Roman
Entertainment and Leisure
It
was a hot summer’s day in Ancient Rome. The day began in celebration with a
triumphal procession from the field of Mars, around Palatine Hill, through the
Forum and to Capitoline Temple. A great
military victory had just been won and it was time for a public recognition of
the triumphators. The festivities were to continue throughout the day. The streets were cleared and all who was able,
gathered to watch the ceremonial procession. Immediately after the glorious
procession, the public games (ludi) begun in the amphitheater. There were
chariot horse races and gladiatorial matches taking place one after another for
all to see. There was music and singing in the streets. There was feasting and
drinking. It was a great day to be Roman, unless you were a plebian or a slave
of course because if you were then you still needed to work all day despite the
celebration. Perhaps you could help in cleaning the streets or preparing the
banquet.
That evening, as if the day could not get any grander, the
senatorial families all rejoiced in triumph through the spectacle of a Roman
play. They went to the theater of Pompey to be entertained by the latest comedy
of Terence. They laughed at the foul
jokes of the play, which was played out by all male slaves who wore masks, and
wigs to better portray their characters. The typical stock characters included
the rich man, the king, the soldier, the slave, the young man, and the young
woman. The plot was typically of a young master falling in love with a
beautiful virgin girl who is unified with his dream girl by a clever slave and
then the unification is celebrated through a banquet. The slaves in play were
often depicted as protagonist characters perhaps chosen to show some truth in
the real life relations between slaves and the rest of Roman society. Many
of the storylines consisted of high drama, and were often similar to the other
plays written before it especially those adapted by the Greeks but nonetheless
the Romans loved a good show. After the show was over, all the Romans could go
home to rest with their families and talk about what a wonderful day it was in
Rome.
