Recreation in the Ancient World

766 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Different sports of ancient civilizations

It is a well known fact that ancient societies enjoyed entertainment as well as the American culture does now. Things that were popular then, might seem odd nowadays, but the thing that stayed the same is that people love the anticipation in the competitive sports. Best examples to illustrate how sport was a big part of the entertainment back then will be The Colosseum and the Ball Court. Those two structures have minor differences however, they are similar in many terms.
The Colosseum was a major construction in Rome. It still stands today as a testament to the might of the Roman Empire. Initially, the Colosseum was called the Flavian Amphitheater. The building of it started by the Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD (Famous Wonders). The Colosseum was a huge place, holding up to 50,000 people. The main function of the place was entertainment for the Romans, where anyone was welcome to come and see the grand performances of gladiators, dancers, musicians, and priests (Books, 19).
Besides entertainment, Colosseum served a place of human and animal sacrificing. The gladiators, which were mostly slaves in the past or ex prisoners were fighting mostly against their will. Someone had to win in the competition, and someone have to die. It was a fight to death unless the audience wanted to participate and vote whether they want to lose to die or to be forgiven. Another form of entertainment was religious group sacrificing. People, who considered themselves Christians were eaten alive at the arena by feline animals (Books, 21). Which really shows how aggressive the sport was, the idea of seeing people get eaten alive was a part of social norm.
In spite of the aggressiveness of the structure, Colosseum carried an important meaning to Romans...

... middle of paper ...

...eum fights.
In the summary, ancient entertainment was definitely cruel and immoral. Nowadays sports like this are frown upon and most of the time would be taken police actions. Pit bull and cock fighting are still practiced in some places and are somewhat reminding of the ancient cruelty sports. People are betting of the animal and death of the competitor is not a major issue. Other cruel sport like boxing is still popular in the present time. Even though competitors are participating in the sport voluntarily, it is still all about the hurting the opponent and knocking a person down.
There is a resemblance in the ancient world and the present days where people are enjoying the thrill of aggressive games. The hormone epinephrine, also known as adrenaline rushes down the bloodstream to activate “fight or flight” response which cause a person the intense feelings.

Show More
Related

  • Ancient Rome DBQ Essay

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    Types of entertainment is something we share with the Romans. Document 6 shows a fresco of young men playing with a ball. Today, we have many sports like basketball and soccer that we play just to pass time or competitively. Document 4 shows the Colosseum and its uses such as gladiator and animal fights. Although gladiator and animal fights are illegal today we go to massive stadiums for spectacles like concerts and soccer

    Read More

  • Main Functions of the Games in Ancient Rome

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    Consus where the opening sacrifices took place was located in the center of the Circus Maximus where the racing took place. Like racing, gladiators probably originated as funeral games, with religious significance attached to what in affect was the ritual sacrifice of the gladiators themselves. The first recorded gladiator fight was in 264BC, when 3 pairs of gladiators fought to the death during the funeral of Junius Brutus. The gladiator fights were known as munera as they were originally 'duties' paid to dead ancestors. They gradually lost their connection to funerals under the Roman Empire and became an important stage for emperors and leaders to put on spectacles for their own reasons.

    Read More

  • The Roman Colosseum

    3004 Words  | 7 Pages

    Rome’s most famous landmark, Colosseum is a large Amphitheatre that could hold up to 50,000 people seated, which is located in Rome, Italy. The Colosseum was used as a royal treat, entertainment where gladiators would fight with wild beast in front of people, animal hunt, theatre performances and public executions for public entertainment and also the King himself. Most of the public event was held at Colosseum. The Roman Colosseum was built between 69 to 79 CE by the Vespasian emperor.

    Read More

  • The Roman games

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    The citizens of Rome loved to go to these bloody warfares. In the city of Rome, these events were held in the Colosseum. An arena so large that it could hold 50,000 spectators and host fights between men and animals.

    Read More

  • Roman Gladiators

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...m. This huge circular arena was the pinnacle of the Roman Gladiatorial games, and though it isn't fully intact, it is a great reminder of ancient culture. Though today these games seem inhumane and unnecessary, to their ancient culture it was a vacation from everyday stress. Even the Emperor was said to understand that though money and grain would satisfy and individual, large spectacles were necessary for the ‘contentment of the masses' (wes civ).

    Read More

  • Roman Entertainment

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    Colosseum was used just for gladiatorial battles, the Colosseum was also filled water so the

    Read More

  • The Importance of Gladiator Games

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the middle and late third century, the Roman republic era gave rise to the arena games and became a great phenomenon for the Romans. An amphitheater, also known as a coliseum, housed these dangerous games that potentially harmed the audience as well as those who participated in them. Gladiatorial combat originated as part of funerals for deceased influential Romans. These large gladiatorial games were held by emperors during funerals of important roman officials, but were also included during other occasions. Over time the connection among the gladiator games and funerals decreased, and the upper class put on the games mainly to raise their social standing and gain favor with the public.

    Read More

  • How Does the Circus Maximus Reflect the Values of Ancient Rome?

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Circus Maximus was a large place in Greece. The Circus Maximus was a horse chariot race running around a track. Almost like our NASCAR races today, these races where the biggest attraction in the day of the Greece. The citizens were greatly involved in the racing of the Circus Maximus.("Circus Maximus princeton.edu") Because so many people were involved with these races, they had to find a way to seat all of these people. ("Circus Maximus aviewoncities.com”) This was the first time they invented stadiums. There were also other events held in the Circus Maximus. These events were held for a long time and were eventually ended around 549 BC. The Circus Maximus reflected the values of ancient Rome for entertainment and competition in ancient Roman culture.

    Read More

  • Ancient Olympics

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Ancient Greek Olympics were not only sporting events, it was a celebration to honor the great and powerful Zeus. The Ancient Olympics were held every four years at the famous Olympia, a district of Elis, here all free Greek men were allowed to compete. The first record of the Olympic Games was held in 776 B.C. The main sports were the Pentathlon, the Equestrian Events, Pankration, and Boxing.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Sport And Spectacle In The Ancient World

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being a spectator to an ancient Greek sporting event was limited to Greek male citizens. Since we know that participation in sports was open to all male Greek citizens, we can assume that most, if not all, those who came to see a spectacle were former athletes in some regard. In Kyle’s

    Read More

  • The Symbols Of The Colosseum In Rome

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Colosseum, one of Rome’s most famous structures, is located east of the Roman Forum in Piazza del Colosseo in Rome, Italy. As a gift to the Roman people, Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty commissioned the Colosseum around AD 70-72. Titus, Emperor Vespasian’s son and successor, opened it officially in AD 80. The Colosseum is able to hold roughly 50,000 spectators, making it the largest amphitheater in Rome. The Colosseum is a symbol of how advanced Romans were in architecture and building. This monument represents strength, power, cruelty and violence. Thousands of people, most commonly criminals and professional fighters, even animals, have been killed inside the walls of the Colosseum.

    Read More

  • How Did Ancient Greece Influenced Modern Sports

    502 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Ancient Olympics were huge in introducing sports and events that we now play. The sports that were played in the Ancient Olympics consisted of boxing, chariot racing, riding, pentathlon, discus, javelin, jump, running, and wrestling. All those sport would have never been played without the Greeks introducing them. These sports have become very popular and a lot of people play them. For example wrestling can be played at very young ages and all the way through high school. Another example is running, jumping, javelin, and discus which are all played in high school and some even in elementary.

    Read More

  • Brunelleschi's Chapel

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Roman Colosseum - Rome, Italy - Great Buildings Architecture." Architecture Design Architectural Images Drawings History and More - ArchitectureWeek Great Buildings. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

    Read More

  • Ancient Rome's Animal Cruelty for Entertainment

    1830 Words  | 4 Pages

    There were four different genres of such entertainment in the games held in amphitheatres (Amphi-theatres are outdoor arenas. "theatres in the round": Amphi- meaning "round" in Greek.) : Gladiatorial combat, the theatrical execution of foreigners, beast shows, as well as chariot racing. Watching someone or a beast kill another was applauded for the method, skill, or artistry used in the slaughter. The games themselves provided ways for Rome to demonstrate the power of their empire, as huge investments of wealth, time, and emotion was put into the games. Death became a spectator sport with the viewers and the viewed both contributing to a wild and gory performance. Already by the late Republic magistrates were spending huge amounts of money on these games. The Latin word for gladiatorial games is Munus which means obligatory offering. This reflects the origin of these games as funerary offerings to the dead. While magistrates in the Republic may well have put on games to gain popular favour, this was in their private capacity and not as magistrates. Only gradually did the gladiatorial shows come to be assimilated with the games put on by magistrates.

    Read More

  • The Roman Colosseum

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is perhaps the most famous ancient landmark in the world. The Colosseum was the host to thousands of gladiatorial shows, mock naval battles, executions, and animal hunts. Today, the Colosseum still stands in the center of Rome, Italy, however, not quite as it used to be. Still, today, the Roman Colosseum is a large tourist attraction, thousands of tourists from all over the world still come to view this marveled arena. The Roman Colosseum has a rich history, and remains a prized possession of the Roman citizens.

    Read More

More about Recreation in the Ancient World

Open Document