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Romans could have free spectacles; it was a right of the citizens to join banquets offered by the rich and famous, and to enjoy shows in the circus or the amphitheatre. The games were offered by the emperor and the nobility to get social consensus. Panem et circenses were given to the public so as to distract their attention from more important matters. The yearly schedule and the organization of the ludi, the games in honour of the gods, were at first regulated by law, since the games had started as religious rites. Later on, when prominent citizens took over the expense of the "production", the sacred character of the games was almost forgotten.
The most popular games were the ludi circenses, or chariot races, which took place in the circus, and the naumachiae, naval battles reproduced within special facilities. The Ludi Gladiatori in the amphitheatre were less frequent, but immensely popular, too. They were generally associated with a venatio, which was a staged hunt of wild animals (a show that sometimes entailed the execution of condemned criminals). In the amphitheatre were also staged the silvae, in which animals populated a scenery of woods and forests, and dramas, that reproduced famous mythological tales.
