ENTERTAINMENT

Chariot racing was the most popular and oldest pass time of the Romans--dating back to at least the Roman monarchy. When Julius Caesar was trying to gain popularity, he threw games to appease the public. The Romans also put up plays (usually made by like the Greeks because they weren't that creative themselves) in theaters. There were also gladiator fights in amphitheathers with different types of gladiators, animals, etc. http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/entertainment.htm
 * Srishti Kapur**

Entertainment in Ancient Rome ranged from simple board games to chariot races. Simple activities were enjoyed by children, which included swimming or ball games. However, the Romans loved to watch spectacles. Like the Greeks, the Romans enjoyed watching competitions of strength and valor and would reward the victors handsomely. Horseback riding, wrestling, boxing, and gladiatorial matches were well attended and monuments were built for their viewing such as the Circus Maximus and the Colliseum. (Ancient Encyclopedia) Ben C..

The roman public baths were very important to the roman culture and daily life, plus they were a great place to socialize and very entertaining. Richer roman citizens were lucky enough to have baths in their homes, but most did not. The public baths were like modern day spas. Caldarium: warm bath, Frigidarium: cold bath, Thermae: large bath, Balnea: smaller baths. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae. Ellee Kennedy.

The amphitheaters in Rome provided one of the most iconic types of entertainment of that era: gladiator fights. The word amphitheater comes from the Latin word for sand, which covered the floor to soak up spilled blood. In the hand-to-hand gladiator fights, there were four types of gladiators: a murmillo, who fought with an elongated shield, helmet, and spear and usually opposed retiaritus; a samnite, who used a sword, shield, and helmet with a visor; a retiaritus, one who fought with a net and a trident or dagger; and a thracian, who was armed with a shield and curved scimitar. Early in the history of the amphitheters, wild animal brawls took place in the morning, executions midday, and gladiatorial fights serving as the finale. But, as time progressed, the styles merged into one prolonged event to make it seem like an actual battle. http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/entertainment.htm Clarke Waskowitz

There were many forms of entertainment in ancient Rome. One form that was a favorite among people was chariot races, which were Rome's most popular passtime. Chariot races were held in buildings called circuses. Although they were expensive to compete in, there were still many competitors. Each race was divided into four factions of racers. There were blue, white, red, and green factions. Each faction had many supporters and fans, just like sports today, that sometimes people broke out into fights over which faction of racers was the best. Sometimes if a racer became famous and wealthy off of racing in a circus, then they would be rendered into sculptures and even mosaics. Mac Bassett http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/entertainment.htm

A big part of Roman entertainment was theaters, which was held at the times of the games and was free to all citizens. Initially, women could only go to the tragedies presented at theaters, but they were eventually let into comedies also. All parts in plays were played by male slaves. The slaves would wear different masks, wigs and clothing to represent their character. For example, red wigs where worn by actors portraying slaves, black wigs for young people, and white wigs for elders. Throughout time, restrictions were placed on the more violent games of roman pastimes: gladiator fights had stopped by the end of the 5th century, wild animal fights by the 6th, and eventually so did chariot racing. -Avery Coombe http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/diet.htm

The Roman people enjoyed entertainment on a grand scale, as their amphitheaters were used not only for gladiator fights, but many other forms of entertainment. Gladiator fights and wild beast hunts satisfied their lust for blood, a strong one at that, because just in the colisseum in Rome, 500,000 people were killed and over a million animals were slaughtered. However, games and sports were also held in the amphitheaters. On an even grander scale, an amphitheater could be completely transformed to take on a certain type of landscape, such as a desert, or forest scene. Also, certain areas could be flooded, and mock life-size naval battles would be held for the people's enjoyment by the rich emperors. And these welcomed festivals and reliefs from work were not a rarity either: in the 400s, there were 200 holidays a year, and 90 of them were paid for by the roman people. (Ben King) [] http://www.unrv.com/culture/colosseum.php