Roman Entertainment

The amphitheatre was a very popular location for entertainment.

This is what the amphitheatre at Dorchester looked like. It was a simple wooden enclosure, the audience sat on the grassy banks around.

The audience had a lot of power over the outcome of the gladiator battles. If they waved their hands it meant the loosing gladiator could live, if they made a thumbs down, he would die.

Gladiators

Gladiators were mainly slaves or prisoners and they had no choice - they had to go and fight. In the amphitheatre, gladiators would fight with animals and other gladiators. There were fake fights and then the performance would finish with a real fight to the death.

In the Coliseum in Rome ( a huge building that held Gladiatorial fights) 2,000 men were killed in the first 2 weeks of it opening!

Theatres

The town was the centre for entertainment and people would come from the countryside around the town to have a good time.

A town would have a theatre where people could see plays, mime, dancing and concerts. The shows were free, paid for by wealthy townspeople who wanted to become popular with ordinary people.

Chariot Racing

Chariot races in Roman Britain were held in fields, watched by spectators on wooden seats. The chariots were pulled by two, four, or even eight horses. Each race had seven laps. The chariots were often crashed.

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