Roman Entertainment

The gladiatorial games were an important part of the lives of those in Pompeii. But those in Herculaneum were most likely unable to enjoy the games as home as they did not have a place to hold them. Gladiators were POW’s, freedmen, criminals, slaves and some men who had fallen on hard times who would volunteer.

Entertainment was essential to daily life in Ancient Rome.  According to Juvenal1, it seemed that all Romans were interested in was "bread and circuses,"  and with theatres, amphitheatres, gambling, drama and public baths galore, the Romans never seemed to get bored.

One event that the romans did for entertainment was the roman theatre, where they did plays. Every roman loved to watch the plays, but the only people who were aloud to preform were men, because ‘back in the day’ women didn’t have the same rights as men. Instead they would wear black mask’ for men and white mask’ to represent girls and women. But it wasn’t the only weird thing they did for entertainment, another thing they did was killing was interpreted in acting and this wasn’t only acting parts, you would quite literally die from playing the part. Compared to the modern day entertainment is better since it involves no

All of the tickets were free and the shows were funded by the state. It is unknown how the tickets were distributed, although it is estimated that one in twenty people in Rome could attend a single event, the upper class having the majority. The Colosseum held 3 types of entertainment, which made more enjoyable; Wild beast hunts started off every spectacle, followed by the execution of criminals during lunch break, ending with gladiatorial combat. There were also chariot races that were held at the circus, such as the Circus Maximus. These brutal races began in the mornings with a religious procession called the pompa circensis.

Early gladiator fights took place in funerals of wealthy Romans, but their main purpose was to give the people a good show. As the gladiator games grew in popularity, the funeral ritual tradition was eventually dropped and the games were staged for what they were—a display of wealth and entertainment for the masses. By approximately 90 B.C., gladiator games began taking place in circuses and forums. Circuses were elongated arenas with a spine down the middle, designed for chariot racing. In a circus, the audience had good seats but a poor view of the event. Since circuses were built for chariot races, their long and narrow shape made it difficult for someone sitting on one end to see an event going on at the other end. A good example of a circus is the Circus Maximus. This structure was the first and largest circus built by the Romans and it could hold up to 250,000 people. Forums were open gathering places in the center of a town, often with a monument in the middle. Audiences watching a gladiator event in a forum still experienced problems because the ground was flat, so only the people in the first few rows could see anything. Over the years, the gladiator games became even more elaborate to the point where some fights included fights with wild animals. So the Romans now had a problem on their hands: how to fit a large number of people in a way that let them see everything that was

As Mark Cartwright states in his article “Colosseum,” the word ‘Colosseum’ or ‘Flavian Amphitheatre’ is a large arena that was built in Rome under the emperors Flavian Dynasty, Vespasian, Titus, and Domition. During the opening festival of the Colosseum, hundreds of people and wild animals were killed. However, the purpose of this building was to make people happy; it was used for public entertainments. In fact, all the shows and games were presented in this building. The Colosseum was a place where the Gladiators used to fight.

Being able to seat 50,000 spectators, to witness wild beast shows consisting of rhinos, bears, elephants, lions, and tigers were victims of the animal hunt shows that took place in the Colosseum along with bloody gladiator combat. Just from an earshot I could hear all about the mesmerizing events that goes on in there was enough to make me wanna be a gladiator myself. My excitement was off the rails counting down the days and hours to minutes even seconds till the events begin. One of the most finest things in life just watching the death of a weak gladiator to get the blood pumping this was a day to remember.

Next, the Circus Maximus was also a form of entertainment in the 6th century BCE. It was basically a massive racetrack, with seating that could fit up to 340-450,000 people. Originally the track was majorly served for chariot races. They were color coded to red, white, green, or blue and the chariots would be pulled with around 10 horses. Most of the imperial families owned the horse stables to collect money. Outside the track were festivals and social events sponsored by the empire. Overtime they figured out how to close the track and flood it, so they could have ship battles within the track. They also began using the track for special events, such as parades to honor soldiers and competitors. Overtime statues and trophies were placed in

The first form of entertainment I am going to talk about is chariot racing. Chariot racing was the most popular form of entertainment. It appealed to all social classes, from the lowly slaves to the senators and the emperor. Juvenal’s famous saying “panem et circenses” has become a sign of entertainment appeasing people throughout the ages. Although there was no public betting one the races, there was a large amount of private betting that went on and the chance of earning money probably attracted even more popularity to the races. The races were so popular that many household items were decorated with symbols from the racing.

Most gladiators were prisoners of war from areas that the Romans had conquered and, “… fought in public perhaps only four or five times yearly.” (McBeath). These captured soldiers were represented stereotypically in the arena with weapons and garment of Roman enemies. Not all though where captured soldiers, spme infact were pervious slaves and even lower class Roman citizens, these lower-class citizens would give up their rights as citizens and be given, “regular meals, shelter, and medical care.” (MacBeath). The poor citizens felt that opportunities, though as brutal and merciless as it was, of becoming/being a gladiator outweighed those of living in poverty. As in any sport or competition there where the professionals, the gladiators who consistently won fights and entertained the crowd, and these successful figures, “gained mass public adulation, along with the lifestyle perks and privileges such status brings” (MacBeath). It was not just wealth and fame that the gladiators could obtain due to their success; gladiators could be gifted their freedom, however not considered actual citizens. The life of a gladiator was brutal, many came from defeated enemy armies some were slaves, and Roman lower-class citizens; yet some were celebrities of their times and some of those individuals remain known till this

The Roman Colosseum is important for many reasons. The main one being that it was an arena for all the games of the time such as chariot races, gladiator battles, lion fights and so on. During the Colosseum games it has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over 1 million animals were killed in the arena.

In fact, the Roman Colosseum was a massive theater in Rome that could have over 50,000 people sit in it. In the Colosseum, the day would be split into three parts. First, men would fight animals. Second, criminals would get eaten by animals as a punishment. Lastly, part three would be gladiator fights.

Romans were huge fans of sports events. This building came to be known as the “Colosseum”, because a gigantic statue of Nero, called the Colossus, stood next to it. The construction of the Colosseum was begun sometime between AD 70 and 72 during the reign of Vespasian; the structure was officially dedicated in AD 80 by Titus in a ceremony that included 100 days of games. The Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman Empire, seating 50,000 to 75,000 spectators. Its construction finally gave Rome a venue for its gladiatorial games and wild beast hunts worthy of the imperial capital. Audiences watched blood sports and spectacles including animal hunts, fights to the death between gladiators or between gladiators and wild animals,

Although it was built for chariot racing, Circus Maximus also hosted gladiator fights, wild animal hunts, sporting events, and processions (uchicago.edu). This many events at one place was quite a feat, and at one point, Circus Maximus hosted 24 races a day (uchicago.edu). Circus Maximus had 300,000 seats, as I said before, so lots of Romans could come to events, boosting the popularity of the Circus (romeguide.it). Finally, the Circus also hosted religious events, and inside there was a built-in shrine and 2 huge obelisks, the smaller of which was 88 feet high (uchicago.edu)! All this was very important to the Romans, and even to people

The environment that the Colosseum provided for games created a larger emphasis on the events in their culture. The Colosseum had many tricks and gadgets that enhanced the games and provided an illusion that further entertained the crowds. The two most popular events, the animal spectacles and staged sea fights, were direct results of the architectural advantages of Colosseum. Due to the lifting mechanisms in the arena, the cages for the larger animals were able to be directly placed on the arena. They were also able to remove the wooden surface of the arena and flood the corridors underneath to provide a space for the staged sea battles. The Colosseum became a symbol of Rome’s resurgence after the civil wars. So much so, that Vespasian said, “When the Colosseum falls, so falls Rome and all the