Preface
This is an anthology of primary sources[1] on Roman games and spectacles in some of their various forms, created for a second year undergraduate class on spectacles in Greece and Rome (CLST 260; this...
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A Very Basic History of Rome
It’s really, really basic: I advise you to read a short history of Rome.[1] to fill out the background, otherwise some of this material won’t make much sense. According to legend, Rome was founded in...
View ArticleTimeline of Roman History
BCE Any date that specifically relates to the games is in bold. 753 Legendary foundation of Rome by Romulus, the first king of Rome 629 Reign of L. Tarquinius Priscus, fifth king of Rome and the first...
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Origins of Gladiatorial Munera
In this section you will learn The many ancient theories of the origins of Roman gladiatorial games How the Romans themselves explained where these games came from and why they liked them Funeral...
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Development of the Munera
In this section you will learn The first gladiatorial games in Rome How fast they developed and the rise in the numbers of fighters involved How the elite used these games in their funerals and other...
View ArticleAppendix I: Glossary
Aedile The first rank on the cursus honorum, the course of public offices, these magistrates were in charge of maintaining public buildings and space and supervised and organized the public festivals....
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Development and Design of Arenas
In this section you will learn where the Romans staged the first gladiatorial fights why they had no permanent, stone arena in Rome until very late the impact the Colosseum had when it was built and...
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Seating in the Arena and Society
In this section you will learn How seating in Roman arenas and theatres went from being mixed gender and with different classes sitting next to or close to each other to being highly organized...
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Costs of Munera and Other Spectacles
In this section you will learn that is is very difficult to understand exactly how much various games cost how some games were funded, at least in part, by the Roman state how spectacles were used by...
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Getting and Training Gladiators
In this section you will learn the sources for gladiators what little we know about how they were trained Where did gladiators come from? A variety of sources: prisoners-of-war; slaves; criminals; and...
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Marketing and Advertising
In this section you will learn how the Romans advertised gladiatorial shows what information advertisements for such events shows and thought was important gladiatorial programs Once you’d hired your...
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The Spread of the Munera Outside Rome
In this section you will learn how the gladiatorial games spread outside Rome how some, with little success, condemned the games for being non-Greek about laws in Roman colonies governing the giving...
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Spartacus
In this section you will learn what little we know about the life of Spartacus how he led a slave army in the Third Servile War how his army defeated a number of Roman generals his eventual defeat and...
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Types of Gladiators
There were a range of different gladiators, who were matched carefully in traditional pairings. Some were rarer than others, like the essedarius, a type of gladiator who fought from a war chariot....
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Female Gladiators and Venatores
In this section you will learn female gladiators and venatores when they were introduced to Rome who they fought alongside public reaction to women in the arena This is the only inscription we have...
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The Circus Maximus
In this section you will learn the history of the Circus Maximus, Rome’s largest performance space the connection of the Circus and games with Roman religion the behaviour and make-up of crowds at...
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A Day at the Races
In this section you will learn what the structure of a day of chariot racing looked like the parade, called the pompa circensis, that preceded the races what it was like to watch as a spectator as the...
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The Charioteers, the Teams and the Horses
In this section you will learn the organization of chariot racing into four factions the importance of the factions to fans of chariot racing some of the famous chariot horses From top left to bottom...
View ArticleFamous Charioteers
In this section you will learn the (often short) careers of famous charioteers the enormous amount of money charioteers could earn over their careers Charioteers could gain wide celebrity and have...
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Imperial Fans
In this section you will learn about: imperial fans of chariot racing and how they expressed their love of the races emperors who raced their own chariots and how shocking that was to the Romans (or,...
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Riots at Munera and the Circus
In this section you will learn our only information about a riot at a gladiatorial show the many riots and disturbances that took place in circuses and chariot races There were very few disturbances...
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Exhibiting Animals
In this section you will learn the arrival of the first elephants to Rome and their exhibition the exhibition of other rare and unusual animals in Rome by various emperors Although most exotic (and...
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Venationes
Most animals ended up as part of stage beast hunts where they were hunted by trained hunters, called venatores (Singular: venator). These hunts (called venationes, singular: venatio) were either held...
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Imperial Sponsorship of the Games
In this section you will learn how emperors used the games to entertain and communicate with the people the different way various emperors staged games emperors like Caligula and Claudius who enjoyed...
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Case Study I: Nero
Of all the emperors Nero was the most aware of the power of theatrics and performances of all kinds. When he died, his last words were qualis artifex pereo (Suetonius, Nero 49.1), often translated as...
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Case Study II: Commodus (161-92 CE)
Commodus is perhaps best remembered now as the Emperor in Gladiator (2000); the real life Commodus was certainly fond of fighting as a gladiator, though he was also co-emperor with his father, Marcus...
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Damnatio ad Bestias
The readings in this section deal with those condemned to be killed by being thrown to a range of wild animals. In 146 BCE Scipio Africanus the Younger had deserters killed by this means; Lucius...
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Executions as Mythical Re-enactments
Warning: This chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence. A particularly gruesome form of execution involved making the condemned criminal play a role in a mythic re-enactment. A form of this...
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Executions of Christians
If there has been one element of the arena that has captured imaginations and condemnation for centuries, it’s the execution of Christians in the arena. Although films about saintly early Christians...
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Development of Roman Theatre and Mime
In addition to slaughter, death, and men racing really, really fast, the Romans also liked the theatre, and ludi scaenici (‘stage games’) were offered alongside other spectacles as part of the annual...
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Theatres
The Romans were very reluctant to build any permanent structure for holding either gladiatorial games or theatrical shows. Temporary structures, sometimes of great magnificence, were either put up or...
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Case Study: the Great (Panto)mime Riots of Rome
There were a number of forms of mime; the mime that inspired rioting in 14/15 and 23 CE was pantomime, a spectacular form of mime that was a form of solo ballet often retelling classical myths, with a...
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Naumachiae and Land Battles
As the resources of Rome grew, so too did its leaders’ ability to stage large scale combats on land and sea for the people of Rome. Although these featured Roman soldiers in the beginning, these were...
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The Roman Triumph
The Roman triumph was a type of military parade. Generals with imperium could be voted one by the Senate provided a number of conditions were met. Under the Republic victorious members of the Senate...
View ArticleAppendix II: Biographies of the Ancient Authors
Author Years Bio Augustine 354 – 430 CE Born to a Christian mother and a pagan father in North Africa he was Roman in status and of good rank. He was baptized as an adult in 387; he wrote an account...
View ArticleAppendix III: Annual Roman Festivals
These are some of the public festivals that reoccurred on an annual or regularly recurring basis Compitalia: Held during the winter, this was a crossroads festival originally in honour of the lares...
View ArticleEpigraph
“There is no meaner condition among the people than that of gladiator” Calpurnius Flaccus, 2nd century CE
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Licensing Info
This work is licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA license You are free to Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any...
View ArticleExplaining citations of ancient authors
There is a remarkable lack of consistency in how ancient authors are cited and the names that are used for them. In this volume we use the name that we think is most familiar to our readers and the...
View ArticleSources for the Translations
Many of the translations are adapted from out of copyright translations provided by a range of sources, given below. I am immensely grateful to those who have made this material available. Poetry in...
View ArticleAppendix IV: Roman Prices
All figures are given in sesterces. Please remember that calculating costs and figures for ancient Rome is very difficult and it is very hard to be precise – it is pretty much impossible to express...
View ArticleAcknowledgements
The editors would also like to thank Erin Fields (Liaison Librarian and Flexible Learning Coordinator, UBC Library) and Amanda Grey (Open Eduction Student Librarian, UBC Library) for their assistance...
View ArticleVersioning History
This page lists changes to this guide marked with a 0.1 increase in the version number. Major content additions and changes will be marked with a 1.0 increase in the version number. Version Date Change...
View ArticleEssential facts about Roman society
Some essential Facts to know about Roman society It was incredibly competitive, hierarchical, and, by modern standards, extremely violent. Rome was a slave-owning society and the enslaved had no...
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