The cestus of the Roman gladiators was even more terrible than that of the Greeks. In Greece the end desired was skill and courage and strength; in Rome the desire was for death. The death of an antagonist, unless by accident, was severely punished in Greece; but in Rome the sooner the gladiator killed his man the better.
All the great writers and speakers of Rome praised and approved the gladiatorial shows, including Cicero, Pliny, and even the good Marcus Aurelius. The first word against the shows was spoken by the Christian fathers, Tertullian, Lactantius, Cyprian, and Augustine.
The first Christian emperor of Rome abolished the games by an edict, in 325 A. D.; but they continued down to the time of St. Augustine. To a Christian martyr, Telemachus, belongs the honor of their final abolition. In 404, there came from the East on this sacred mission a monk named Telemachus. When the terrible fight was most intense, he rushed into the arena, and endeavored to separate the combatants. He was instantly killed, by order of the prætor; but the Emperor Honorius, on hearing the report, abolished the games, which were never afterwards revived.
