blood, bread and circuses – entertaining the roman mob
DESCRIPTION
Blood, Bread and Circuses – Entertaining the Roman Mob. Outcome 4.5 Daily Life in Rome Outcome 4.8 Causes to explain the decline of the Roman Empire. Daily Life in Rome. 5% of the population of Rome hoarded most of the wealth of the Empire. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Blood, Bread and Circuses – Entertaining the Roman Mob
Outcome 4.5 Daily Life in RomeOutcome 4.8 Causes to explain the decline of
the Roman Empire
Daily Life in Rome
5% of the population of Rome hoarded most of the wealth of the Empire.
Reliance on slaves for daily chores, meant much of the population was idle.
How do you keep the majority of people from causing problems, because of the horrid conditions in which they led their lives?
Daily Life in Rome
Solution: Keep them entertained!“The heart of Rome is the sands of the
Colosseum”
The Colosseum – Continuity and Change
Arena of Blood
The Colosseum was built in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Vespasian and his son, Titus.
Also known as the Flavian Ampitheatre
45,000-50,000 spectators would fill the Colosseum almost on a daily basis!
Festivals, parties and death
The Roman calendar was filled with state-sanctioned holidays.
By the time of Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, there were 175 days of games in the Colosseum – nearly half of the year dedicated to festivals.
The simple way to control the Roman Mob – feed them and entertain them!
Gladiators – the Entertainers
Roman version of modern day sports figures -- amplified!
Gladiators
The Roman spectators in the Colosseum enjoyed being reminded of Roman conquests and loved any gladiatorial fights that provided some sort of novelty, such as foreign armor, weapons and different styles of combat. The spectators loved a spectacle - costumes and different types of armor helped to provide this.
The Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus Today
Building of the Colosseum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOylD1KC6kc&feature=related
Evidence -- Ancient Rome Today