Constantine's Influence On Roman Theatre

Like anything else, these shows were often times politically based to gain support for an Emperor. Aside from this they made for great entertainment to divert ones thoughts away from everyday troubles. What a better way than to see masses of people brutally slaughtered. In reality and the movie alike, the gladiators wore crude armor, not of military status to depict the difference in class. Nonetheless they were equipped with the armor and

Ancient Rome is one of the greatest and most influential societies in the history of the world. From the basic rules of how the Roman Empire is set up to the infrastructures in the city, the strict hierarchy of Roman social structure can be reflected clearly all over the whole ancient Rome. In fact that “public architecture presents people with the official view of a society and provides the background against which its individual markers live their lives.”1 With the great desire of Roman for entertainment and their special taste for blood, the amphitheatre is considered as the most popular and most representative type of the entertainment building in the ancient Roman culture. And

Gladiators were a huge part of the Roman society and a large part of Roman culture. The people of Rome loved gladiator battles. The Roman coliseum was built in order to fit the standards of a bloody, brutal battle while also being able to keep thousands of Roman citizens comfortable and entertained.

Early gladiator fights took place in funerals of wealthy Romans, but their main purpose was to give the people a good show. As the gladiator games grew in popularity, the funeral ritual tradition was eventually dropped and the games were staged for what they were—a display of wealth and entertainment for the masses. By approximately 90 B.C., gladiator games began taking place in circuses and forums. Circuses were elongated arenas with a spine down the middle, designed for chariot racing. In a circus, the audience had good seats but a poor view of the event. Since circuses were built for chariot races, their long and narrow shape made it difficult for someone sitting on one end to see an event going on at the other end. A good example of a circus is the Circus Maximus. This structure was the first and largest circus built by the Romans and it could hold up to 250,000 people. Forums were open gathering places in the center of a town, often with a monument in the middle. Audiences watching a gladiator event in a forum still experienced problems because the ground was flat, so only the people in the first few rows could see anything. Over the years, the gladiator games became even more elaborate to the point where some fights included fights with wild animals. So the Romans now had a problem on their hands: how to fit a large number of people in a way that let them see everything that was

The cultural of the Roman Empire was a melting pot of the religious and cultural influences of the conquered societies that had been assimilated into the Empire. The various religions and cultural practice created a complex pantheon of “gods.” Ever larger temples and statues were erected to bring glory and honor to cities and give honor the Emperor. Additionally, cities would host gladiatorial games to bring honor to the Emperor. These events and building projects were facilitated by those who sought to bring greater glory and honor upon themselves with Roman society.

Entertainment was essential to daily life in Ancient Rome.  According to Juvenal1, it seemed that all Romans were interested in was "bread and circuses,"  and with theatres, amphitheatres, gambling, drama and public baths galore, the Romans never seemed to get bored.

In Ancient Rome, city life was chaotic and cluttered. Even through all this hustle and bustle, they still had leisure time to do things for fun. Live entertainment played a major role in their city lives; this was mostly because it was free (Williams). A popular pastime was watching Gladiator fights at the Coliseum. Gladiator fights were where two men would compete in matches against one another (Williams). Man pitted against man was common entertainment, but the gladiators would also battle against lions and tigers (Williams). Today’s society still enjoys adrenaline packed entertainment, but Coliseums have become movie theatres, and Gladiator fights have become action movies (Williams). Even tic-tac-toe, a common pastime game, has roots in the Roman Empire. Romans enjoyed watching

Roman charioteers and Roman gladiators were at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry during ancient Roman times. They both had large followings, were keys to political power, and were the reasons for architectural masterpieces. Charioteers and gladiators, however, were quite different in many ways. They had differences in backgrounds, in risks of their profession, in their professional careers, and in the various things they can stand for and represent.

Mythology and domestic life also had major impacts on the way Roman theatre evolved over years. Each influence had their own special thing about them that when added to Rome 's theatre, slowly created a wonderful art that still remains today.

I suppose the Gladiatorial fights were somewhat a trademark of the Roman Empire and indeed Roman Civilisation. I expect that this has something to do with the fact that Rome was built upon bloody conquest, and the Gladiatorial fights amplify both bloody conquest and indeed a noble luxurious life. There was also an aim for all Gladiators, that turned savage blood lust entertainment into an acceptable "tournament" of the highest calibre; gladiators could be given the wooden sword, symbolising freedom; the fact that the Gladiators are working for a goal, rather than just killing each

Referring back to how drama and theater were treated differently between the Greeks and the Romans, the Greeks well respected their theater. For the Greeks, their theater was set in stone. For the Romans, there theaters were mobile and they were mostly only allowed to perform during special occasions like festivals. Many Roman officials believed that plays corrupted the morals of their citizens. The Greeks started their theater because of the festivals.

The romans loved every type of entertainment, they loved sports, chariot races, gladiator battles, and the live theatre. They normally had plays for religious ceremonies, and they had over 200 religious days meaning they had a lot of plays in the live theatre. The theaters would either be outdoors made out of wood, or indoors made out of stone.

In my Theatre of History class, we briefly discussed Rome and the fall of the Western Roman Empire as it related to theatre but I was intrigued to learn more. It didn’t seem sensible that the fall of the Western Empire would be placed, even a little, on the rise of Christianity during that time. It didn’t seem sensible for two reasons. The first reason is that Jesus Christ, in whom the Christians believed, had been born, lived, and crucified over 400 years before the Empire fell. His lifetime spanned only until the second emperor of the Roman Empire, before Rome’s crooked ways became noticeable and uncontrollable. The second reason is because the Western Roman Empire that fell was officially, as declared by an emperor, a Christian Rome. In this paper I will present and argue the many contributing factors of Rome’s demise, and answer the question was Christianity responsible for the decline of theatre as a practice in the Western Roman Empire and ultimately its fall?

The movie, Ben-Hur is a classical world film that represents the ancient Roman civilization. The film was directed by William Wyler as an epic historical drama movie in 1959. The main cast features Charlton Heston who plays the role of Judah Ben-Hur, Stephen Boyd as Messala, Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius, Haya Harareet as Esther and Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim (Wallace 5).

Madam shall we go to the theatre now so that we can get good seats?"