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If you and your family want to have fun, you might go to the movies, take a walk in a park, or watch a ballgame. Romans had very different ways of amusing themselves.
In ancient times, Romans went to public bathhouses. There they would talk, gossip, and even make business deals. For an evening out, wealthy Romans might go to a play or concert. But poor people chose chariot races and the bloody fights known as gladiator games. Emperors and other public leaders paid for these games to keep the people happy. Politicians used the games to help the poor forget their troubles. At a chariot race or gladiator match, the crowds worked out their frustrations by yelling at the players instead of at their leaders.
