EntertainmentEmpire

The two most important things to Imperial Romans were “food and c

ircuses.” (Carcopino, 202) The Caesars gave Romans the most festivals ever. The year was even divided into two types of days, //dies fasti// and //dies nefasti//. One was dedicated solely to celebration; the other was reserved for doing business and actual work. Fourteen days of the year were for either (or both). (Carcopino, 203) It was a social requirement for the wealthy people of the empire to fund local public entertainment themselves (Mattingly & Potter, p 208), which was typically very violence-oriented. One would think that a civilization so advanced and complacent with themselves would frown upon public violence, but they had an affinity for violence that began with their empire. It was actually an old Etruscan funeral rite: when the chief of a tribe died, his “warriors would make a blood sarcrifice to his spirit by fighting to the death in his tomb.” This ritual was changed over time, and eventually evolved—with the the help of the Roman elite—into organized games. The gladiators were typically slaves, and contrary to popular belief, didn’t always fight to the death. They were, however, at the mercy of the host of the games for that day, and if the person holding the games so chose, they could be put to death by the victor of that fight. The host of the games had to reimburse the slave owners for any slave they killed. Successful gladiators were treated like celebrities. Besides gladiatorial contests, they also had chariot races, mock sea battles, and they would even feed convicted criminals to animals such as lions. Spectators would go for the whole day, and were given good meals while there. But where were all of these events held? They were held in arenas—arena means “sand” in Latin, thus how they got their name (the ground was covered in sand to soak up the blood)—such as the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum. The Circus Maximus was used mainly for chariot races, and could seat 200,000 people. ([|www.pbs.org]) The Colosseum was used for all types of public entertainment, and could seat 50,000 people. It inspired over 250 more amphitheatres to be built throughout the Empire. The Colosseum was built on top of Nero’s Golden Palace, in an attempt by emperor Vespasian to please the people. He built it with the things and money they plundered from the Jews during the civil wars. ([|www.bbc.co.uk])

All in all, the citizens of Imperial Rome had it made. They got free food, free entertainment, and more holidays than any other society ever.. including American society.

Works Cited: Carcopino, Jerome. // Daily Life In Ancient Rome //. Philadelphia: Yale University Press, 1940. Potter, D.S.; Mattingly, D.J.. Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999 http://www.tours-italy.com/img/Rome/colosseum_tour_header.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Retiarius_vs_secutor_from_Borghese_mosaic.jpg http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/colosseum_05.shtml http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/gladiators.html (etc.)