Roman Culture During The Roman Era

Blood sports were the most popular form of entertainment in Pompeii. They were held in the Amphitheatre. The Amphitheatre was the largest building in Pompeii. It held between 13000 and 20000 people. The Pompeian Amphitheatre was an oval shaped building with approximately 35 rows of seats. It was well used, as there were numerous public holidays during the Roman calendar. There are many mosaics, inscription and paintings that depict the type of things that occurred within the Amphitheatre. The many types of events included, gladiator’s vs gladiators, gladiator’s vs. wild exotic animals, animals against animals, and execution of criminals by animals. During excavation of the Amphitheatre 60 bodies where found in the barracks of the amphitheaters. Many victorious gladiators had sponsors. An inscription found near the Amphitheatre says:

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

For as long as humans have existed, they have always found some way to entertain themselves. Even the earliest societies have left evidence of some sort of activity or hobby that they used as a form of entertainment. Perhaps the most famous building that was used as a form of entertainment is the Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian amphitheater. In ancient Rome, the most popular form of entertainment was the gladiator fights. These fights, usually among animals and trained public fighters, were staged in open arenas in a city's forum. There is evidence

Rome’s great gladiatorial arena is the most breathtaking monument of the city's ancient sights. Built in AD 80, this Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, sat 50,000 people and was covered in travertine, shadowed by a huge canvas awning sprung up by 240 masts. The inside levels of seating encircled the arena that was built over an underground complex where animals were caged and the stage sets prepared. Entertainment involved gladiators fighting wild animals or fighting one another.

Roman architecture has influenced our modern-day society in many ways. One of the ways is by the construction of the Roman Colosseum in 72 A.D. The Roman Colosseum was the first major stadium or amphitheater to ever be built. Without the planning, construction, and techniques used for Roman Colosseum, we would not have some of the famous stadiums and amphitheaters that exist today.

Thanks to the various sources and the multiple mediums through which they are presented we have learnt much about this aspect of Roman entertainment. Frescoes, mosaics, writings, graffiti, buildings, artefacts (gladiator's helmet, weapons, etc), inscriptions, reliefs and even bodies all reveal details of the many different facets and experiences of this ancient entertainment. We now know who went, what and who the entertainment was, and even the stories of the ancient Pompeians and reconstruct a variety of experiences. This source is a archaeological treasure as unlike others it did not deteriorate from non-use or knocked down, it was frozen on a typical roman day and has thus remained. It is also significant as we can compare this evidence to similar items of evidence from all over Rome and deepen our understanding of the life of the ancient Romans.

Entertainment in Roman society, specifically in Pompeii and Herculaneum, was very significant, which can be seen in the large number of buildings in both of these towns that serve the purpose of entertaining the Roman citizens. One of the most notable of these buildings was the Amphitheatre in Pompeii, as it one of the earliest built Roman amphitheatre and is one of the oldest that still stands today. From paintings, such as source A, a Fresco painting found in the house of Actius Anicetus, it can be made clear that gladiatorial matches were held in the amphitheatre in Pompeii, which was a main source of entertainment for the people of the time. The matches in the amphitheatre were largely popular, as it accommodated the people of all classes, with 35 rows of seating, being able to hold 20,000 people, which can be seen in the remaining structure of the building today, as it was so well preserved, even during the eruption of Vesuvius in

Pompeii’s amphitheatre was built shortly after 80 BCE; this causes it to become the oldest known example of its kind in the Roman world. Any event hosted in the amphitheatre was strongly publicised and well attended. These attendee’s were not just the citizens of Pompeii, but many of the spectators were from the surrounding villages. (Western Australian Museum, n/d) It is recorded at in 59 CE, a riot broke out between Pompeian fans and the citizens of the nearby town of Nuceria, and as a result, the amphitheatre was closed for a decade. A gentler form of entertainment, with less gore, was that of theatrical performances. Pompeii’s theatre was old, built originally in the second century BCE in the traditional Greek Style, this was later enlarged and modernised to look similar to the Roman theatre. The drama of ancient Greece proved popular with the Romans, shown in wall paintings depicting the Greek playwright

Towards the city’s heavily trafficked center the Roman Forum was constructed for convenient easy access of all the citizens. The foreground of the forum was occupied by a paved square with monuments to famous citizens. The temple to the Divine Julius, dedicated in 29 BCE to the deified Caesar, built in a Hellenistic style, is located in the background on the left; to the right is the temple of Vesta and the house of the Vestal Virgins, guardians of the everlasting flame; further to the right is the temple of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux dedicated in 6 CE Here the office of weights and measures was situated. The podiums of the temples of Caesar and the Dioscuri were often used as orators' platforms and it is in this part of the Forum that the meetings of the comitia took place. On the far right is the Basilica Julia built by Caesar. Its long façade occupies the entire south side of the Forum. (Owens, 154) Semi-circular in plan and having consisted of a tall stage building, theaters were a semi-circular orchestra and tiered seating area. Unlike Greek theatres, which were built on natural slopes, they were supported by their own framework of piers and vaults and so could be built anywhere and not where nature dictated. Amphitheatres (literally, ‘double theatres’) were elliptical in plan; with a central areana. (Bowra, 38)

The construction of the Colosseum was a propaganda exercise with the aim of pleasing the citizens which meant that the emperor kept himself in power. The emperors bought their popularity through free entertainment and corn for the spectators which lead to the emperor buying the peoples votes (Hopkins, 2011). The magnificent amphitheatre entertained the roman public becoming an international emblem and propaganda tactic used by emperors to improve their political careers.

I have already decided, that with the passing of the infamous Emperor Nero, we should trample his “Domus Aurea”, by building a fashionable amphitheatre on top of it, that will display true sovereignty to his petty little hut he calls home. This, surely, will fit our dire situation, because, as you may recall, our two previous amphitheatres, “The Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus” and “The Amphitheatrum Neronis”, were burnt down along with most of Rome in the burning of Rome. And so, it should be thought that we need a new, and more magnificent amphitheatre. Furthermore, I have already taken upon the duty of naming such a glorious structure, and my final conclusion stands as “Amphitheatrum Flavium”. This has been done to honor the Flavian people and spread honor of the

‘The Colosseum’ is regarded as one of the best work of the Rome architecture and engineering. It is situated in the centre of the city of Rome in Italy and is also known by the name of ‘Flavian Amphitheatre’ (Origins of the Colosseum, 2015). ‘The Colosseum’ is considered as one of the largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire and also in the world. The building of ‘The Colosseum’ is highly impressive and is an important landmark for signifying the past history of Roman culture. The amphitheatre

In this essay, I will be writing about the great Colosseum of Rome and what was held inside to give the citizens of Rome some entertainment. The Romans had many choices of what to do during their spare time, such as ball games, board games, and watching gladiatorial fights in the Colosseum; this was the most popular type of entertainment. To many people today, Roman entertainment was classed as cruel. However, not all forms of entertainment involved such violence as within the Colosseum. There was also poetry reading available, although most people enjoyed the fights. The Colosseum was like our football stadiums, to provide entertainment for the citizens. However, their idea of entertainment was very different to our idea of

“Once the Colosseum had been built, it seems to have become the model for many, if not most, of those that followed” (Hopkins and Beard 2005, 24). The Colosseum stands proudly upon the villainous Emperor Nero’s once grand Valley of the Golden House, projecting the munificence of Imperial Roman Architecture. Its ultimate design could be said to be formed through purpose or function. However, this does not do justice to the importance of architecture within Roman society (Thornton and Thornton in Lyes 1999, 2). The functions, whether it be religious or otherwise, of the Colosseum were irrelevant to the ultimate design of the architecture, as the architectural features contained within the Colosseum’s ultimate design created an “instant archetype, a marker of ‘Romanness’ across the empire” (Hopkins and Beard 2005, 25). The clever use of the classical orders and façades, and adaptation of existing Roman architecture of the period allowed the Colosseum to become a model for many subsequent Roman amphitheatres, whilst showing the ingenuity of Roman architecture of the period.

The Roman Colosseum, a colossal amphitheater, was built in the first century under Flavian's rule. Many events such as gladiator games, beast fights, naval battles, and much more took place inside the huge elliptical arena. People of all ages and classes attended these well-known spectacles. The Colosseum is a huge Roman architectural achievement and the fact that it is still standing today only amplifies the importance of this structure. Hundred of thousands of people attended the ancient games, and even more continue to visit the arena today.