Circus Maximus

Ciao
Today was a rest day but I promised to write about Circus Maximus so..........
On my birthday my dad asked me what I wanted to do, I said shop and no swimming. What didn't I do?
Shop, what did I do? Swim! I also went to see Circus Maximus, for those of you who don't know what that is, here is a short history lesson.
Circus Maximus was first built in 326 BC ( omg, that is soooooooooooooo old its basically 2,333 years old, btw that is the oldest thing I've seen so far. ) and it could hold 250,000 people. It was built as a place  for the roman people to gather and be entertained. When it was first built it held ALOT of chariot races. The charioteers ( the people riding their carts ) were sometimes killed during the races when their carts tipped over. ( imagine being in, or watching the race ). The Romans would also flood the field, using water from the Tiber (which is now one of the most polluted rivers in Europe) so that they could recreate epic sea battles. The last games were held in 549AD by Totilla the Goth who, by the way, captured Rome and reduced its population to 500. ( 250,000 to 500 people ........................ W-O-W.. )
Anyway when I was there, there were alot of people dressed up in roman clothes......... at first I thought that dressing up in old roman clothes was a bit weird/crazy, because it was sooooooooo hot and their clothes were heavy but then I realised that........( duh duh daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ) they were reenacting roman times.  They were going to have fights ( which they did ) and show us how it was like living in that era. ( now I realized that I had a MAJOR duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh moment at first =] )  When we finally found a place to sit and watch the show, they took a break. After the lunch break ( I have a great picture of 2 guys dressed up as gladiators and waiting in line at a snack bar....... ha ha ha I still laugh when I think of the picture of them. )  it was time for the Roman ballet, for about 2 and 1/2 hours, 4 groups of girls danced to some really cool music.  It was almost like we were actually back in ancient Rome, except for every once in a while an ambulance would go by. The first group to dance portrayed the Nymphs, they were all very pretty and the dance was slow and graceful, the next group of girls were younger and their dances were more happy. Next came the slaves, who were forced to fight each other (sometimes to the death) to entertain the emperor. We also saw the gladiators practicing their fighting skills, and it finished off with the rebels fighting the warriors. It was pretty sad because there were 20 of them against 50 warriors, enemies to me. The rebels never stood a chance and when they were all dead, their wives and children came onto the field and instead of being taken as slaves, they killed themselves. It is very sad to think that this happened so many times in the past.
Anyway, on a happier note, I am going to visit a volcanic lake and a castle tomorrow!!!!!!!
Ciao!

Ciao