What did the Poor do for entertainment in Ancient Rome?

Answer 1

The daily entertainments of the poor were going to the baths (where, like most Romans, they spent on average a couple of hours) and to the popina. Other entertainment were the gladiatorial games held at the arena, the chariot races held at the circus (the racing track) and other entertainments and games held at the games of religious festivals which provided all sorts of shows.

The Roman baths were not free, but they were affordable. Roman baths were public and had a communal character, acting as a place for socialising. From the second century BC they were one of the main meeting points for people. This was particularly useful for poor people because they lived in the upper floors of the insulae (singular insula) which were apartment blocks six-seven floors high. They lived in small and overcrowded without running water, or cooking or sanitation facilities. People only went there to sleep. They lived their lives outdoors, ate outdoors, and went to outdoors public toilets and the public baths.

The baths could be big monumental buildings which were complexes with many facilities Friends met there, rich people met their clients, and group meals could be arranged. Politicians canvassed there. Baths also had exercise areas, washing areas and massage areas. Bigger baths could have shops, eating outlets, rooms for poetry readings, a library (the baths of Caracalla had two libraries, a Latin one and a Greek one) and host musical and dancing performances The Romans believed that good health came from eating, bathing, massage and exercise, 'mens sana in corpore sano' (a healthy/sound mind in a healthy body). Therefore their baths provided for all of these.

There was often an outdoor palaestra (gymnasium) for ball games, weight lifting, or throwing the discus. The routine started with exercises, bathing and washing (which was separate from bathing). Washing involved putting on perfumed oils and scraping dead skin off with a stirgil, a small metal tool. Pumice and beech ash were used to treat the skin. Finally bathers went to massage rooms which were done with perfumed oils and special ointments such almond oil and myrrh imported from the East and Egypt.

The popina (plural popinae) was like a wine bar. This served wine and simple foods such as olives, bread and stew. They were frequented by plebeians, slaves, freedmen and foreigners. They were simple places and had stools and tables. There was no eating reclined here. This was an aristocratic custom. In the literature (which was written by aristocrats) the popina was described as a place of immoral and illicit behaviour, crime and violence. There were attempts to curb the popinae. Tiberius forbade the sale of cooked food. Claudius ordered their closing down, but this failed. Nero ordered that only some kinds of vegetables and pulses could be sold. Vespasian issued a similar edict. There was gambling with dice at the popinae, even though it was illegal. Abundant archaeological finds of dices confirm this. The popinea were also seen as brothels. However, they did not have separate rooms for sex. Prostitutes went there to pick up punters and took them elsewhere.

Answer 2

The daily entertainment for the poor was going to the baths after a hard day's work. The routine at the baths took about two hours. This included exercises and games at the gym of the baths, having a hot bath and a sauna, swimming, having the dead skin scraped off, oiling and having a massage.

The poor also had fun at the numerous religious games which were held to entertain the people or were a major part of religious festivals.They occurred throughout the year and could last for several days. The entertainments included parades, chariot races (which were extremely popular) animal hunts, acrobatic, music, theater and dance performances, feasting and drinking.

The gladiatorial games were also popular.

Answer 3

The Roman poor went to the public baths and hand around outdoors playing Board Games or dice or drank and spent time at wine bars were called popina (plural popinae). These served wine and simple foods such as olives, bread and stew. They were frequented by plebeians, slaves, freedmen and foreigners. They were simple places and had stools and tables. There was no eating reclined here. This was an aristocratic custom. In the literature (which was written by aristocrats) the popina was described as a place of immoral and illicit behaviour, crime and violence.

The poor ate at the thermpolium (plural thermopolia), which was a bakery. The word was Greek and meant "a place where (something) hot is sold" It sold ready to eat food and it has been considered the forerunners of restaurant and the food they served had been compared to today's fast food. It served the poor who did not have a private kitchen. It had a counter at the front with recesses for heat efficient containers. Many had dining areas at the back. However, most people eat their food on benches along the sidewalk.

Most Romans lived on the upper floors of the insulae (apartment blocks four to seven floors high) which had small and overcrowded rooms with no running water, cooking facilities or toilets. People went there only to sleep and lived outdoors. They went to outdoors public toilets and to the public baths and eat outdoors. Bread and other grain based foods were all that the poor could afford. Therefore, the bakeries were the places where the food they ate was made and sold. The bakeries were extremely busy and, due to the masses of customers, people ate sitting on outdoors benches. The thermopolia were scorned by the upper classes who had a kitchen in their domus (detached house).

Answer 4

People in ancient Rome went to amphitheaters for entertainment. They watched gladiator fights.

Answer 5

Poor people were as welcome to watch the gladiator games as the wealthy. They just had worse seating.