If
there was one thing the Roman people loved it was spectacle and the
opportunity of escapism offered by weird and wonderful public shows which
assaulted the senses and ratcheted up the emotions. Roman rulers knew this well
and so to increase their popularity and prestige with the people they put on
lavish and spectacular shows in purpose-built venues across the empire. Such famous venues as the Colosseum and Circus
Maximus of Rome would host events involving
magnificent processions, exotic animals, gladiator battles, chariot races, executions and even mock naval
battles.
It
is significant that most of the best preserved buildings from the Roman period
are those which were dedicated to entertainment. Amphitheatres and circuses
were built across the empire and even army camps had their own arena. The
largest amphitheatre was the Colosseum with a capacity of at least 50,000
(likely more, if one factors in the smaller bodies and different sense of
personal space compared to modern standards) whilst the Circus Maximus could
hold a massive 250,000 spectators according to Pliny the Elder. With so many events
on such a large scale, spectacles became a huge source of employment, from
horse trainers to animal trappers, musicians to sand rakers.
See
pictures and read the complete article at -- http://www.ancient.eu/article/635/#.VHNWE_spEiI.twitter
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