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Spectacle In Roman Culture Essay

1283 Words6 Pages

Role of Spectacle in Roman Culture Spectacles governed the way of life in the Roman culture in many ways. The use of spectacles in the Roman culture was widespread, especially during the performance of blood sports, such as the gladiatorial battles. The spectacle was an essential element in the amphitheatre games, which featured wild animal hunts in the morning, executions at noon, and the gladiatorial games in the evening. In this paper, I will examine the role of spectacles in the Roman culture, where the theme of violence and death will be featured. Predominantly, spectacles were used for entertainment reasons, to punish miscreants, serving as an example to the citizens, promoting interaction between the people of Rome and the rulers, and providing food for the ancient society. Seneca (7.3): “The men have no armour and their entire bodies are exposed to blows, so no one strikes in vain. Many spectators prefer this to the ordinary pairings and even the contests given by …show more content…

The roles of the spectacles involved entertainment for the citizens of Rome, punishment to disobedient citizens or slaves, providing food, and allowing interaction between the people of Rome and their rulers. Citizens of Rome frequented the arenas to catch a glimpse of the famous gladiators who were cheered for either killing their fellow gladiators or beasts as a form of entertainment. The blood games were also used as an opportunity by the state to punish convicted criminals and slaves by feeding them to hungry beasts such as bear and lions. After the games, citizens of Rome would consume the meat of the deceased animals from the arena since some emperor would kill hundreds of animals in the arena. In addition, the spectacles in the arena brought together the citizens of roman ad their rulers, which was a perfect opportunity for the citizens to air their views or partake in riots until their demands were

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