ENTERTAINMENT: The Theatre at Pompeii Flashcards
When were Plays performed?
on festivals
What happened on the day of a Play?
Shops/businesses closed
Lots of excitement
Who would hurry to the theatre and why?
Men + women with slaves
To reserve their seats
Brought food + drink, cushions with them
Who were the front row seats reserved for?
Town councillors, important members of society
What did spectators carry?
A token - showed which entrance they should use, and where to sit
Capacity of large theatre in Pompeii
5000 people
Was there a cost for the play?
No, free
Who would the play be funded by?
Rich citizen
Would gain popularity -useful in elections
What was used to keep spectators cool?
Awning - suspended by ropes and pulleys
Controlled by sailors
What happened between each play?
Scented water sprinkled on everyone
What was a pantomime?
Mixture of opera and ballet
Plot from Greek mythology
Who were the pantomime actors?
Greek slaves
Freedmen
Source: Bronze statue in Pompeii graffitied
Actius, our favourite, come back quickly
Shows fame gained by actors
Comic plays
Short one act plays which were at the end of performances.
What did comic plays contain?
About italian life
Rude jokes, vulgar
Characters in comic plays
Pappus = old fool
Manducus = greedy clown
How were characters recognised in comic plays?
Masks
Source on Masks CLC
Clay model of mask, maybe of Manducus
Source: Roman poet Juvenal
Describes a play’s atmosphere
Children sat on their mother laps in horror when they saw the masks
What were the masks made of?
Linen covered in plaster + painted
Typical storyline of comedies of Plautus
Young man from respectable family is in debt and in love with a slave girl.
His father is always disapproving
The son is helped by a slave, to hide this from his father. The girl turns out to be from a good family, and they live happily.
Sources for Plautus CLC
Mosaics of slave girl
PSB Source Amphitheatre at Pompeii
Adaptations:
Isles help project sound
Tiers of seats - unobstructed view
Smooth walls to protect spectators from animals + gladiators
Capacity of Colosseum
50,000 people
Basic Facts about Colosseum
World’s largest amphitheatre
Built during the reign of Flavien emperors
PSB Colosseum source
It was huge
Limitations: Broken, only partially standing
CLC source gladiators - painted on walls of buildings
Twenty pairs of gladiators, given by Lucretius Satrius Valens, priest of Nero, and ten pairs of gladiators provided by his son will fight at Pompeii from 8 to 12 April. There will also be an animal hint. Awnings will be provided.
Structure of gladiator show
Trumplet sounded, then priest performs a religious ceremony
Gladiators enter and parade around the arena. They greet the sponsor
Gladiators are paired off and fight starts
Who were gladiators
Slaves
Condemned criminals
Prisoners of war
Volunteers
CLC source of results of a gladiator show
A Thracian versus a Murmillo
Won: Pugnax from Nero’s school: 3 times a winner
Died: Murranus from Nero’s school: 3 times a winner
How did a gladiator fight end?
One of them would surrender (lift their arm) or be dead
How would the spectators decide the fate of the gladiator that surrender?
Would either thumps up to kill him
Thumbs down to not
What were gladiators depicted as?
The heartthrob
PSB source on gladiators being hot - Juvenal Satires
About how a wife of a senator named Eppia decided to lower her status by becoming a gladiator’s mistress.
Disgusting imagery
Questions why she ditched her pietas (duty to children, family, Gods) for a disgusting gladiator.
Says that gladiators are only attractive due to their armour and bravery, not their looks
PSB source - Large Theatre at Pompeii
Semi circle + stage
Made of brick + stone to last a long time
Venatio
Wild animal hunt
Included in shows where a gladiator would fight an animal
Types of Gladiators
Samnites
Thracians
Murmillo
Retiarii
Venator
Gladiator Samnites
Oblong shield
Short sword
Gladiator Thracians
Round shield
Curved sword
Gladiator Murmillo
fish shaped helmet
Gladiator Retiarii
Nets
Tridents
Gladiator Venator
Beast hunter
Competed with beasts in the arena
PSB source Murmillo helmet
Made of metal
Decorative
Mesh - protects persons eyes
Limitations:
only one helmet
Only one angle
Its a picture
Romans are skillful to be able to make this
PSB source venator carving
Not heavily armed - dangerous
Limitations:
Old
Broken/incomplete
PSB source: Characters of Plautus
Miser Eucleo - so stingy that won’t even throw his nail clippings away
Parasite - counts itself as 8 = greedy
