Roman Entertainment

Roman Entertainment

There were many things the Romans did for entertainment. Even though this

entertainment was cruel and brutal it satisfied the Roman's need for excitment and relaxation. In

Rome most people loved to watch others suffer and fight to their death. While others loved to go

and get a good laugh at the theater or relax and talk about politics at the baths. In the city the

state provided most of the entertainment. Outside of the city the people made their own

entertainment.

One of the places that the state provided for entertainment was the Colosseum. The

Colosseum could seat up to about 50,000 people, upper and lower class. The lower class and

women had to sit in the highest level of
The overall winner of the races was

decided in the final race, which each preliminary winner would compete.

Another place Romans went for entertainment was the theater. The Roman theater was

an important part of religious festivals. Theater performanes were given in honor of Greek and

Roman gods. Although the theater was respected, it did not provide the Romans with the same

intensity as the chariot races and the gladiator battles. Admission into the theater was free, so the

upper and the lower class could come and enjoy. The seating was a on first come, first serve

basis. But the best seats were resevered for the upper class. The Romans enjoyed comedies most

of all. Costumes, masks, and wigs were an important part of Roman theater. Costumes colors

told spectators who the actors were portraying. In their society women were not actresses,

female roles were played by men dressed up as females.

The most relaxing entertainment the people of Rome had was going to the baths. They

went to the baths for healing or just to get clean. The baths were huge buildings built at
Roman men would bathe in wine and women sometimes in milk.

The bath house was used to meet friends for a chat, to exchange gossip, exercise or just to clean

yourself up.

All over Rome, men practiced riding, fencing, wrestling, throwing, and swimming. In the

country, men went hunting and fishing. At home, men played ball before dinner, which were

games of throwing and catching. Ball-playing was popular among the Romans, and they often

spent their morning exercises playing games on the fields or ball-courts. The Romans enjoyed a

variety of ball games, including Handball, Trigon, Soccer, Field Hockey, Harpasta, Phaininda,

Episkyros, and Catch and any other games that the children would invent.

These events that took place back in ancient Rome played a major role in Roman society.

The thing these events affect the most is the women. Back in the ancient Rome women were not

able to do hardly anything. They were considered lower class. When they went to watch a

gladiatorial event at the Colossium and a chariot race at the Circus Maximus they always had to

sit in the higher levels with the lower class citizens. In the theaters women was not even able