TWO PLACES AT ONCE
ENTERTAINMENT
The Ancient Roman government had wanted to keep peace and calm between all citizens of Rome as a large population were poor who were a dominant threat to the Roman Empire. Thus, different sources of entertainment were created throughout Rome, especially theatres.
Gladiator Battles
This stadium, also known as a colosseum or an amphitheatre, was used for gladiator battles. Gladiators originated from the Latin word gladius, which means swordsmen. A gladiator battle was where Romans who fought till one’s death. The men or women who fought were usually slaves, criminals, and prisoners of war or in unlikely circumstances, Roman volunteers, however spectators were usually Romans who had not broken any law as entrance to these battles were free. Although admissions were free, rich sometimes did pay money to have better seats and view of the fight whereas the poor would sit at the top having a less convenient view. Gladiator battles were extremely entertaining to the Romans as they enjoyed watching others die. This hobby was considered fun but not only that, they believed their gods appreciated these fights to the death. Additionally, there was a gladiator school acknowledged as ludi, where men with potential of winning the battles were chosen to train. Nonetheless, animals were also involved with these fights. The animals would be kept in cages and then let out to fight one another.
Chariot Racing
Chariot Racing was hosted in a circus known as the Circus Maximus. This was a stadium which was long and rectangular but curved at one end. It had seats around the whole stadium apart from the side in which was opposite of the curved area. There was a spine (spina) that ran straight down the middle of the whole circus where the chariot racers circled around. Thus, chariot racing was an extremely famous sport and with the complexity of the stadium, it was pleasurable to all classes. The chariot racing included three main types of chariots, a two-horse chariot (biga), a three-horse chariot (triga) and a four-horse chariot (quadra). Chariot racers though had a huge difficulty they needed to overcome as all types of chariots were insubstantial and unbalanced. The chariot only had rom for one man to stand and hold the reins of the horses. With such high level of risk, if a chariot were to be unstable, the racer would easily die. Although the racers were usually slaves, slaves themselves watched the races as well.
Theatres
Romans constructed theatres throughout the cities. These theatres would all have a stage, an orchestra and the auditorium. Seats in the auditorium were placed in a semi-circle while the stage faced the auditorium. The orchestra would then be placed on the opposite side of the stage. Performances occurred in these theatres starring men actors portraying multiple roles. However, to differentiate between the men, young men would wear clothes in bright colours, while elder men would wear plain white clothing. Wigs were additionally included with grey coloured wigs representing old men, black for young men and red for slaves. These plays embodied 4 genres which were comedy, tragedy, unrealistic situations and pantomimes.
Roman Bathing
Every Rome town consisted of a bath complex, much like a swimming pool. Romans loved washing and bathing and so, the Roman government constructed bath houses across town. Nevertheless, this was a considered to be a source of entertainment as friends were able to spend valid times together. Bath houses were also very luxurious with restaurants, games, snack bars and for a higher standard bath house, a library. Some even had mirrors covering the walls and ceilings, while pools had marble and mosaic floors. Although the bath houses were public, clean water was piped or brought to town. Bath houses moreover contained three main rooms, a warm room (tepidarium), a hot room (caldarium) and a cold room (frigidarium). Romans would firstly take off their clothes in a changing room, then relaxation will commence in the warm room. In order for dirt to be scraped off easily, the hot room would cause you to sweat. In another room, slaves would then wipe off all the dirt and you would go for a swim in the cold bath.