MEIGS MAGNET SCHOOL

Roman Entertainment
By Aditya Gudibanda
Aditya Gudibanda
11/16/2008
 Roman Entertainment

Have you ever wondered how it would be to live in an ancient civilization like

Rome? It would certainly be interesting to imagine yourself in a Roman boy’s shoes,

speaking fluently in Latin to your best friend. In order to answer this, you need to

know how you could have had fun. Roman entertainment compared to modern

entertainment is that they are not very different. Games in Rome were as important

to society as there are now, and most things remain the same, except that

technological advances have brought the competition to a higher level. An example

of this is chariot racing: In Roman times, the vehicles were horse-drawn chariots;

now, the vehicles are motor-powered racecars. However, the level of competition,

spirit, and amount of cheating has remained the same. Roman entertainment is

very similar to its modern American counterpart.

The location of these games was very important to Romans because it had to

accommodate a huge number of people. The Roman Colosseum certainly

accomplished just that. It could hold 50,000 people, and it had 80 entrances. It was

so well designed that everyone in the Colosseum could leave in five minutes. The

Colosseum was home to chariot racing and gladiatorial combats.

The next two important activities of Rome were the theater, and public baths.

The theater was held in the Circus, and in the many types of plays that could be

made, there emerged two main kinds: tragedies (sad plays), and comedies (happy

plays). These plays were taken to the extreme, as shown by the fact that when an

actor was to be killed in a play, a prisoner sentenced to death would take his place,

and actually be killed. These theatrical performances were called “ludi scaenicii”,

and were hugely popular with the Roman crowd. Another main source of fun for the
Romans may not seem very enjoyable, but it was to the Romans at least: baths. The

public baths were not only used for cleaning, but also for relaxation and good

conversation.

The final two entertainment activities for the Romans were the most

important: Chariot racing and gladiatorial combats. Chariot racing was a test of

strength and stamina, pitting two or more drivers in two or four-wheeled chariots

against each other. This was the featured event in a Roman circus. Finally, the most

popular of them all was gladiatorial combats. This was the main event in a

Colosseum and the purpose of its construction. In these brutal combats, two or

more gladiators fought to the death on the Colosseum’s stadium floor. Some fights

were extremely elaborate, lasting for many months between thousands of

combatants.

After hearing about all these elaborate activities, it is understandable to

wonder where the money came from to fund these events. Most of the money came

from the entrance fee to the Colosseum, and some from the government. In

addition, an official in the government named the aedile organized all the public

games, also called “ludi”. This position had many responsibilities, and sometimes

funding for the games came out of the aedile’s own pocket. However, there was a

huge payback usually. After the actors had been paid, not only had the actors

profited, but so had the aedile and emperor. The aedile then used part of the profits

towards advertising for the next event in the Colosseum. These generally occurred

every few months.

It is now obvious how vital entertainment was for the Roman society, and how

elaborate it was. The citizens of Rome attended these games with a passion, and
soon it became part of their culture. From public baths to the theater, all of these

activities were important to the Roman society.