<P> When Juvenal complained that the Roman people had exchanged their political liberty for "bread and circuses", he was referring to the state - provided grain dole and the circenses, events held in the entertainment venue called a circus in Latin . The largest such venue in Rome was the Circus Maximus, the setting of horse races, chariot races, the equestrian Troy Game, staged beast hunts (venationes), athletic contests, gladiator combat, and historical re-enactments . From earliest times, several religious festivals had featured games (ludi), primarily horse and chariot races (ludi circenses). Although their entertainment value tended to overshadow ritual significance, the races remained part of archaic religious observances that pertained to agriculture, initiation, and the cycle of birth and death . </P> <P> Under Augustus, public entertainments were presented on 77 days of the year; by the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the number of days had expanded to 135 . Circus games were preceded by an elaborate parade (pompa circensis) that ended at the venue . Competitive events were held also in smaller venues such as the amphitheatre, which became the characteristic Roman spectacle venue, and stadium . Greek - style athletics included footraces, boxing, wrestling, and the pancratium . Aquatic displays, such as the mock sea battle (naumachia) and a form of "water ballet", were presented in engineered pools . State - supported theatrical events (ludi scaenici) took place on temple steps or in grand stone theatres, or in the smaller enclosed theatre called an odeum . </P> <P> Circuses were the largest structure regularly built in the Roman world, though the Greeks had their own architectural traditions for the similarly purposed hippodrome . The Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Colosseum, became the regular arena for blood sports in Rome after it opened in 80 AD . The circus races continued to be held more frequently . The Circus Maximus could seat around 150,000 spectators, and the Colosseum about 50,000 with standing room for about 10,000 more . Many Roman amphitheatres, circuses and theatres built in cities outside Italy are visible as ruins today . The local ruling elite were responsible for sponsoring spectacles and arena events, which both enhanced their status and drained their resources . </P> <P> The physical arrangement of the amphitheatre represented the order of Roman society: the emperor presiding in his opulent box; senators and equestrians watching from the advantageous seats reserved for them; women seated at a remove from the action; slaves given the worst places, and everybody else packed in - between . The crowd could call for an outcome by booing or cheering, but the emperor had the final say . Spectacles could quickly become sites of social and political protest, and emperors sometimes had to deploy force to put down crowd unrest, most notoriously at the Nika riots in the year 532, when troops under Justinian slaughtered thousands . </P>

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