Entertainment+2

= Entertainment =

One of the most famous ancient buildings of Rome is the Colosseum. This massive building could seat up to 50,000 people and keep them cool from the sun. It was a place were anyone could go and be entertained. The emperors saw the coliseum as the heart of Rome, were the people could be content. If you would have taken away the coliseum, there would soon be riots and rebellions. The coliseum was an important part of life for many Romans. It was the key to freedom for the Gladiators who fought in it, if he had what it took.

Gladiator fights were a popular event in ancient Rome. It was a public spectacle that was enjoyed by all social classes. It was to romans what baseball is to us. The actual fight consisted of two or more fighters pitted against each other or animals. There were many variables in a fight, such as terrain, weapons, and amount of skill each gladiator had. These were often changed, ensuring that no two gladiator fights were ever the same. A gladiator fight often ended with either a man or beast dead. If they weren't killed during the fight, the crowd would choose for him, giving a thumbs up to let him live, or a thumbs down to kill him.

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Besides Gladiator Fights, Racing was a very popular roman pastime. They were most commonly held in the Circus Maximus. The track was oval in shape and had a barrier that separated the two sides called a Spina. At the each end of the Spina were Metas, which had Metal eggs or dolphins that were used as lap counters. The Spina was set diagonally, so that one end was wider than the other. One curve in the track was also wider than the other, which is where the participants started. Bribery and fixed races were common, so there were often spectacular crashes and multiple deaths in the race. As Rome declined, the Circus started to erode as less people came to watch the races. At one point it was used as a market, but little remains of it now, as shown in the pictures below. Though the great colosseum was used for gladiators along with animal fights, it was also used for mock naval battles. Workers would lay down planks of wood to seal off the colosseum so when it flooded, no water would leak out. When the water was just deep enough to float a boat, workers would construct the ships inside the colosseum. Then, much like a gladiator fight, the teams would fight to the death. The only way to win is to survive the chaos. Usually, if a fighter falls into the water, they’ll either drown, or be killed by a projectile of some sort. When the battle is over, workers would salvage what is left of the ships, deconstruct the remanning ones, and remove them from the colosseum. Though after the coloseum was upgraded, it could no longer hold water. The under-ground passage ways and trap doors made it impossible to make a near water tight seal. On the upside, the trap doors made the fights more entertaining by incorporating animals.




 * Resources**
 * [|Wikipedia-Colosseum]
 * Wikipedia- Circus Maximus
 * Circus Maximus
 * Wikipedia- Roman Theatre
 * Roman theatre