Munera gladiatorum. Origen del deporte espectáculo de masas

Abstract

Leading authorities in the history of sport coincide in stating that "mass  spectator sport" originated at the beginning of the 20th century. According to them, the forms of sport that occurred before cannot be considered as "mass spectator sport" because they lack sorne of its defining features. Nonetheless, this work provides sufficient evidence to allow us to establish that that form of sport started as early as the lst century AD, if not earlier. This brief work analyses in depth the classical sources recording the gladiator games (munera gladiatoria) that enable us to consider them the first "mass spectator sport".