Roman Entertainment

Roman Entertainment

ROMERepublic 509 BC - 27 BC; Empire 27 BC - 476 AD

Rome Roman Republic Roman Empire Becomes more debaucherous Rise of Christianity—which leads to more Civic Religious festivals 175 days a year • Disciplined • Loyal • Theatre more similar to Greek Comedy and Tragedy • One day of theatre

Entertainment • Theatre in honor of religious festivals; civic celebrations (to honor the dead, or celebrate if we won a battle) • 3 Main Types • Theatre-Comedy and Tragedy • Chariot Races • BLOOD SPORTS

Roman Comedy • Main playwrights: Terrence and Plautus • Based on Greek comedies— • more like a musical comedy today with music accompanying 2/3 of the show • Domestic situations plots with mistaken identity • Stock characters: servants, soldiers, young lovers, creepy old men, shrewish wives.

Roman Tragedy • Seneca most famous playwright • Adapted Greek plays of Medea, Oedipus and Agamemnon • Was tutor to Emperor Nero—Nero later ordered Seneca to commit suicide • Seneca was large influence on Christopher Marlow and William Shakespeare.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTmlYKiLBHI

First Games: 264 BC • The word gladiator comes from the Latin word for swordsman. Gladius = sword Image reference: huehueteotl.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/gladiatorgerome.jpg

Gladiatorial combat began as a religious ritual to help the deceased cross “to the other side”. • Picture Reference: bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/images/gladiators_animai

The Coliseum: • Built by Vespasian but completed by his son Titus.

Blood sports • Gladiatorial contests • Hand to hand combat • Venationes • Wild animal fights • Naumachaie • Sea battles. The romans would flood a stadium and have mock battles in boats, but people actually died

Roman Spectacles: • This brutal form of entertainment led to the deaths of over 800,000 people and tens of thousands of animals. • Whole species of animals were taken from their natural habitats. • Image reference: 3.bp.blogspot.com/_0-eb0tkH-k8/STXGQ1e8G9I/AAAAAAAAAOQ/GE3aeMQKumA/s400/roman-gladiators-4

Gladiators were: • Criminals • Disobedient slaves • Prisoners of war • Volunteers from the military • They fought with bare torsos to show their readiness for death.

Sports/Entertainment in Rome: • Were an emphasized spectacle • Funded by the government and wealthy citizens • Were a display of the power of the leaders • A diversion of the people • 70% of population on “welfare” • Excluded women athletes • BREAD AND CIRCUSES

BEN HUR • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frE9rXnaHpE

Circus Maximus:

Chariot Racing: • Held on an oval track, a race was 7 laps around. • As many as 24 races were held in a day. • Could hold 300,000 spectators. • To start a race, a white cloth was dropped.

Horses • Special techniques were used for training as horses had to go longer distances at higher speeds. • Teams of horses trained together as horses raced in teams of one, two or four.

Fall of the roman empire • With the rise of Christian Church—gladiators and animal fights start to fade in popularity • Although more Roman plays survive than Greek pays, Greek plays are done more frequently by modern theatres because Greek theatre is more philosophical.

Roman Entertainment