EntertainmentRepublic

Cole Wright Entertainment of the Roman Republic 12-5-08

The entertainment for the Roman Republic fell into 3 genres; athletics, theatre, and celebration. Athletics during the Republic of Rome were very popular, since everyone did participate in some sort of athletic sport during the time. These sports, or games, were also played for the glory of the gods also. Athletics were so important to the people of Rome, that they incorporated discus throwing, javelin throwing, wrestling, jumping, and running into religious outings. Athletics entertained many of Rome’s people, but the Roman Theatre drew larger crowds. Variety was one of the most obvious characteristics of roman entertainment in the theatre (182, Connoly), and the performances that were given became less and less sophisticated over time. Comedy was by far the more popular type of play seen by the people, and the two main types of comedies seen were called the Phylakes and the Atellan Farces (183, Connoly.) The Phylakes was a type of comedic play where the actors wore padded clothing and gruesome masks in order to depict a crazy appearance. These plays sometimes involved mythological tales ending up to be a tragic story, and everyday life was always featured in the plays as well. The Atellan Farces were based on the town of Atella, Italy, where the four same characters were featured in every single play. These characters were called Bucco and Maccus, both fools; Dosennus and Manducus, greedy buffoons; and Pappus, the ‘Gaffer’ (183, Connoly.) Theses Farces usually depicted tragic stories, and were later superceded by the mimes in around the 1rst century B.C. (Hutchinson encyclopedia) Mimes and Pantomimes took over most of Rome’s attention of theatre in around the 1rst century B.C., where tales of lively adventurous events are portrayed with male and female actors who wear heavy makeup. Unlike the other comedic genres, mimes and pantomimes used songs and musical numbers inside their play simultaneously. Top ranking pantomimus were often treated as rock stars are treated as today. These actors were slaves and freedmen, often from the east (188, Connoly.)

Bibliography

1.http://www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/encyclopedia/article_show/Atellan_farce_/m0054482.html?&searchtermold=life%20after%20people&searchtermold=life%20after%20people

2.	Connoly, Peter. The Ancient City; Life in Classical Athens & Rome. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998. 3.	http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/23/2923-004-163AEACA.jpg 4.	http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://latin.agnesscott.edu/Roman_Comedy/masks.jpg&imgrefurl=http://latin.agnesscott.edu/Roman_Comedy/actors.html&usg=__Kv3m0CK4tzpH8WezmAaTIu1dCXU=&h=308&w=500&sz=71&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=c-DuAkuwqeB-sM:&tbnh=80&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Droman%2Bactor%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG