Roman Empire

==Daily life==
{{Main|Culture of ancient Rome}}
[[File:Altrömische Wandmalerei in der Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, Wandmalerei-Detail nach Bühnenmanie, Boscoreale, Campaia.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Cityscape]] from the [[Villa Boscoreale]] (60s AD)]]

===City and country===
The city was viewed as fostering civilization by being "properly designed, ordered, and adorned".{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=192}} Augustus undertook a vast building programme in Rome, supported public displays of art that expressed imperial ideology, and [[14 regions of Augustan Rome|reorganized the city]] into neighbourhoods ''([[vicus|vici]])'' administered at the local level with police and firefighting services.<ref name="rehak">{{Cite book |last=Rehak |first=Paul |title=Imperium and Cosmos: Augustus and the Northern Campus Martius |date=2006 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |pages=4–8}}</ref> A focus of Augustan monumental architecture was the [[Campus Martius]], an open area outside the city centre: the Altar of Augustan Peace ({{Lang|la|[[Ara Pacis Augustae]]}}) was located there, as was [[Obelisk of Montecitorio|an obelisk]] imported from Egypt that formed the pointer (''[[gnomon]]'') of a [[Solarium Augusti|horologium]]. With its public gardens, the Campus was among the most attractive places in Rome to visit.<ref name=rehak/>

City planning and urban lifestyles was influenced by the Greeks early on,{{Sfnp|Stambaugh|1988|pp=23ff, 244}} and in the Eastern Empire, Roman rule shaped the development of cities that already had a strong Hellenistic character. Cities such as [[Ancient Athens|Athens]], [[Aphrodisias]], [[Ephesus]] and [[Gerasa]] tailored city planning and architecture to imperial ideals, while expressing their individual identity and regional preeminence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raja |first=Rubina |title=Urban Development and Regional Identity in the Eastern Roman Provinces 50 BC–AD 250 |date=2012 |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |pages=215–218 |author-link=Rubina Raja}}; {{Cite book |last=Sperber |first=Daniel |title=The City in Roman Palestine |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> In areas inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples, Rome encouraged the development of urban centres with stone temples, forums, monumental fountains, and amphitheatres, often on or near the sites of preexisting walled settlements known as ''[[oppidum|oppida]]''.{{Sfnp|Stambaugh|1988|pp=252, 253}}<ref name="brenda">{{Cite book |last=Longfellow |first=Brenda |title=Roman Imperialism and Civic Patronage: Form, Meaning and Ideology in Monumental Fountain Complexes |date=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521194938 |pages=1–2}}</ref>{{Efn|Julius Caesar first applied the Latin word ''oppidum'' to this type of settlement, and even called [[Avaricum]] ([[Bourges]], France), a center of the [[Bituriges Cubi|Bituriges]], an ''urbs'', "city". Archaeology indicates that ''oppida'' were centers of religion, trade (including import/export), and industrial production, walled for the purposes of defence, but they may not have been inhabited by concentrated populations year-round.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harding |first=D.W. |title=The Archaeology of Celtic Art |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134264643 |pages=211–212}}; {{Cite book |last=Collis |first=John |chapter='Celtic' Oppida |date=2000 |title=A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures |publisher=Danske Videnskabernes Selskab |pages=229–238}}; {{Cite book |title=Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State: The Evolution of Complex Social Systems |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=61 |orig-date=1995}}</ref>}} Urbanization in Roman Africa expanded on Greek and Punic coastal cities.{{Sfnp|Stambaugh|1988|p=253}}

[[File:Baños Romanos, Bath, Inglaterra, 2014-08-12, DD 39-41 HDR.JPG|thumb|left|[[Roman Baths (Bath)|Aquae Sulis]] in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], England: architectural features above the level of the pillar bases are a later reconstruction.]]
The network of cities ({{lang|la|[[Colonia (Roman)|coloniae]]}}, ''[[municipium|municipia]]'', ''[[civitas|civitates]]'' or in Greek terms ''[[polis|poleis]]'') was a primary cohesive force during the Pax Romana.{{Sfnp|Millar|2012|p=76}} Romans of the 1st and 2nd centuries were encouraged to "inculcate the habits of peacetime".<ref>{{Harvp|Potter|2009|p=192}}; {{Harvp|Virgil|p=6.852}}</ref> As the classicist [[Clifford Ando]] noted:

{{Blockquote|Most of the cultural [[wikt:appurtenance|appurtenances]] popularly associated with imperial culture—[[Religion in ancient Rome|public cult]] and its [[ludi|games]] and [[epulones|civic banquets]], competitions for artists, speakers, and athletes, as well as the funding of the great majority of public buildings and public display of art—were financed by private individuals, whose expenditures in this regard helped to justify their economic power and legal and provincial privileges.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|pp=185–186}}}}

[[File:Ostia-Toilets.JPG|thumb|Public toilets (''latrinae'') from [[Ostia Antica]]]]
In the city of Rome, most people lived in multistory apartment buildings (''[[Insula (building)|insulae]]'') that were often squalid firetraps. Public facilities—such as baths (''[[thermae]]''), toilets with running water (''latrinae''), basins or elaborate fountains (''[[nymphaeum|nymphea]]'') delivering fresh water,<ref name=brenda/> and large-scale entertainments such as [[chariot races]] and [[gladiator|gladiator combat]]—were aimed primarily at the common people.{{Sfnp|Jones|2003}} Similar facilities were constructed in cities throughout the Empire, and some of the best-preserved Roman structures are in Spain, southern France, and northern Africa.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

The public baths served hygienic, social and cultural functions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Harry B. |title=Water Distribution in Ancient Rome |date=1994 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |pages=9–10}}</ref> Bathing was the focus of daily socializing.{{Sfnp|Peachin|2011|p=366}} Roman baths were distinguished by a series of rooms that offered communal bathing in three temperatures, with amenities that might include an [[palaestra|exercise room]], [[sudatorium|sauna]], [[Exfoliation (cosmetology)|exfoliation]] spa, [[sphaeristerium|ball court]], or outdoor swimming pool. Baths had [[hypocaust]] heating: the floors were suspended over hot-air channels.<ref name="fagan">{{Cite journal |last=Fagan |first=Garrett G. |date=2001 |title=The Genesis of the Roman Public Bath: Recent Approaches and Future Directions |url=http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/aaresearch-2012/in-extremis-file/Roman-Baths-origin.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=105 |issue=3 |doi=10.2307/507363 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224182626/http://www.arch.mcgill.ca/prof/sijpkes/aaresearch-2012/in-extremis-file/Roman-Baths-origin.pdf |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=12 January 2017 |pages=403–426 |jstor=507363|s2cid=31943417 }}</ref> Public baths were part of urban culture [[List of Roman public baths|throughout the provinces]], but in the late 4th century, individual tubs began to replace communal bathing. Christians were advised to go to the baths only for hygiene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ward |first=Roy Bowen |date=1992 |title=Women in Roman Baths |journal=Harvard Theological Review |volume=85 |issue=2 |doi=10.1017/S0017816000028820 |pages=125–147 |s2cid=161983440}}</ref>

[[File:Ricostruzione del giardino della casa dei vetii di pompei (mostra al giardino di boboli, 2007) 01.JPG|thumb|left|Reconstructed peristyle garden based on the [[House of the Vettii]]]]
Rich families from Rome usually had two or more houses: a townhouse (''[[domus]]'') and at least one luxury home (''[[Roman villa|villa]]'') outside the city. The ''domus'' was a privately owned single-family house, and might be furnished with a private bath (''balneum''),<ref name=fagan/> but it was not a place to retreat from public life.{{Sfnp|Clarke|1991|pp=1–2}} Although some neighbourhoods show a higher concentration of such houses, they were not segregated enclaves. The ''domus'' was meant to be visible and accessible. The atrium served as a reception hall in which the ''[[paterfamilias]]'' (head of household) met with [[Patronage in ancient Rome|clients]] every morning.<ref name=rehak/> It was a centre of family religious rites, containing a [[lararium|shrine]] and [[Roman funerals and burial#Funerary art|images of family ancestors]].{{Sfnp|Clarke|1991|pp=11–12}} The houses were located on busy public roads, and ground-level spaces were often rented out as shops (''[[taberna]]e'').{{Sfnp|Clarke|1991|p=2}} In addition to a kitchen garden—windowboxes might substitute in the ''insulae''—townhouses typically enclosed a [[peristyle]] garden.<ref>{{Harvp|Stambaugh|1988|pp=144, 147}}; {{Harvp|Clarke|1991|pp=12, 17, 22ff}}</ref>

The villa by contrast was an escape from the city, and in literature represents a lifestyle that balances intellectual and artistic interests (''[[otium]]'') with an appreciation of nature and agriculture.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gazda |first=Elaine K. |chapter=Introduction |date=1991 |title=Roman Art in the Private Sphere: Architecture and Décor of the Domus, Villa, and Insula |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=047210196X |page=9}}</ref> Ideally a villa commanded a view or vista, carefully framed by the architectural design.{{Sfnp|Clarke|1991|p=19}} It might be located on a working estate, or in a "resort town" on the seacoast.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Augustus' programme of urban renewal, and the growth of Rome's population to as many as one million, was accompanied by nostalgia for rural life. Poetry idealized the lives of farmers and shepherds. Interior decorating often featured painted gardens, fountains, landscapes, vegetative ornament,{{Sfnp|Clarke|1991|p=19}} and animals, rendered accurately enough to be identified by species.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jashemski |first1=Wilhelmina Feemster |title=The Natural History of Pompeii |last2=Meyer |first2=Frederick G. |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80054-9}}</ref> On a more practical level, the central government took an active interest in supporting [[Agriculture in ancient Rome|agriculture]].{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191}} Producing food was the priority of land use.{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|p=679}} Larger farms (''[[latifundium|latifundia]]'') achieved an [[economy of scale]] that sustained urban life.{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191}} Small farmers benefited from the development of local markets in towns and trade centres. Agricultural techniques such as [[crop rotation]] and [[selective breeding]] were disseminated throughout the Empire, and new crops were introduced from one province to another.{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|pp=195–196}}

[[File:Sale bread MAN Napoli Inv9071 n01.jpg|thumb|upright|Bread stall, from a Pompeiian wall painting]]
Maintaining an affordable food supply to the city of Rome had become a major political issue in the late Republic, when the state began to provide a grain dole ([[Cura Annonae]]) to citizens who registered for it{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191}} (about 200,000–250,000 adult males in Rome).{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191|loc=reckoning that the surplus of wheat from the province of Egypt alone could meet and exceed the needs of the city of Rome and the provincial armies}} The dole cost at least 15% of state revenues,{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191}} but improved living conditions among the lower classes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wiseman |first=T. P. |author-link=T. P. Wiseman |date=2012 |title=The Census in the First Century B.C |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |volume=59 |issue=1/2 |doi=10.2307/299848 |pages=59–75 |jstor=299848 |s2cid=163672978}}</ref> and subsidized the rich by allowing workers to spend more of their earnings on the wine and olive oil produced on estates.{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191}} The grain dole also had symbolic value: it affirmed the emperor's position as universal benefactor, and the right of citizens to share in "the fruits of conquest".{{Sfnp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191}} The ''annona'', public facilities, and spectacular entertainments mitigated the otherwise dreary living conditions of lower-class Romans, and kept social unrest in check. The satirist [[Juvenal]], however, saw "[[bread and circuses]]" (''panem et circenses'') as emblematic of the loss of republican political liberty:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Keane |first=Catherine |title=Figuring Genre in Roman Satire |date=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=36}}; {{Cite book |last=Köhne |first=Eckhart |chapter=Bread and Circuses: The Politics of Entertainment |date=2000 |title=Gladiators and Caesars: The Power of Spectacle in Ancient Rome |publisher=University of California Press |page=8}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|The public has long since cast off its cares: the people that once bestowed commands, consulships, legions and all else, now meddles no more and longs eagerly for just two things: bread and circuses.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Juvenal |title=Satire |pages=10.77–81}}</ref>}}

===Health and disease===
{{further|Disease in Imperial Rome|Antonine plague|Plague of Cyprian}}
[[Epidemics]] were common in the ancient world, and occasional [[pandemic]]s in the Empire killed millions. The Roman population was unhealthy. About 20 percent—a large percentage by ancient standards—lived in cities, Rome being the largest. The cities were a "demographic sink": the death rate exceeded the birth rate and constant immigration was necessary to maintain the population. Average lifespan is estimated at the mid-twenties, and perhaps more than half of children died before reaching adulthood. Dense urban populations and [[Sanitation in ancient Rome|poor sanitation]] contributed to disease. Land and sea connections facilitated and sped the transfer of infectious diseases across the empire's territories. The rich were not immune; only two of emperor Marcus Aurelius's fourteen children are known to have reached adulthood.<ref name="Harper">{{Cite book |last=Harper |first=Kyle |title=The Fate of Rome |date=2017 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-16683-4 |pages=10, 30–31, 67–91}}</ref>

The importance of a good diet to health was recognized by medical writers such as [[Galen]] (2nd century). Views on nutrition were influenced by beliefs like [[humoral theory]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grant |first=Mark |title=Galen on Food and Diet |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |pages=7, 11}}</ref> A good indicator of nutrition and disease burden is average height: the average Roman was shorter in stature than the population of pre-Roman Italian societies and medieval Europe.<ref>{{Harvp|Harper|2017|pp=75–79}}; {{Cite journal |last1=Koepke |first1=Nikola |last2=Baten |first2=Joerg |date=1 April 2005 |title=The biological standard of living in Europe during the last two millennia |journal=European Review of Economic History |volume=9 |issue=1 |doi=10.1017/S1361491604001388 |hdl-access=free |pages=61–95 |hdl=10419/47594}}</ref>

===Food and dining===

{{Main|Food and dining in the Roman Empire}}
{{See also|Ancient Roman cuisine|Ancient Rome and wine}}
[[File:Still life Tor Marancia Vatican.jpg|thumb|[[Still life]] on a 2nd-century [[Roman mosaic]]]]

Most apartments in Rome lacked kitchens, though a charcoal [[brazier]] could be used for rudimentary cookery.<ref>{{Harvp|Stambaugh|1988|pp=144, 178}}; {{Cite book |last=Hinds |first=Kathryn |title=Everyday Life in the Roman Empire |date=2010 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |page=90}}</ref> Prepared food was sold at pubs and bars, inns, and food stalls (''[[taberna]]e'', ''cauponae'', ''[[popina]]e'', ''[[thermopolium|thermopolia]]'').{{Sfnp|Holleran|2012|p=136ff}} [[Carryout]] and restaurants were for the lower classes; [[fine dining]] appeared only at dinner parties in wealthy homes with a [[chef]] (''archimagirus'') and kitchen staff,{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=299}} or banquets hosted by social clubs (''[[collegium (ancient Rome)|collegia]]'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Faas |first=Patrick |title=Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome |date=2005 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=29 |orig-date=1994}}</ref>

Most Romans consumed at least 70% of their daily [[calorie]]s in the form of cereals and [[legumes]].{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|p=681}} ''[[Puls (food)|Puls]]'' (pottage) was considered the food of the Romans,<ref>{{Citation |last=[[Pliny the Elder]] |title=Natural History |page=19.83–84}}; {{Cite book |last=Gowers |first=Emily |title=The Loaded Table: Representation of Food in Roman Literature |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=17 |orig-date=1993}}; {{Harvp|Gagarin|2010|p=198}}</ref> and could be elaborated to produce dishes similar to [[polenta]] or [[risotto]].{{Sfnp|Stambaugh|1988|p=144}} Urban populations and the military preferred bread.{{Sfnp|Boardman|2000|p=681}} By the reign of [[Aurelian]], the state had begun to distribute the ''annona'' as a daily ration of bread baked in state factories, and added [[olive oil]], wine, and pork to the dole.<ref>{{Harvp|Morris|Scheidel|2009|p=191}}; {{Harvp|Stambaugh|1988|p=146}}; {{Harvp|Holleran|2012|p=134}}</ref>

Roman literature focuses on the dining habits of the upper classes,{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=354}} for whom the evening meal (''[[cena]]'') had important social functions.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|p=356}} Guests were entertained in a finely decorated dining room (''[[triclinium]]'') furnished with couches. By the late Republic, women dined, reclined, and drank wine along with men.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roller |first=Matthew B. |title=Dining Posture in Ancient Rome |date=2006 |publisher=Princeton University Press |pages=96ff}}</ref> The poet Martial describes a dinner, beginning with the ''gustatio'' ("tasting" or "appetizer") salad. The main course was [[goat meat|kid]], beans, greens, a chicken, and leftover ham, followed by a dessert of fruit and wine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Alcock |first=Joan P. |title=Food in the Ancient World |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=184}}</ref> Roman "[[foodie]]s" indulged in [[wild game]], [[fowl]] such as [[peacock]] and [[flamingo]], large fish ([[mullet (fish)|mullet]] was especially prized), and [[shellfish]]. Luxury ingredients were imported from the far reaches of empire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Suetonius]] |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Vitellius*.html#13.2 |title=Life of Vitellius |page=13.2}}; {{Harvp|Gowers|2003|p=20}}</ref> A book-length collection of Roman recipes is attributed to [[Apicius]], a name for several figures in antiquity that became synonymous with "[[gourmet]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Cathy K. |chapter=Remembrance of Meals Past: Cooking by Apicius' Book |title=Food and the Memory: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooker |pages=125ff}}</ref>

Refined cuisine could be moralized as a sign of either civilized progress or decadent decline.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=201}} Most often, because of the importance of landowning in Roman culture, produce—cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruit—were considered more civilized foods than meat. The [[Mediterranean diet|Mediterranean staples]] of [[Sacramental bread|bread]], [[Sacramental wine|wine]], and [[chrism|oil]] were [[sanctification|sacralized]] by Roman Christianity, while Germanic meat consumption became a mark of [[Germanic paganism|paganism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Flandrin |first1=Jean Louis |title=Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present |last2=Montanari |first2=Massimo |date=1999 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-11154-6 |pages=165–167 |author-link2=Massimo Montanari}}</ref> Some philosophers and Christians resisted the demands of the body and the pleasures of food, and adopted [[fasting]] as an ideal.{{Sfnp|Potter|2009|pp=365–366}} Food became simpler in general as urban life in the West diminished and trade routes were disrupted;{{Sfnp|Flandrin|Montanari|1999|pp=165–167}} the Church formally discouraged [[gluttony]],{{Sfnp|Bowersock|Brown|Grabar|1999|p=455}} and hunting and [[pastoralism]] were seen as simple and virtuous.{{Sfnp|Flandrin|Montanari|1999|pp=165–167}}

{{Anchor|spectacle}}<!-- [[Public spectacle]] redirects here -->

===Spectacles===
{{See also|Ludi|Chariot racing|Recitationes}}
[[File:Winner of a Roman chariot race.jpg|thumb|left|A victor in his [[quadriga|four-horse chariot]]]]
When [[Juvenal]] complained that the Roman people had exchanged their political liberty for "bread and circuses", he was referring to the state-provided grain dole and the ''circenses'', events held in the entertainment venue called a ''[[circus (building)|circus]]''. The largest such venue in Rome was the [[Circus Maximus]], the setting of [[horse racing|horse races]], [[chariot races]], the equestrian [[Lusus Troiae|Troy Game]], staged beast hunts (''[[venatio]]nes''), athletic contests, [[gladiator|gladiator combat]], and [[historical re-enactment]]s. From earliest times, several [[Roman festivals|religious festivals]] had featured games (''[[ludi]]''), primarily horse and chariot races (''ludi circenses'').<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Beard |first1=Mary |title=Religions of Rome: A History |last2=North |first2=J.A. |last3=Price |first3=S.R.F. |date=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=66 |author-link=Mary Beard (classicist)}}</ref> The races retained religious significance in connection with agriculture, [[initiation ritual|initiation]], and the cycle of birth and death.{{Efn|Such as the [[Consualia]] and the [[October Horse]] sacrifice.<ref>{{Harvp|Humphrey|1986|pp=544, 558}}; {{Cite book |last=Bouché-Leclercq |first=Auguste |title=Manuel des Institutions Romaines |date=1886 |publisher=Hachette |page=549}}; {{Cite book |chapter=Purificazione |date=2004 |title=Thesaurus Cultus et Rituum Antiquorum |publisher=[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]] |page=83}}</ref>}}

Under Augustus, public entertainments were presented on 77 days of the year; by the reign of Marcus Aurelius, this had expanded to 135.{{Sfnp|Dyson|2010|p=240}} Circus games were preceded by an elaborate parade (''[[pompa circensis]]'') that ended at the venue.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Versnel |first=H.S. |title=Triumphus: An Inquiry into the Origin, Development and Meaning of the Roman Triumph |date=1971 |publisher=Brill |pages=96–97}}</ref> Competitive events were held also in smaller venues such as the [[Roman amphitheater|amphitheatre]], which became the characteristic Roman spectacle venue, and stadium. Greek-style athletics included [[Stadion (running race)|footraces]], [[Ancient Greek boxing|boxing]], [[Greek wrestling|wrestling]], and the [[Pankration|pancratium]].{{Sfnp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=242}} Aquatic displays, such as the mock sea battle (''[[naumachia]]'') and a form of "water ballet", were presented in engineered pools.{{Sfnp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|pp=235–236}} State-supported [[#Performing arts|theatrical events]] (''[[ludi scaenici]]'') took place on temple steps or in grand stone theatres, or in the smaller enclosed theatre called an ''[[Odeon (building)|odeon]]''.{{Sfnp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|pp=223–224}}

Circuses were the largest structure regularly built in the Roman world.{{Sfnp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=303}} The Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the [[Colosseum]], became the regular arena for blood sports in Rome.{{Sfnp|Humphrey|1986|pp=1–3}} Many [[list of Roman amphitheatres|Roman amphitheatres]], [[Circus (building)#List of Roman circuses|circuses]] and [[Roman theatre (structure)|theatres]] built in cities outside Italy are visible as ruins today.{{Sfnp|Humphrey|1986|pp=1–3}} The local ruling elite were responsible for sponsoring spectacles and arena events, which both enhanced their status and drained their resources.<ref name=fatal/> The physical arrangement of the amphitheatre represented the order of Roman society: the emperor in his opulent box; senators and equestrians in reserved advantageous seats; women seated at a remove from the action; slaves given the worst places, and everybody else in-between.<ref>{{Harvp|Edmondson|1996|pp=73–74, 106}}; {{Harvp|Auguet|2012|p=54}}; {{Cite book |last=McClelland |first=John |title=Body and Mind: Sport in Europe from the Roman Empire to the Renaissance |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |page=67}}</ref> The crowd could call for an outcome by booing or cheering, but the emperor had the final say. Spectacles could quickly become sites of social and political protest, and emperors sometimes had to deploy force to put down crowd unrest, most notoriously at the [[Nika riots]] in 532.<ref>{{Harvp|Dyson|2010|pp=238–239}}; {{Harvp|Gagarin|2010|p=85}}; {{Harvp|Humphrey|1986|p=461}}; {{Harvp|McClelland|2007|p=61}}</ref>

[[File:Bestiarii.jpg|thumb|The [[Zliten mosaic]], from a dining room in present-day Libya, depicts a series of arena scenes: from top, musicians; gladiators; [[bestiarii|beast fighters]]; and convicts [[damnatio ad bestias|condemned to the beasts]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiedemann |first=Thomas |title=Emperors and Gladiators |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |page=15 |author-link=Thomas Ernst Josef Wiedemann |orig-date=1992}}</ref>]]
The chariot teams were known by the [[Chariot racing#Factions|colours they wore]]. Fan loyalty was fierce and at times erupted into [[sports riots]].<ref>{{Harvp|Gagarin|2010|p=85}}; {{Harvp|Humphrey|1986|pp=459, 461, 512, 630–631}}; {{Harvp|Dyson|2010|p=237}}</ref> Racing was perilous, but charioteers were among the most celebrated and well-compensated athletes.{{Sfnp|Dyson|2010|p=238}} Circuses were designed to ensure that no team had an unfair advantage and to minimize collisions (''naufragia''),<ref>{{Harvp|Humphrey|1986|pp=18–21}}; {{Harvp|Gagarin|2010|p=84}}</ref> which were nonetheless frequent and satisfying to the crowd.<ref>{{Harvp|Auguet|2012|pp=131–132}}; {{Harvp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=237}}</ref> The races retained a magical aura through their early association with [[chthonic]] rituals: circus images were considered protective or lucky, [[curse tablet]]s have been found buried at the site of racetracks, and charioteers were often suspected of sorcery.<ref>{{Harvp|Dyson|2010|pp=238–239}}; {{Harvp|Auguet|2012|p=144}}; {{Cite book |last=Dickie |first=Matthew |title=Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |pages=282–287}}; {{Cite book |last=D'Ambra |first=Eva |chapter=Racing with Death: Circus Sarcophagi and the Commemoration of Children in Roman Italy |date=2007 |title=Constructions of Childhood in Ancient Greece and Italy |publisher=American School of Classical Studies at Athens |pages=348–349}}; {{Harvp|Rüpke|2007|p=289}}</ref> Chariot racing continued into the Byzantine period under imperial sponsorship, but the decline of cities in the 6th and 7th centuries led to its eventual demise.{{Sfnp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=303}}

The Romans thought gladiator contests had originated with [[Funeral games (antiquity)|funeral games]] and [[Sacrifice in ancient Roman religion|sacrifices]]. Some of the earliest [[List of Roman gladiator types|styles of gladiator fighting]] had ethnic designations such as "[[Thraex|Thracian]]" or "Gallic".<ref>{{Harvp|Potter|2009|p=354}}; {{Harvp|Edwards|2007|p=59}}; {{Harvp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=305}}</ref> The staged combats were considered {{lang|la|munera}}, "services, offerings, benefactions", initially distinct from the festival games (''ludi'').<ref>{{Harvp|Edwards|2007|p=59}}; {{Harvp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=305}}</ref> To mark the opening of the Colosseum, [[Titus]] presented [[Inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre|100 days of arena events]], with 3,000 gladiators competing on a single day.<ref>{{Harvp|Humphrey|1986|pp=1–3}}; Cassius Dio 66.25; {{Harvp|Edwards|2007|p=55}}</ref> Roman fascination with gladiators is indicated by how widely they are depicted on mosaics, wall paintings, lamps, and in graffiti.{{Sfnp|Edwards|2007|p=49}} Gladiators were trained combatants who might be slaves, convicts, or free volunteers.{{Sfnp|Edwards|2007|p=50}} Death was not a necessary or even desirable outcome in matches between these highly skilled fighters, whose training was costly and time-consuming.<ref>{{Harvp|Edwards|2007|p=55}}; {{Harvp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=307}}; {{Harvp|McClelland|2007|p=66|loc=citing also [[Marcus Junkelmann]]}}</ref> By contrast, ''noxii'' were convicts sentenced to the arena with little or no training, often unarmed, and with no expectation of survival; physical suffering and humiliation were considered appropriate [[retributive justice]].<ref name=fatal/> These executions were sometimes staged or ritualized as re-enactments of [[Greek mythology|myths]], and amphitheatres were equipped with elaborate [[stagecraft|stage machinery]] to create special effects.<ref name=fatal/><ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Suetonius]] |title=Nero |page=12.2}}; {{Harvp|Edmondson|1996|p=73}}</ref>

Modern scholars have found the pleasure Romans took in the "theatre of life and death"<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McDonald |first1=Marianne |title=Introduction to ''The Cambridge Companion to Greek and Roman Theatre'' |last2=Walton |first2=J. Michael |date=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=8}}</ref> difficult to understand.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kyle |first=Donald G. |title=Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome |date=1998 |publisher=Routledge |page=81}}; {{Harvp|Edwards|2007|p=63}}</ref> [[Pliny the Younger]] rationalized gladiator spectacles as good for the people, "to inspire them to face honourable wounds and despise death, by exhibiting love of glory and desire for victory".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pliny |title=Panegyric |page=33.1}}; {{Harvp|Edwards|2007|p=52}}</ref> Some Romans such as [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] were critical of the brutal spectacles, but found virtue in the courage and dignity of the defeated fighter{{Sfnp|Edwards|2007|pp=66–67, 72}}—an attitude that finds its fullest expression with the [[Christian martyr|Christians martyred]] in the arena. Tertullian considered deaths in the arena to be nothing more than a dressed-up form of [[human sacrifice]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=[[Tertullian]] |title=De spectaculis |page=12}}; {{Harvp|Edwards|2007|pp=59–60}}; {{Harvp|Potter|Mattingly|1999|p=224}}</ref> Even [[acts of the martyrs|martyr literature]], however, offers "detailed, indeed luxuriant, descriptions of bodily suffering",{{Sfnp|Edwards|2007|p=212}} and became a popular genre at times indistinguishable from fiction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bowersock |first=G.W. |title=Martyrdom and Rome |date=1995 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=25–26 |author-link=Glen Bowersock}}; {{Harvp|Cavallo|Chartier|1999|p=79}}; {{Cite book |last=Huber-Rebenich |first=Gerlinde |chapter=Hagiographic Fiction as Entertainment |date=1999 |title=Latin Fiction: The Latin Novel in Context |publisher=Routledge |pages=158–178 |author-link=Gerlinde Huber-Rebenich}}; {{Cite book |last1=Llewelyn |first1=S.R. |chapter=The Earliest Dated Reference to Sunday in the Papyri |last2=Nobbs |first2=A.M. |date=2002 |title=New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |page=109}}; {{Cite book |last=Hildebrandt |first=Henrik |chapter=Early Christianity in Roman Pannonia – Fact or Fiction? |date=2006 |title=Studia Patristica: Papers Presented at the Fourteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies Held in Oxford 2003 |publisher=Peeters |pages=59–64}}; {{Harvp|Ando|2000|p=382}}</ref>

===Recreation===
[[File:Casale Bikini modified.jpg|thumb|So-called "Bikini Girls" mosaic from the [[Villa del Casale]], [[Roman Sicily]], 4th century]]

The singular ''[[Ludus (ancient Rome)|ludus]]'', "play, game, sport, training", had a wide range of meanings such as "word play", "theatrical performance", "board game", "primary school", and even "gladiator training school" (as in ''[[Ludus Magnus]]'').<ref>{{Cite book |title=Oxford Latin Dictionary |date=1985 |publisher=Clarendon Press |edition=reprint |pages=1048–1049 |orig-date=1982}}; {{Harvp|Habinek|2005|pp=5, 143}}</ref> Activities for children and young people in the Empire included [[Hoop rolling#Ancient Rome and Byzantium|hoop rolling]] and [[knucklebones]] (''astragali'' or "jacks"). Girls had [[doll]]s made of wood, [[terracotta]], and especially [[Ivory carving|bone and ivory]].{{Sfnp|Rawson|2003|p=128}} Ball games include [[Trigon (game)|trigon]] and [[harpastum]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McDaniel |first=Walton Brooks |date=1906 |title=Some Passages concerning Ball-Games |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association |volume=37 |doi=10.2307/282704 |pages=121–134|jstor=282704 }}</ref> People of all ages played [[board game]]s, including ''[[ludus latrunculorum|latrunculi]]'' ("Raiders") and ''[[Ludus duodecim scriptorum|XII scripta]]'' ("Twelve Marks").<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Austin |first=R. G. |date=1934 |title=Roman Board Games. I |journal=Greece and Rome |volume=4 |issue=10 |doi=10.1017/s0017383500002941 |pages=24–34 |s2cid=162861940}}</ref> A game referred to as ''alea'' (dice) or ''tabula'' (the board) may have been similar to [[backgammon]].<ref name="games">{{Cite journal |last=Austin |first=R. G. |date=2009 |title=Roman Board Games. II |journal=Greece and Rome |volume=4 |issue=11 |doi=10.1017/S0017383500003119 |pages=76–82 |s2cid=248520932}}</ref> [[Dice|Dicing]] as a form of gambling was disapproved of, but was a popular pastime during the festival of the [[Saturnalia]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}}

After adolescence, most physical training for males was of a military nature. The [[Campus Martius]] originally was an exercise field where young men learned horsemanship and warfare. Hunting was also considered an appropriate pastime. According to [[Plutarch]], conservative Romans disapproved of Greek-style athletics that promoted a fine body for its own sake, and condemned [[Quinquennial Neronia|Nero's efforts to encourage Greek-style athletic games]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eyben |first=Emiel |title=Restless Youth in Ancient Rome |date=1977 |publisher=Routledge |pages=79–82, 110}}</ref> Some women trained as gymnasts and dancers, and a rare few as [[Gladiatrix|female gladiators]]. The "Bikini Girls" mosaic shows young women engaging in routines comparable to [[rhythmic gymnastics]].{{Efn|Scholars are divided in their relative emphasis on the athletic and dance elements of these exercises: {{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=H. |date=1984 |title=Athletics and the Bikini Girls from Piazza Armerina |journal=Stadion |volume=10 |pages=45–75}} sees them as gymnasts, while Torelli thinks they are dancers at the games.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Torelli |first=M. |chapter=Piazza Armerina: Note di iconologia |date=1988 |title=La Villa romana del Casale di Piazza Armerina |publisher=Catania |editor-last=Rizza |editor-first=G. |page=152}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunbabin |first=Katherine |title=Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World |date=1999 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-00230-3 |page=133}}</ref> Women were encouraged to maintain health through activities such as playing ball, swimming, walking, or reading aloud (as a breathing exercise).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hanson |first=Ann Ellis |chapter=The Restructuring of Female Physiology at Rome |date=1991 |title=Les écoles médicales à Rome |publisher=Université de Nantes |pages=260, 264}}, particularly citing the ''Gynecology'' of [[Soranus of Ephesus|Soranus]]</ref>

===Clothing===
{{Main|Clothing in ancient Rome}}
{{further|Roman hairstyles|Roman jewelry|Cosmetics in ancient Rome}}
[[File:Statua togata, dalla palestra di foruli (civitatomassa), età claudia.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Togate statue in the [[Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo]]]]
In a status-conscious society like that of the Romans, clothing and personal adornment indicated the etiquette of interacting with the wearer.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=230}} Wearing the correct clothing reflected a society in good order.<ref name="coon">{{Cite book |last=Coon |first=Lynda L. |title=Sacred Fictions: Holy Women and Hagiography in Late Antiquity |date=1997 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |pages=57–58}}</ref> There is little direct evidence of how Romans dressed in daily life, since portraiture may show the subject in clothing with symbolic value, and surviving textiles are rare.<ref name=bieber/><ref>{{Harvp|Vout|2009|pp=204–220, especially 206, 211}}; {{Cite book |last=Métraux |first=Guy P.R. |chapter=Prudery and ''Chic'' in Late Antique Clothing |date=2008 |title=Roman Dress and the Fabrics of Roman Culture |publisher=University of Toronto Press |page=286}}</ref>

The [[toga]] was the distinctive national garment of the male citizen, but it was heavy and impractical, worn mainly for conducting political or court business and religious rites.{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=216}}<ref name="bieber">{{Cite journal |last=Bieber |first=Margarete |date=1959 |title=Roman Men in Greek Himation ''(Romani Palliati)'' a Contribution to the History of Copying |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=374–417}}</ref> It was a "vast expanse" of semi-circular white wool that could not be put on and draped correctly without assistance.{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=216}} The drapery became more intricate and structured over time.{{Sfnp|Métraux|2008|pp=282–283}} The ''toga praetexta'', with a [[Tyrian purple|purple or purplish-red]] stripe representing inviolability, was worn by children who had not come of age, [[Executive magistrates of the Roman Empire|curule magistrates]], and state priests. Only the emperor could wear an all-purple toga (''toga picta'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cleland |first=Liza |title=Greek and Roman Dress from A to Z |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |page=194}}</ref>

Ordinary clothing was dark or colourful. The basic garment for all Romans, regardless of gender or wealth, was the simple sleeved [[tunic]], with length differing by wearer.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=231}} The tunics of poor people and labouring slaves were made from coarse wool in natural, dull shades; finer tunics were made of lightweight wool or linen. A man of the senatorial or equestrian order wore a tunic with two purple stripes (''clavi'') woven vertically: the wider the stripe, the higher the wearer's status.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=231}} Other garments could be layered over the tunic. Common male attire also included cloaks and in some regions [[braccae|trousers]].{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=218}} In the 2nd century, emperors and elite men are often portrayed wearing the [[Pallium (Roman cloak)|pallium]], an originally Greek mantle; women are also portrayed in the pallium. [[Tertullian]] considered the pallium an appropriate garment both for Christians, in contrast to the toga, and for educated people.<ref name=coon/><ref name=bieber/><ref>[[Tertullian]], ''De Pallio'' 5.2</ref>

Roman clothing styles changed over time.{{Sfnp|Gagarin|2010|p=232}} In the [[Dominate]], clothing worn by both soldiers and bureaucrats became highly decorated with geometrical patterns, stylized plant motifs, and in more elaborate examples, human or animal figures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=D'Amato |first=Raffaele |title=Roman Military Clothing (3): AD 400–640 |date=2005 |publisher=Osprey |isbn=184176843X |pages=7–9}}</ref> Courtiers of the later Empire wore elaborate silk robes. The militarization of Roman society, and the waning of urban life, affected fashion: heavy military-style belts were worn by bureaucrats as well as soldiers, and the toga was abandoned,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wickham |first=Chris |title=The Inheritance of Rome |date=2009 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-670-02098-0 |page=106}}</ref> replaced by the pallium as a garment embodying social unity.{{Sfnp|Vout|2009|p=217}}