Roman Entertainment

Name - Patel Vishal Grp - 3 Sem - 2

Roman entertainment, like Roman roads, Roman baths, Roman villas etc, is etched in people's minds today as a result of recent films. Many people will know of the Roman gladiators, chariot racing, the Colosseum in Rome as we have a great deal of writing and other evidence about these things from the times of the Romans themselves.

Chariot racing

One of the most famous buildings in Rome is the Colosseum. This building is now a major tourist attraction on Rome. In Ancient Rome it was also a major attraction for those who wanted to see the various events that were put on at this vast building. The Colosseum could hold over 50,000 people and the viewing public were well looked after by the authorities. The temperature in Rome in the summer could be very hot and the audience at the Colosseum was protected from the sun by a huge canopy that was put over the top of the stadium when needed.

Inside the ruins of the colosseuem

The events staged at the Colosseum were many. Nearly all of them involved death and destruction. There were the well known gladiator fights and the feeding of Christians to lions. There were also a number of lesser known events such as mock sea battles involving ships, animal circus acts, animals fighting animals and animal hunts.

All sorts of animals were kept in cages below the Colosseum. Wild cats, buffaloes, bears and elephants would all be kept and then made to fight one another. In some parts of the Roman Empire, certain animals died out because their type was in such demand by those who ran entertainment in Rome itself. It is thought that on the day the Colosseum opened, over 5,000 animals were killed.

However, animals were the secondary part of the 'show'. Those who came to the Colosseum came to see people fight. Famous gladiators had a huge following but many gladiators were the Roman equivalent of 'canon fodder' - there to entertain and be killed. Many of these gladiators were slaves or prisoners-of-war. The casualty rate per 'show' was massive - near enough 50% died each show. Those gladiators who had fought well but had not won their fight could be spared by the emperor if he was present at an event - a thumbs up meant life, and a thumbs down meant death. The Roman writer Seneca wrote that for a gladiator "the only exit is death."

The Colosseum was the greatest building in Ancient Rome but much smaller amphitheatres were built in Roman Britain and gladiatorial fights may have occurred in these. Cirencester had an amphitheatre. Chariot racing was put on at the Circus Maximus. This was equally popular with the people of Ancient Rome and going to a race was seen as a family event.

ROMAN THEATRE

Roman theatre at amman , jordan

Roman liked watching other people die. They thought that was fun, like may be you think going to horror movies or watching cops on tv is fun. They also believed that their gods liked gladiatorial – fights , so that going to the fights was a sort of – religious experience as well as being fun. Many roman people went to big amphitheaters ( like our football stadiums today ). To see professionals fights ( like boxes today ).

You went early in the morning , and paid for your ticket, and sat in your seat , sometimes all the seats were free , if a rich person had given money to pay for the show. Other times , you had to pay , and it cost more money for the good seats than for the bad seats, so the poor people had to sit way up top where it was hard to see.

Exterior entrance of a Roman Theatre , Aspendos, Turkey