Entertainment in Ancient Rome

Romans worked from dawn until about noon ever day of the week. After the noon hour, and on holidays (there were over 120 public holidays throughout the year), they often looked for entertainment. In their free time, Romans could have gone to a public bath, visited the theater, saw a gladiator fight at the Coliseum or a chariot race at the Circus Maximus. Most of these events were free for the common Roman. In the economic good times of the empire, wealthy Romans sponsored the events to gain public prestige. Later, the cost was picked up by the government to keep the people of the city in good spirits. Seating at many of the events was segregated by social class. For example, at the Coliseum seating was divided by classes. The Imperial court sat in the lower tier and behind them sat the aristocratic families. The next set of seats were occupied by the commoners. Finally, women were seated at the very top tier. From most accounts, very few women attended the events.