The crowd
roared as the chariots came around the final turn, neck and neck headed towards
the finish line. Even Tiberius, normally a big fan of the gladiatorial matches
and rarely following the chariot races, was on his feet to see the finish with
the rest of the crowd in the amphitheater. Standing in his section located high
and behind many rows of equestrians and senators with the rest of the
plebeians, Tiberius considered the event he was at.
How wonderful
it was that a huge crowd of Romans, both men and women, all from different levels
of society, could come to the amphitheater and for a day, get away from all the
stress of work and subsistence to enjoy some friendly, free, entertaining
competition. As the chariots approached their last few hundred feet, Tiberius
dreamed of himself being a part of the games. He imagined himself as one of the
chariot riders he was watching, frantically whipping at their horses in one
last ditch attempt to take home not just victory, but also the love and admiration
of thousands of Roman citizens as well as the respect of the emperor.
Refocusing
on the race, Tiberius watched as one of the chariots nudge ahead of the other
by mere inches right just they crossed the finish line. As the crowd went wild
with both cheers and boos, Tiberius headed for the exit, wanting to beat the
crowd which would no doubt be rowdy after such a close finish. While he did
enjoy the race, Tiberius wanted to be one of the first to choose their seat at
the Theatre of Pompey for the play that was to be performed after the chariot
race. While the gladiator games were his favorite and the chariot races he was
indifferent to, Tiberius believed he grew the most mentally from the plays
performed during festivals.
While he
understood they were normally humor for the masses, Tiberius couldn’t help but
believe that there was a bit of unfortunate realism in the plays he watched.
They often times portrayed a slave that was treated poorly by their owner only
to overcome their hardships and end up with some form of success. Knowing how
unlikely this really was, Tiberius continued to enjoy the all-male plays, if
only to help himself believe that there was a better future for slaves than what
was honestly offered to them.
