SPECTACLES

In addition to these regularly scheduled entertainments, occasionally an emperor would sponsor a special spectacle. One example was a nau-machia {naval battle). These could be held on an existing lake, or an artifi-dal lake might be dug. Squadrons of ships manned by slaves or criminals might be pitted against each other. The biggest naumachia ever was held on the Fucine Lake by the emperor Claudius. In this colossal battle, two complete fleets of ships were manned by 19,000 men.

Another category of spectacle that was always popular was reenactments of famous historical battles or mythological stories. Simple spectacles might involve dressing a few gladiators up as Greeks and Trojans to have a Trojan War, or as Spartans and Athenians to stage a Peloponnesian War. More creative reenactments told mythological stories. A favorite one was the myth of Orpheus. Orpheus was a Greek musician so skilled that wild beasts would docilely listen to him play. Naturally, in the Roman version, the beasts were only soothed initially and the spectacle ended with the poor slave dressed as Orpheus being eaten by wild beasts. Another popular myth was that of Icarus, a man who supposedly constructed wings out of wax and feathers and flew. Foolishly, Icarus approached too close to the sun and the wax melted, causing his wings to fall apart and Icarus to crash to his death. To recreate this myth, a slave was outfitted with wings and then flung off the top of the stadium. On one occasion, the man playing Icarus crashed so close to the couch of Nero that the emperor was splattered with blood. The Romans also liked to recreate scenes from their own history. A popular one was the story of the Roman hero Mucius Scaevola, who burned off his own hand to demonstrate his bravery.

Sometimes, rather than using special effects to simulate violence in plays, they would simply insert a slave and inflict real violence. Nero once attended a play called The Fire. A full-size wooden house was constructed onstage and filled with valuable objects. It was then lit on fire, and people were told that they could keep whatever they could save from the burning, collapsing building. Entertainments such as these destroyed the fundamental distinction between theater and real life.

The violence and cruelty of many Roman spectacles have prompted much debate regarding their purpose and morality. Even among the Romans, there were some who questioned them and were disgusted by them. One traditional justification the Romans gave is that they were a warlike people and should therefore be accustomed to violent death. Others, both ancient and modern, have suggested that the games served as a symbolic assertion of Roman dominance since many of the entertainments featured foreigners whose fate was determined by the will of the crowd representing the Roman people. Another suggested interpretation summed up by the phrase "bread and circuses" is that the games served as a way of keeping the masses distracted and uninterested in politics. The truth may be a complex mixture of all of these factors, but regardless, gladiator games and fantastic spectacles remain one of the best-known aspects of Roman civilization.