Unit 15: Leisure and Entertainment
Contents and layout ©1999 Joseph J. Hughes, Ph.D.
Revised 09 November 2000
thermae Flavian Amphitheater
parasites Theater of Pompey
recitations pantomimes
ludi gladiators
Circus Maximus ludi circenses
I. Distribution of Leisure Activities
A. poor folks
1. drinking cheap wine at bars
a. men could hang out in bars
b. respectable women weren't allowed
2. gambling
3. attending festivals or spectacles
4. hanging out at the baths
a. like going to the YMCA
b. about which more later
5. hanging out at the forica
a. Vespasian was the first to charge admission
b. Italian term vespasiano: pvblic vrinal (Roman slang)
B. rich folks
1. drinking and banqueting at private parties
2. gambling
3. attending festivals or spectacles
4. hanging out at the baths
a. could go to public baths
b. often had private bathing facilities
5. hanging out at vacation houses
6. weddings
II. Roman baths
A. theory
1. enjoyed by Romans of all social groups
a. every podunk town had at least one public bath
b. Rome had 1,000
c. entrance fees quite low
d. sometimes some rich person paid for everyone
2. functions of a bath
a. get cleaned up
1). the oldest and manliest purpose
2). Scipio Africanus did it this way
b. get a workout
1). physical fitness always a winner with the mos maiorum
2). later, more of a social thing
c. hang around with your friends
1). originally alien to the mos maiorum
2). later recognized as needed relaxation
3. types of bath
a. thermae: large public baths
b: balnea: small public baths
c. also private baths
4. rooms of a public bath
a. frigidarium: cold air, cold tubs
b. tepidarium: warm air, warm tubs
c. calidarium: hot air, hot tubs
d. snack shops
e. meeting rooms
f. gardens
B. a visit to the baths
1. exercise or workout if necessary
a. wrestling
b. play ball
2. proceed gradually from warm to hot to cold
a. not necessarily always in this pattern
b. sometimes hot-warm-cold
3. how to get clean
a. work up a big time sweat
b. rub yourself with a pumice stone
c. scrape the gunk off with a strigil
d. close your pores with a nice cold bath
4. hang out and talk or read
5. women and men didn't bathe together
a. sometimes separate but unequal facilities
b. sometimes women bathed in the morning
III. Dinner parties and recitations
A. parties quite popular among wealthy upper class
1. invitations eagerly sought
a. socially ambitious people
1). some call it a**-kissing
2). some call it networking
b. hungry parasites
1). Menogenes the flatterer
2). Caecilianus the leftover specialist
2. opportunity to show off
a. lots of expensive courses
b. expensive house furnishings
c. read from your latest work
d. cavort with other beautiful people
B. behavior at dinner parties
1. proper conduct
a. lie on your triclinium and make witty conversation
b. keep your hands off other people's spouses
c. don't make a pig of yourself
2. improper conduct
a. don't steal things from your neighbors
b. don't swoop on the leftovers and take them home
1). bad form in Ancient Rome
2). bad form at the Old Country Buffet
c. treat your guests all the same
C. recitations
1. favored only by literary society
a. valuable critiques from learned friends
1). provided they weren't just hunting for dinners
2). provided they listened to the whole thing
b. opportunity to show off latest masturpiece
1). courts choked off
2). publication expensive
2. often interminable
a. Ligurinus can't stop reading his verse
b. Pliny expected rapt attention
1). true friends listen to the rough draft of the whole thing
2). wife sits behind a screen and listens to her hubby dazzle
IV. The Great Outdoors
A. hunting and fishing
1. necessity for poor rural families
a. food is scarce and expensive
b. good cheap source of cheap food
c. also considerable entertainment value
2. big entertainment for rich folks
a. game was driven into nets
b. "hunters" stabbed it there
B. travel
1. transportation technology terrible
a. decent roads
1). walk
2). ride a horse or in a litter
b. roads an unfriendly place
1). bandits
2). little protection from weather
c. sea travel very risky and uncomfortable
2. hospitality on the road
a. better to stay with friends at country houses
1). free
2). better treatment
b. hotels and inns not very numerous or luxurious
1). had a few simple rooms
2). had a few necessities: bars, prostitutes
C. "roughing it" in the country
1. wealthy people had number of country houses
a. often quite substantial
b. Bay of Naples a popular location
2. "summer season" celebrated by the ancient "jet set"
a. swimming, boating, parties
b. study
3. still goes on in Italy to this day
a. just try getting anything done in August
b. true of other Romance countries??
V. Public entertainments
A. festivals (ludi)
1. origin of Roman holidays
a. first intended to honor the gods
b. otherwise celebrated a great event
c. some had games, some did not
2. changes in the setup
a. 100 BC: 58 holidays with -ludi-, 57 without
b. became a big political benefit
c. 180 AD: 135 holidays
d. 350 AD (date not exactly known)
1). 10 days fighting sports, 64 days chariot races, animal baiting
2). 102 days theatrical performances
3. funding of games during the Republic
a. money allocated by Senate
b. run by aediles
1). often used their own money
2). example: Julius Caesar
c. sometimes given by private individuals
4. different games
a. Ludi Cereales: April 12-19
b. Ludi Romani: Sept. 5-19
5. attendance
a. not everyone had the day off
b. most people, however, free in the afternoon
B. attitudes towards the games
1. original derivation of ludi circenses
a. originially instituted to preserve PAX DEORVM
1). ambitious aediles did this at private expense
2). thanks for your help, gods and goddesses!
b. later used for other pvrposes
1). celebrate military successes
2). thanksgiving days of princeps
3). keep the masses happy
c. some developments of ludi circenses
1). became entertainment pvre and simple: PANEM ET CIRCENSES
a). more and more inhuman
b). more and more bizarre
2). potent symbol of Roman decay
2. favorite pastime of the Roman public
a. nothing better to do all day
b. came to expect it from the government
c. saw no harm in it
3. Republican upper classes feared them
a. didn't like large gatherings of plebeians
1). didn't want to feel obligated
2). afraid of sedition
b. would not allow permanent arenas or theaters
1). Forum usually had to do
2). bleachers were only temporary
3). first permanent theater built by Pompey: 55 BC
4. emperors relied upon it
a. turned the populace into happy campers
1). gave everyone something to do
2). not always easy being a SPQRoman
3). keeping the people happy was covered in the mos maiorum
b. grew progressively more lavish
1). Nero gives shows and gifts
2). Titus gives 100 days of shows at Colosseum
3). Trajan gives 117 days for Dacian victory
5. Tacitus saw the seeds of decline
a. fixated upon idea of moral decline
1). thought the Greeks had declined morally
2). thought the Romans were well on their way
3). not exactly true
b. games responsible for moral decline
1). allowed Greek influence to permeate the Romans
2). weakened the mos maiorum
3). fostered by the emperors
C. theater events
1. had to compete with other events at the game
a. boxers
b. rope walkers
c. elephant shows
2. types of Roman theater
a. comedy and tragedy
1). more elevated art forms
2). borrowed heavily from Greek drama
3). lost popularity during Empire
b. mimes and pantomimes
1). lots of music, dancing, sex, violence
2). became the most popular form
c. occasional concerts
3. stigma against actors
a. not thought to be fit for a Roman
1). drama was a Greek development
2). Romans of good family not allowed to act
b. not thought to be fit for women
1). only men acted in comedies and tragedies
2). women could act in mimes and pantomimes
c. generally considered a lowlife profession
4. popularity of theater
a. always popular
b. never as popular as the amphitheater events
c. still true today!!
D. amphitheater events (ludi circenses )
1. the Roman amphitheater
a. amphitheaters
1). Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater): 50,000 cap
a). built by Vespasian and Titus and DOmitian
b). former site of Nero's Golden House
2). Circus Maximus: 180,000 capacity
a). had been a site of races for a long long time
b). gradually expanded by various principes
3). racetracks, etc. in many Roman cities
4). bvild one and be considered a great patron!
b. forms of entertainment
1). gladiatorial matches
2). wild animal fights
3). chariot races
c. spectators
1). rich Romans
2). Bubbacus and Jethra
3). people from all over the world
2. gladiatorial matches: derived from Etruscan funeral shows
a. types of fighter
1). Thracian: scimitar and small shield
2). retiarius: net and trident
3). heavily armed gladiator
4). each had particular strengths, weaknesses
b. methods of combat
1). gladiators were highly trained
2). not always a fight to the death
3). some lived to retire
4). some had "superstar" status
c. life of gladiators
1). often slaves
2). some freedmen
3). some desperate volunteers
4). some condemned criminals and POWs
d. sometimes amateur contests
1). prisoners and Christians
2). no defensive armament
3). fight until exhausted or killed
4). still, a lot of people were spared
3. wild animal fights
a. first known instance: 186 BC
b. possible matchups
1). animals vs. animals
2). animals vs. humans
c. animal types
1). panthers, giraffes, camels, lions
2). humans
d. emphasis as always is on the weird and undone
4. chariot races
a. teams (factions):
1). Red, White, Blue, Green
2). each had its own followers
3). facilities rented by teams
b. joys of the sport
1). thrill of competition
2). lots of nasty accidents in cheap chariots
3). gambling
4). riots between fans
c. chariot drivers
1). sometimes switched teams
2). had their own fans
3). had their statistics totaled up
d. mechanics of the race
1). chariots: either two or four horsies (Nero: 10 at Olympia)
2). Circus Maximus: 7 laps = 5.25 miles
3). races rather infrequent, but usu. 24 in one day
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