Most Roman citizens became racing fanatics, supporting one of the factions. The factions were not just racing teams, they also had political influence. The green and blue factions were the most powerful, and later on in the empire, they absorbed the other two into their ranks. These were coloured and their names came from the colours themselves: the Greens, the Reds, the Blues and the Whites. The racers were divided into four different teams, called “factions” (factiones). Totila, the Ostrogoth king, held the last official chariot race at. It did continue to be a popular venue for chariot races right up until the fall of the Roman empire, and even for a time beyond. The races were so popular that many household items were decorated with symbols from the racing. As mentioned earlier, when it was opened in 80 AD, the Colosseum started to increasingly become the premier entertainment venue for the Roman people. Although there was no public betting one the races, there was a large amount of private betting that went on and the chance of earning money probably attracted even more popularity to the races. Juvenal’s famous saying “panem et circenses” has become a sign of entertainment appeasing people throughout the ages. It appealed to all social classes, from the lowly slaves to the senators and the emperor. Chariot racing was the most popular form of entertainment. The first form of entertainment I am going to talk about is chariot racing.
These were two of the more popular forms of entertainment available to the average Roman citizens. Two forms of entertainment are chariot racing and gladiator fights. Entertainment was free, and appealed to all social classes, from slaves to the emperor. Citizens in ancient Rome held their entertainment close.