There are few things that connect us like sports.

Think about it.

When people watch the World Cup in 2022, 1.

5 billion people watched it on TV.

They streamed it.

But in ancient Roman times, you couldn't watch TV.

You couldn't watch it online.

You had to be there.

So over time, with the popularity of various sports, the venues got larger and larger and larger to accommodate those crowds that were enthusiastic for the gladiatorial game.

For the chariot races, for a game that was kind of like rugby called Harpastum.

Hey, I'm Darius Aria.

I'm an archaeologist and I live in Rome.

And I want to share with you the experience of living in one of the greatest cities of antiquity by taking you into the daily life of ancient times.

From the Olympics, founded in Olympia in 776 BCE, to the Ludi Romani, the Roman games that were founded here in the Circus Maximus.

You had all kinds of spectacles with a special twist because it wasn't just about competition and entertainment.

In ancient times, it was about venerating the gods.

So when you came here and participated as a spectator, you weren't just being entertained.

You were also appeasing, venerating, remembering the gods that protected your city and your society.

The Romans loved to be entertained, and with an empire, There was plenty of leisure time for the masses.

So what did they do?

They went to the venues and they were enjoying themselves.

Let's remember the ancient quip.

All they wanted was bread and circuses.

Imperial Rome offered the populace unparalleled venues that we can examine.

The Circus Maximus for chariot racing, the Colosseum for gladiator fights, and the Stadium for Greek style competitions.

So let's visit some of these venues, watch how these games were played, and dive into the incredible world of sports and entertainment in the ancient world.

The Greeks had the Olympics reserved for Greeks.

The Romans were not to be left out.

And here in the Campus Martius, they had their own Greek style games in a venue called the stadium built by Domitian.

It once held 30, 000 spectators and the structure was so massive that the seating was used for foundations for buildings still today that give the Piazza Navona its unique shape.

Now what took place in these Greek competitions?

You had foot races, you had boxing, you had chariot racing, you had pentathlon, and you had a brutal sport called Pankration.

The Pankration, which means all power, was a popular combat sport of the Olympic Games.

It involved boxing and wrestling with a lot of moves similar to martial arts.

It was also popular in Rome, in the bathing facilities, as well as the stadium.

Very close to MMA, no holds barred fighting.

Romans had other athletic competitions, which were much more popular, and much more violent.

Of course, the most famous entertainment venue in Rome was the Colosseum, and this was an icon.

It was in antiquity, and of course, it's one of the most famous monuments from the ancient world anywhere, that originally held 50, 000 spectators.

And you look at the Roman Empire, and there are over 250 other amphitheaters, much smaller, dispersed throughout the lands.

And it was the sign of a true Roman city.

So what happened inside an amphitheater?

In the morning, you had guanaciones.

You had men that were fighting against wild beasts.

At noontime, you had the execution of criminals.

You would burn them alive, you would crucify them, and you would throw them to the wild animals.

And in the afternoon It was all about gladiators, and it was usually one man against the other, sometimes to the death.

How did you actually become a gladiator?

You went to school, you went to rigorous, militaristic training camps, barracks, and they were called ludi, and there were four in Rome, and the one right here, the Ludus Magnus, the big school, is partially excavated right in the shadow of the Colosseum.

So once you went to the training, once you started to perform, then ultimately you could be rented out by your master for performances throughout the year.

Who was the gladiator?

Most of them were enslaved people or condemned criminals who were purchased by auction.

Sometimes freed citizens would symbolically sell themselves to become a gladiator for financial gain, but this was a dangerous game that most people wouldn't want to participate in.

Though they certainly enjoyed watching.

The games could occur in public squares like the Forum.

Gladiatorial games could appear in your house.

If you're wealthy, you had great entertainment with gladiators as a spectacle.

But the most important venue was in the amphitheater.

And this was a venue that the Romans created.

It literally means two theaters placed together.

A Roman invention.

And the most famous amphitheater was the Colosseum.

But think back to the Inaugural Games.

Think back to the time of Titus.

In the year 80 CE, 10, 000 gladiators fought over a hundred days.

That's unbelievable.

Here we have a classic encounter between a Murmillo and a Thracian.

And we have the setting here, it's like a gladiator school and we have a competition, but it's always that they're fighting in pairs.

It's intense.

There's obviously going to be a referee, the Sumerudis, and it is an opportunity for us to see the prowess of individual fighting skills.

And at the same time, we think about originally who were the gladiators?

They were people at the Romans captured in war, the th ation, the Sam Knight, the Gaul.

That's in the Republican period.

But when we go to the Imperial times, these are places becoming Romanized, becoming Roman cities.

So you start to name them other names, you start to call them provocateur, Ture, mlo.

And what we have right here in the arena is a mlo against iteration.

The Romans have many all games.

Handball games, even like a soccer game.

There's one behind me and it's called Harpastum.

Today we'd say it's kind of like rugby because you've got a ball, you're throwing it to your teammates laterally.

Some of the Roman physicians said it's truly one of the greatest sports out there because it combines wrestling, running, throwing.

It's a rough sport.

There's even a scrum just like in rugby when the people are pushing backwards and forwards.

It's intense and of course it's all over the place.

It's in the math complexes, it's in the playing fields.

It's super popular and was spread throughout the empire also with the Roman army.

I'm walking in the remains of the Circus Maximus and this was the greatest entertainment venue in the ancient world.

Definitely the largest and it held in the imperial period between 150, 000 and 200, 000 spectators.

This is mind boggling.

Essentially.

It's the valley between the Aventine Hill and the Palatine Hill.

Originally you sat on slopes.

By the time of the emperors, it becomes something massive, majestic, stretching on six football fields.

This was the ultimate entertainment in the city of Rome, although it's hard to fathom just how impressive it was today.

What would you see in the circus?

The main event was chariot racing.

And consider the charioteer.

Riding a tiny chariot, almost like a surfboard, he was literally strapped to the reins of four, six, even up to a dozen horses.

If he crashed, he'd pull out his dagger and cut himself free to avoid being trampled to death.

And crashes happened all the time, especially at the curve.

The average race had seven laps, over four miles.

Teams were the reds, greens, blues, and whites.

And yes, The fans were fanatical and loyal.

When was the circus used?

During the various annual ludi.

The games were held to honor various gods and later various victorious generals, written into the calendar as annual events, something that you could count on.

And with Rome's success and wealth, more and more days were added to the festivities.

The games honored the gods that protected the city and remembered various victories of Rome's greatest rulers.

The games were free for all.

But the best seats were reserved for the upper classes, and there was a stunning imperial box for the emperor and his special guests.

But for all this entertainment, where will we find the actors?

For comedies, dramas, satires?

In the theater, of course.

Rome had other entertainment venues.

It had three theaters.

It had a music hall.

It had a nalmachia, which is a place for ship battles, located by the Tiber River.

You had many entertainments going on inside the bath complexes, both large and imperial, small and private.

Juvenile talked all about bread and circuses, and that's what the masses wanted.

When Rome got the empire, it had so much power, so much prestige, so much money, and its citizens had a lot of leisure time.

So they went to the massive entertainment venues for spectacle, for enjoyment.

But also we think about those venues as being symbols of the power and might of the Roman Empire.