1. Blood, Bread and Circuses – Entertaining the Roman Mob Outcome 4.5 Daily Life in Rome Outcome 4.8 Causes to explain the decline of the Roman Empire

2. Daily Life in Rome 5% of the population of Rome hoarded most of the wealth of the Empire. Reliance on slaves for daily chores, meant much of the population was idle. How do you keep the majority of people from causing problems, because of the horrid conditions in which they led their lives?

3. Daily Life in Rome Solution: Keep them entertained! “The heart of Rome is the sands of the Colosseum”

4. The Colosseum – Continuity and Change

5. Arena of Blood The Colosseum was built in the 1 st century AD, during the reign of Vespasian and his son, Titus. Also known as the Flavian Ampitheatre 45,000-50,000 spectators would fill the Colosseum almost on a daily basis!

6. Festivals, parties and death The Roman calendar was filled with state-sanctioned holidays. By the time of Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, there were 175 days of games in the Colosseum – nearly half of the year dedicated to festivals. The simple way to control the Roman Mob – feed them and entertain them!

7. Gladiators – the Entertainers Roman version of modern day sports figures -- amplified!

8. Gladiators The Roman spectators in the Colosseum enjoyed being reminded of Roman conquests and loved any gladiatorial fights that provided some sort of novelty, such as foreign armor, weapons and different styles of combat. The spectators loved a spectacle - costumes and different types of armor helped to provide this.

9. The Circus Maximus

10. The Circus Maximus Today

11. Building of the Colosseum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOylD 1KC6kc&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOylD 1KC6kc&feature=related

12. Evidence -- Ancient Rome Today