Roman Spectacle (handout)

Amphitheatres are notorious as the places where the Romans held their more gruesome forms of "entertainment", including gladiatorial fights, executions of condemned prisoners, and wild beast hunts. As such displays grew more complicated and imaginative in their staging and special effects, so too did the design of the amphitheatres in order to accommodate elaborate performances and the Colosseum in Rome represents the culmination of this architectural development. However, Roman amphitheatres were not just about entertaining the masses: the structures and the events held in them were tightly linked to Roman society and especially to the careers of prominent Romans, who used this form of entertainment as a way to claw their way up the political ladder - and to stay there. This lecture also deals with the wildly popular horse and chariot racing in the circus, a form of entertainment even more closely tied to political factionalism and with huge popular appeal.

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