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Super Bowl ads in ancient times?


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I wasn't sure in which forum to post this but I'll try here.

On a travel forum I frequent, someone posting in a thread about the Super Bowl ads asked:

"Wonder to what extent (and how) ancient sporting events were tied to commercial interests?
Ancient Greek Olympics? Ancient Mayan handball tournament rituals? Gladiators in the Colosseum and elsewhere? "

😊

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Regarding the gladiatorial contests, they were staged for various reasons....

1 - Religion. The contests between slaves was a 'civilised' alternative to human sacrifice and intended to honour your ancestors with the shedding of blood, though the fights were usually staged until one or the other contestant could not continue due to wounds or exhaustion.

2 - Politics - Contests were staged to entertain the public and win votes for office by popularity. It was fairly blatant, because games were often staged when individuals were running  for office rather than part of the funeral celebrations which the games were supposed to be about.

3 - Glory - Games, especially the larger ones, were staged to celebrate Roman victories and glory in their success and mastery over Nature. It was also a convenient way to be rid of prisoners in large numbers.

4 - Civil order - panem et circuses (bread and horse races) was a known method for keeping the people content via free entertainment.

Commercial success? For who? The individual staging games was going to fork out vast sums of money to organise and run the event, from the import of wild exotic animals to the fees for renting gladiators from their owners, and worse, the compensation paid to owners at fifty times the rental price if any of them are killed or freed.

Those earning profits were mostly the suppliers of animals, though it was a risky trade as you couldn't guarantee the animal would survive the journey, or those supplying goods and services for the event. Cicero wrote to his friend Atticus remarking how good his gladiators were and that if he'd rented them out, he would have cleared his debts easily.

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  • 2 months later...
On 2/12/2024 at 6:07 AM, Crispina said:

"Wonder to what extent (and how) ancient sporting events were tied to commercial interests?

Thinking about this some more, I think in Rome that many (if not most) sporting and entertainment events were sponsored by either politicians or businessmen who were trying to enhance their prestige. Their support would be both recognized and appreciated by the masses.
 

I am not sure these vested interests would have advertised their support as blatantly as the newsreader from the series “Rome,” however. “This was brought to you by the Capitoline Brotherhood of Millers that uses only the finest flour. True Roman bread for true Romans.”

 

 

 

 

Edited by guy
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