The Ancient Romans liked sports and games as much as the Ancient Greeks did. Physical fitness and athletic ability in the Roman men was an important part of their culture. All over the Roman Empire, men practiced riding, fencing, wrestling, throwing, and swimming. In the country, men went hunting and fishing. At home, men played ball before dinner, which were games of throwing and catching. A popular game was to throw a ball as high as they could, and then catch it before it hit the ground.
Women did not join in these games. Women did not participate
in sports in Ancient Greece either. However, unlike the Greeks with
their Olympic games, most of the sports and sporting events that the Ancient
Romans participated in and watched were not important to their religion but
were mostly for entertainment. The big sporting events in Ancient
Rome were a lot like our professional sports leagues we have in the United
States today, like the National Football League (NFL) or the National Basketball
League (NBA). Some of these sporting events also caused the Romans
to build some of their most important buildings that you can still see ruins
of today. Click on the two important Ancient Roman buildings below
to see what kind of sporting events went on there.
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| The Colosseum |