Roman+Sport

//Ancient Roman Games and Activities//
By Amber Myers

This portion of the Wiki will discuss ancient Roman games and public activities. In the modern world we have perfected entertainment. We have so many activities to keep our minds busy that sometimes it is hard to decide what to do with our free time. There is one main difference between entertainment in the 21st century and the first few centuries in ancient Rome. That difference lies in the venue or method in which we quench our thirst for entertainment. Ancient Romans loved to enjoy activities together as a community. They loved competition, sport, discussing art, and even bathing publicly. That is quite a change from our modern perspective of modes of entertainment. We will discover through archaeological finds and historical accounts what exactly ancient Roman sports, games, and other activities were and why they were important to the people of the community. The proposal of this paper is that ancient forms of entertainment kept this society a cohesive unit.


 * The Circus**

We can credit our modern day horse racing sport to the Romans and to their idea of the circus. The most famous circus structure was the Circus Maximus. It was a racecourse in Rome and the only public entertainment venue where men and women sat together. The Circus Maximus was a site used for Roman sport and public games beginning with the Etruscan rulers and was continuously used throughout Greek rule as well. The circus was not shaped circular, but rather long and narrow. It was straight except for the sharp turns at the end. The starting path was separated from the return path by a straight wall called the Spina. At each end of the Spina was an Egyptian obelisk, which the chariots would turn past when circling. The two obelisks have been recovered. One is held at the Piazza Popolo and the other is at Piazza Lateran. The Circus Maximus held about 300,000 people. That is five times the size of the UCF football stadium! During chariot races large areas of the town was literally deserted. This means that there was at the very least 2,000,000 Roman citizens during this time period!

Some speculate that chariot racing became popular after the loss of North Africa to the Vandals after the 420s. Archaeologists suspect that before circuses were popular, people found entertainment at the arena watching fights between exotic wild beasts, many of which may have come from North Africa. Another theory is that Romans may have exhausted their collection of wild beasts or simply got bored seeing the same beasts fight each other. However, whatever the reason may be chariot racing became popular during this time period. Rulers and emperors used the sport to display their pride and competition. Hence why you see so many chariot racing scenes in the fine art of the late 4th till the 6th century. Much of what we archaeologists have learned about circuses comes from the mosaics recovered (like the one below) depicting the circus. We can see from the art that circus’s were supported by elites and royalty. Because of this, the public readily supported the circus as well. Supporters of circuses often times were caught up in violence such as riots and murder. Such instances are recorded well into the 5th and 6th centuries.

It seems as though circuses were a vital part of Roman life until about the 540s. After the demise of consuls, people did not show much interest in the circus anymore. The circus structures remained but were not used very often and definitely not for the same purpose. If they were used it was usually for large public assemblies. The Circus Maximus seems to not have been used until the early medieval period when the southeast areas of the structure were adapted for religious use.

Like most cities, Rome had centers where intellectual thought flourished. Uniquely, the intellectual thought of the Romans flowed in the same place their water did, literally. Public baths in ancient Rome were centers of intellectual discussion, fine arts, and of course, hygiene. Bathing was a daily occurrence for the Roman citizens. Romans however did not invent bathing. The Greeks before them also bathed in public buildings but not together as a group. Public bathing basically became a symbol of being Roman. It was both a luxury and a necessity.

According to a census taken in Agrippa in the year 33 B.C., there were 170 small baths in Rome. By the 5th century there were over 850 plus 11 large baths called thermae. Thermae were very large, elaborate baths built by emperors. Thermae were highly adorned with jewels from all over the known world. Water flowed from silver lion heads, Egyptian syenite encrusted the walls, and mosaics made from precious marbles were ever abundant. Examples of such lavish bathhouses were those at Agrippa, Nero, Titus, and Trajan.

Romans were also very skilled and are credited for heating the baths from underneath. This type of heating is called hypocaust. The earliest archaeological evidence of hypocaust is from the Stabian Baths at Pompeii and the Greek Baths at Olympia. Hot air was initiated under the floors in a furnace area. This enabled the water to get hot, but also the walls, vaults, and floors were heated as well. The floor was supported on pilae, which were small supporting pillars usually made of brick. Pilae was used to support the floors so that they were not too hot to walk on. Creating hollow walls also helped enable the flow of heat throughout the structure. Vaults in the structure allowed heat to escape through the flues in the roof. Archaeological evidence shows that Romans sometimes took further measures to retain more natural heat from the sun. It is seen at the Forum Baths at Ostia that the baths face southwest possibly to help retain more heat.

Roman baths vary in logistical planning styles, however, it seems that all bathers followed a similar pattern of progression throughouttheir bathing experience. When a bather arrives at the bathhouse, they enter the first room called the apodyterium, also known as the dressing room where naturally they would undress. Most bathhouses had the equivalent to modern day lockers, but instead of lock and key, a servant would watch over the bathers belongings. From the apodyterium, the bather could take a number of different routes. They could oil themselves with perfume, exercise in the palaestra, go through a series of warm (tepidarium) and cold (frigidarium) rooms, and the hottest room called the caldarium was the closest to the furnace. There were also steam baths and dry saunas as well. Mens and womens baths were separated. There were usually multiple entrances to the bathing areas.

Obviously this public venue was of much importance to all Roman citizens. Everyone participated in these public-bathing rituals whether male or female, rich or poor, free or slave. While in the bath people could read, talk about politics, exercise, eat, drink, and much more. There is not modern day equivalent to an ancient Roman bath. Perhaps if you combined a libaray, mall, gym, art gallery, and spa you might be able to understand the scope of the Roman bath. This was a center for relaxation and socialization. 

Gladiatorial Games
Although Romans participated in many sports just like the Greeks, I chose to focus on the gladiatorial games. How can you write about the Romans and not mention gladiators? Gladiator fights were public entertainment in which fights would occur between people and sometimes even beasts. Gladiator games began as funerary games starting with the Etruscans. However, eventually this led to games being held for birthdays, victories, and many other occasions. Emperors regularly hosted gladiatorial games because they were expensive. It became a rule for emperors to support gladiator games. The games and gladiator schools became a state sponsored. Gladiators often times were war captives, slaves, and criminals sent to an instructional camp to learn how to fight like a gladiator. Gladiator school was also known as a sort of trade school for the poor or non-citizens where they could have food, shelter, education, and possibly fame and fortune from their winnings.

Gladiator fights occurred in amphitheatres or arenas. The word arena means a place for combat. The most famous of these amphitheatres is the Colosseum in Rome. Sand is sprinkled on the floor of the arena to soak up blood and help with cleaning efforts. At first gladiator fights and beast fights were held in circuses. But as we previously discussed before, the shape of circuses made it hard for all spectators to view what was happening so amphitheatres were created. Amphitheatre means two-sided theatre. This enabled everyone the ability to view the entertainment as well as provide permanent stadium seating (before people were constructing seating out of wood each time). Titus did not resurrect the Colosseum itself until around A.D. 80. It was very large compared to other arenas of its time, holding about 50,000 people.

So, what exactly were these games about? Well, basically there were different types of games that were a combination of animals and people. Romans used all types of animals exotic or not, tame or ferocious. They pitted animals against each other. Sometimes gladiators would fight exotic animals to show their brut and strength. Hunting gladiators would kill the animals with sharp spears and other weapons. These shows happened in the morning. This category of fighter is called venatores.

Another type of game was a game of torture and public execution. This was usually the fate of criminals of serious offenses, prisoners of war, outcasts, people who deserted the army, and troublemakers. Usually these people were men, but sometimes women as well. Criminals could be crucified, burned alive, or thrown to the beasts. These shows were held midday. The most popular and third type of show was saved for the afternoon. This event was the gladiatorial combat. Gladiators were typically slave men, but you could also enlist to become a gladiator. If a person enlisted to become a gladiator he basically became a slave. Gladiators were owned by a master and were kind of equivalent to people whom own dogs and train them for dogfights. Gladiators were trained to fight and use defensive and offensive tactics to stay alive as long as possible. The Roman audience was not a bunch of sick spectators that like to watch death. They were people who loved to encourage bravery and courage. It is strange that the Romans institutionalized public killing into enjoyable public entertainment. This type of entertainment reflects the Romans ideals of martial values, courage, and bravery. Also, their belief in slavery, class structure, and high emphasis on community and public entertainment has produced this unique but interesting show of the importance of community to people of ancient Rome.

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