions, and much more. Criminals, animals, and slaves, and other people were put inside the arenas to fight, and many of them did not survive; no one actually comes out alive. On a day there were 3,000 people who fought (included men and woman) and 5,000 animals that were killed in the arena. That shows how big the arena was, which also included more room for 50,000 people to watch. One of the biggest shows was the show made by the Emperor Trajan to celebrate his defeat against Dacia. The fight lasted throughout 123 days; with 9,138 gladiators fighting and 11,000 animals killed. The emperor then later started to introduce more animals; animals like crocodiles, rhinoceros, giraffes, and tigers. At one point, the amount of hippopotamuses started to decrease more and more until one was brought from Europe through a steamship from London. Wild animals seemed to have been decreasing over that time period due to the tremendous amount of fights. Rome has changed ever since those time periods, making it an important part of history. People of all backgrounds were killed- who were criminals, slaves, Christians, and even people from the crowds- and for the emperor’s entertainment. Rome was a cruel society where cruelty was a way of life. People died for the public’s selfish needs of entertainment. There were no laws against those actions that brought brutality into the lives of the Romans. Many people looked up to the people that did not show them the true meaning of being hero, and instead they looked up to gladiators who harmed others where many of them were innocent.

Rule of Law within the United Kingdom Constitution Research Paper

Rule of Law within the United Kingdom Constitution - Research Paper Example Dicey posited the following propositions. Firstly, no man could be punished or lawfully interfered with by the authorities except for breaches of the law. In other words, all government actions must be authorized by law. Secondly, no man is above the law and everyone, regardless of rank, is subject to the ordinary laws of the land. Thirdly, there is no need for a bill of rights because the general principle of the constitution is the result of judicial decisions determining the rights of the private person. Criticized by many for the undue haste in its passage, with concerns of political pressure being raised, the law in its original form contained passages that human rights groups deemed to be violative of established human rights principles. Amidst the outrage surrounding the 911 attacks, the Anti-Terror Law was heralded as a measure to combat the worldwide phenomenon of terrorism and to arrest its spread and development. Legal scholars and free speech advocates, however, unite in condemning the law for trampling constitutionally-protected liberties. There is also the possibility that the law might give rise to or at least encourage racial profiling, particularly the provisions on the prescription of terrorist organizations. It might further alienate minority groups and exacerbate the political violence by radicalizing "moderate" groups.Human rights advocates scored a victory when the Law Lords ruled that a provision in the Law allowing the indefinite detention of foreign terrorist s uspects was contrary to human rights principles. Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, in his ruling, said: "Indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial is anathema in any country which observes the rule of law." This decision was reached when nine detainees lodged their appeal before the Court. However, concerns on free speech and freedom of association still remain.Notwithstanding these concerns, valid though that they may be, this paper will argue that the rule of law is still very much flourishing in the United Kingdom.  

Kierkegaard's account(s) of faith Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Kierkegaard's account(s) of faith - Essay Example His philosophy states that infinites passion is capable enough of overriding the seemingly impossible. It goes against the seemingly uncertain and the unlikely Even if there is objective uncertainty, infinite passion has the power to bring about change and make things happen. On the other hand the account of faith discussed by Johannes de Silentio in Fear and Trembling, through Knight of Faith, resides on the premise that through belief in the absurd, even the impossible can be made possible. This is intrinsic faith. We all believe in the absurd. What is absurd? It could be God, it could be the â€Å"universe conspiring for you to connect you with your goal, it could be a holy spiritual energy, it could be coincidence or anything which defies reason. Intrinsic Faith is a concept or a practise that can be cultivated through belief and conscious conviction about a thing happening or an event taking place successfully despite the mammoth obstacles in front. In case of Knight of Faith, he has resigned to the fact that he will never get the princess, but through faith, it is possible to get to his desired destiny. The power of faith is at its fullest application in connecting the Knight of Faith with his goal. ... These two philosophies of faith are different. According to the writer Pojman, the difference in the two account’s of faith, that of Kierkegaard and that of Johannes Climacus is perspective. Their perspectives are different. Kierkegaard writes with an insider-point of view about Christianity, whereas Climacus writes about it from the outside. However both agree on how one becomes a true Christian and on the matter of Christianity. (Sands 17) If a situation or a circumstance or an event is foreseen with infinite passion and belief in the absurd, it gathers positive energy from the ‘doer’ or ‘wisher’ as well as spiritual energy from the unknown power – God. If anything had to happen beyond predictable turn of events, defying reason it had to happen through positive belief in the divine power and through infinite passion. . (Sands 25) What objections might be made to Kierkegaard’s account(s) of faith, and how might he answer them? The objec tion that can be made to Kierkegaard’s account of faith is that by writing from the view-point of an unbeliever, Kierkegaard hoped to ‘beguile’ readers into recognising their own necessity to convert into Christianity. . (Sands 17) Another objection raised against Kierkegaard’s account of faith is â€Å"Kierkegaard's treatment of religious belief is that it fails to distinguish between someone who has a justified belief and someone who is insane.† (Philosophy of Religion 1) To this objection Kierkegaard would say that like existence itself, religious belief has no ultimate rational justification and therefore there is no way to distinguish it from reality. Kierkegaard would say that stage of infinite resignation is the last stage before faith. Therefore, anyone who has not made this movement,