Ancient Rome Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Games and recreation=== {{See also| History of physical training and fitness}} [[File:Nennig Roman Villa and Mosaics - 51134391753.jpg|thumb|[[Gladiator]] combat was strictly a spectator sport. This [[Roman mosaic|mosaic]] shows combatants and referee, from the [[Roman villa|villa]] at [[Nennig]], Germany, {{Circa|2nd}}β3rd century AD.]] [[File:Villa romana bikini girls.JPG|right|thumb|The "[[bikini]] girls" [[mosaic]], showing women playing sports, from the [[Villa Romana del Casale]], Italy, Roman province of [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicilia]], 4th century AD]] The youth of Rome had several forms of athletic play and exercise. Play for boys was supposed to prepare them for active military service, such as [[jumping]], [[wrestling]], [[boxing]], and [[racing]].{{Sfn|Casson|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/everydaylifeinan00cass/page/98 98β108]}} In the countryside, pastimes for the wealthy also included fishing and hunting.<ref name="SPQRonline">{{Cite web |year=1998 |title=Daily Life: Entertainment |url=http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/entertainment.htm#leisure |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430025620/http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/entertainment.htm |archive-date=30 April 2007 |website=SPQR Online}}</ref> The Romans also had several forms of ball playing, including one resembling [[American handball|handball]].{{Sfn|Casson|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/everydaylifeinan00cass/page/98 98β108]}} [[Dice game]]s, [[board game]]s, and [[Gambling|gamble games]] were popular pastimes.{{Sfn|Casson|1998|pages=[https://archive.org/details/everydaylifeinan00cass/page/98 98β108]}} For the wealthy, dinner parties presented an opportunity for entertainment, sometimes featuring music, dancing, and poetry readings.{{Sfn|Adkins|Adkins|1998|pp=350β352}} The majority, less well-off, sometimes enjoyed similar parties through clubs or associations, but for most Romans, recreational dining usually meant patronising [[tavern]]s.{{Sfn|Adkins|Adkins|1998|pp=350β352}}Children entertained themselves with toys and such games as [[leapfrog]].<ref name=SPQRonline/>{{Sfn|Adkins|Adkins|1998|pp=350β352}} Public games and spectacles were sponsored by leading Romans who wished to advertise their generosity and court popular approval; in Rome or its provinces, this usually meant the emperor or his governors. Venues in Rome and the provinces were developed specifically for public games. Rome's [[Colisseum]] was built in 70 AD under the Roman emperor Vespasian and opened in 80 AD to host other events and [[gladiator]]ial combats. Gladiators had an exotic and inventive variety of arms and armour. They sometimes fought to the death, but more often to an adjudicated victory, usually in keeping with the mood of the watching crowd. Shows of exotic animals were popular in their own right; but sometimes animals were pitted against human beings, either armed professionals or unarmed criminals who had been condemned to public death. [[Chariot racing]] was extremely popular among all classes. In Rome, these races were usually held at the [[Circus Maximus]], which had been purpose-built for chariot and horse-racing and, as Rome's largest public place, was also used for festivals and animal shows.<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/circusmaximus.html Circus Maximus]. Encyclopedia Romana. University of Chicago. Retrieved 19 April 2007.</ref> It could seat around 150,000 people;<ref>John Humphrey, ''Roman circuses: arenas for chariot racing'', University of California Press, 1986, p. 216.</ref> The charioteers raced in teams, identified by their colours; some aficionados were members of extremely, even violently partisan circus factions. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page