The Romans thirst for blood inspired large scale efforts to bring exotic animals to Rome for entertainment. Redrawn from a Roman mosaic by M. Davis. |
|---|
Most people have heard of the Arena in one form or another but do not know what it really was. The Arena was more than just a place for gladiatorial combat. The arena was an integral part of Roman culture. It played an important political role as well as a source of entertainment for the masses.
The origin of many of the arena games was based on religious activities. The Romans at one point had 200 public holidays, 175 of which were games. (Carcopine, 1940). Just the sheer number would have influenced their lives. Carcopine (l940) noted that the horse race started as a festival honoring Mars where the winning horse was sacrificed. Watkins (l977) discussed the origins of the venationes, or beast hunt, as festivals to Flora and Ceres. The festival honoring Flora was a public hunt of goats and hares. In the festival to Ceres, foxes' tails were tied to torches and then hunted. Watkins also stated that the Etruscan custom of having slaves fight to the death over the graves of the dead led to the beginning of gladiators.
Besides being a religious function the Arena gave slaves and prisoners of war a chance for wealth and fame. Cowell (l961) said: "The charioteers were usually slaves or men of low class and none but the skilled and the lucky survived." (p. 171). Pearson (l973) implied that the main supply of gladiators came from Rome's conquered provinces and that those criminals that had not committed a major crime were forced to fight. A successful gladiator could gain his freedom after many battles. After he was freed, he would get large sums of money to return to the Arena.
Along with giving slaves and prisoners of war a chance for fame, much of a political figure's power came from how many and what type of spectacle he could provide. According to Watkins (l997), gladiatorial combats affirmed Julius Caesar's power. This is expressed quite clearly by Boren (l992) when he states that "No state would seem great and powerful without a chief who emerges from time to time in full pageantry for some state occasion, the success of which is pointed up by huge cheering crowds." (p. 220) Carcopino (l940) cites Juvenal's tirade against his contemporaries to confirm the importance of spectacles for political support:
Now that no one buys our votes, the public has long since cast off its cares; the people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else, now meddles no more and longs eagerly for just two things-bread and circuses. (p. 202)Augustus Caesar recognized the power of the games and consequently took them under state control (Watkins, l997). In this way political powers were maintained and revolt prevented.
A scene of a chariot race taken from a mosaic, redrawn by M. Davis. | Although gladiatorial combats were more popular, chariot racing was an important, if less bloody, aspect of the Roman arena. Cowell (l961) stated that "chariot races were immensely popular and although very dangerous, they lacked the intentional brutality of the man-and-beast fights." (p. l7l) Even though chariot racing never had quite the popularity of the gladiator fights, "Passions aroused in favor of one or the other color could divide families and wreck friendships." (Cowell, l961, p. 171) There was a total of six different colors or factions, each with their own huge racing stable which had its own expert drivers, grooms, trainers, veterinarians, and many superb horses. (Davis, l972) On this subject, Davis (l972) cited that,"The wagering is always general and so reckless that infinite precautions are needed to keep the horses from being drugged, the drivers from being bribed to throw the contests, or (if they prove incorruptible) the charioteers from being poisoned enough to make them lose."(p. 384) |
|---|
Besides chariot races, there were other popular games. One such event was the venatione, or beast hunt. There were some positive aspects to the venationes. Carcopino (l940) states that there were such things as:
teams of panthers obediently drawing chariots; lions releasing from their jaws a live hare they had caught; tigers coming to lick the hand of the trainer who had been leading them; elephants gravely kneeling before the imperial box or tracing Latin phrases in the sand with their trunks. (p. 238)
Another positive aspect was in its effect of emptying the land of predators. "Thanks to the continuing demands of the arena, a whole area, such as Africa, was made safe for long scale cultivation." (Pearson, l973 p. l27)
Most venatione displays were not of an innocent nature and involved the mass slaughter of man and beast. Carcopino (l940) commented that there were displays where animals were let loose only to be shot from cages or the imperial box. Other displays were arranged with planted greenery throughout the arena, which highlighted the skill of the hunters. Carcopino (l940) described the venationes as " a slight exaggeration of the stern reality of ancient hunting, and can hardly be held a reproach to the amphitheatre." (p. 238)
| 
|
The Arena also served as a way to rid the empire of criminals or prisoners of war. There were many ways the Romans executed people. Paoli (l963) described some of the more popular forms of execution:
As in the myth, real beasts chased an Orpheus of flesh and blood, who played his lyre until a real bear tore him to pieces. Another popular item was the scene of Mucius Scaevola in the presence of Porsenna, reproduced to the life of a heroic Mucius allowed his arm to be burnt, unmoved under the admiring eyes of spectators, full of sympathy for a man so brave in the face of physical pain. However, it was observed, he could not do otherwise, his choice was clear, either to remain motionless with his hand in the flame or to be burnt alive in a tunic of pitch. (p. 252)Jews and other prisoners of war were executed in large numbers usually without benefit of an opportunity to defend themselves. This is shown in an account by Cowell (l961):
Barred doors were opened, two or three hundred wretched, ill-clad creatures of all ages were driven into the center of the arena as the doors closed behind them. "Jews! Death to the Jews!" howled the mob. They were prisoners brought back by Titus from the Jewish war and the destruction of Jerusalem. As slaves, they had been forced to exhaust themselves building that very amphitheatre in which they were to die. As the mob screamed, howled, and roared, more barred doors were lifted, releasing man-eating lions and tigers who had not been fed for quite a time. They bounded forth to rush upon easy prey. (p.177)
For those Romans of less violent tastes, there was amusement provided by entertainers found in modern circuses. Boren (l992) notes that there were performances from acrobats, jugglers, rope dancers, fire-eaters, and trained beasts. When the crowd became bored with all the chariot racing, gladiator combat, venationes, and other events of the day, the Praetor (one of four officials who's primary job was dispensing justice) ordered attendants to scatter lottery tickets along the benches. Davis (l972) describes the results:
Dignified men scramble over each other. In the free benches there are several fights and many a torn toga or lacerna. The winning tickets tomorrow will draw jar of wine, packages of edibles, or even quite a few denarii in cash; but if the editor had been the Emperor the prizes could well have been fine jewelry, pictures, beasts of burden, tidy sums of money, or even a small villa. (p.400)
Although only a building of mortar and stone crafted by human hands, the arena greatly influenced the society of ancient Rome. The Arena was a source of entertainment for the Romans. It solved such political problems as what to do with criminals, prisoners of war, and slaves. It offered a way to keep idle people occupied. The arena entertainment such as gladiators, chariot racing, the venationes, and public mass executions satisfied the Roman lust for blood and violence. At the same time, it offered an opportunity for those of low social standing to accumulate wealth. In our time the arena no longer exists but its legacy lives on, in our sporting events. Although our sporting events no longer contain the blood and the carnage they still achieve many of the same things: star athletes achieve much of the same fame as the gladiators, offer a way for those of low social standing to accumulate wealth, and keep the "mob" distracted.
Return to index