A Brief Look at the Juvenal’s “Bread & Circuses”
We use a number of phrases, proverbs or cliches in our everyday life to add emphasis to our speech. Many of them come from important events or people in history. Countries with rich histories have provided many figures of speech with great meanings that are still in use today. Take “bread and circuses,” for instance, which comes from the ancient Roman poet Juvenal (his full Latin name was Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis). He lived around the turn of the first century AD/CE and wrote many satires as well as coined other phrases, such as “who will watch the watchers,” “no man becomes bad all at once,” and “a healthy mind in a healthy body.” Juvenal’s satires, however, earned him more enemies than fans, since they depicted the social and political corruption of ancient Rome.
“Bread and circuses” appears in Juvenal’s Satire X, written in the early 2nd century AD/CE. Here’s the entire sentence with the phrase:
… Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.
Juvenal was not only reflecting an upper-class contempt for working people, but was regretting the loss of Rome’s republic when people used to elect their government representatives. Since Roman history was written by wealthy men of the senatorial class, or by those who had attached themselves to political interests, Roman historians had little sympathy for the lower classes. But the phrase “bread & circuses” also gives us a window into the lives and struggles of the urban masses of ancient Rome, as well as a mirror to analyze our own social and political situation.
Augustus, the first Roman emperor, had wiped out meaningful elections and any semblance of a republic. Romans were no longer able to have an impact on government decisions through elected politicians and therefore could only appeal to the emperor through demonstrations, and, if he failed to recognize their claims, they sometimes resorted to rioting. The Roman elite referred to the masses as the “mob” (this might sound familiar, “basket of deplorables”). However, the “mob” was not the dregs of society, but rather mostly consisted of shopkeepers, craftsmen, and transportation and construction workers who had legitimate grievances to air.
Imperial Rome was a city of about one million inhabitants by the 2nd century AD/CE. Filled with palaces, monuments, and slums, it was a city where both splendor and squalor existed side by side. Short of space, Rome had expanded vertically, as well as horizontally. Much of the population lived in multi-storey tenements and rents were high — just like cities today. Most apartment houses were poorly built and often collapsed. Fires were also frequent and devastating. Although Rome built many large public baths, sanitation was poor — garbage went out the window; human and animal waste stayed in the streets. Rome was congested and its streets were narrow and winding, which in turn facilitated riots. However, the worst result of centuries of unplanned urban growth was that the surrounding rural areas could not provide enough food for Rome’s population. Grain (durum wheat) had to be imported from North Africa, Sicily, and Sardinia by hundreds of ships, for many centuries (see map of Roman trade networks). [The very same situation exists today — trucks transport food nationwide to cities who are entirely reliant on commercial food distribution networks.]
During the early Repubic (509–287 BC/BCE), the Roman government subsidized grain at reduced prices. In 123 BC/BCE, a monthly dole was provided to a fixed number of citizens, who were issued a square wooden ‘voucher’ redeemable for five modii of grain (about 73 lbs or 33 kg). In 62 BC/BCE, the grain became free. In the third century AD/CE, grain was replaced with bread; olive oil, wine, and pork were also added to the dole.
The grain dole is still misunderstood — it was not welfare, nor even philanthropy: For hundreds of years it was a governmental tradition viewed as a hereditary privilege for the descendants of the Romans who had conquered the world (many of whom built the infrastructure, protected the city, or served in the army) and were thus entitled to its tribute. Grain distribution was limited to citizens who resided in the city. No one, however, could live on or support a family on the dole — at most, it was only a supplement. Rent and clothing still required hard cash. The grain dole and its recipients were often criticized by the well-fed upper classes [compare Reagan’s derogatory tirades against so-called “welfare queens” in the 1970s]. Far from being “lazy parasites feeding at the public trough,” the Roman masses were hard-working people who received a food supplement, and little else, from the imperial dictatorship.
Unfortunately, any delays in the arrival of the grain fleet could bring famine to Rome, since bread was the main part of the diet. Food shortages and high prices were frequent reasons for bread riots. Leadership conflicts cut off Rome’s food supply in 41 BC/BCE, and a hungry population organized a city-wide strike in protest. Just two years later, when Rome faced famine again, the people demonstrated to complain of hunger and high taxes: Octavian (the future emperor) and Mark Antony were stoned in the Forum, Antony then sent in soldiers who massacred the protestors. In 51 AD/CE, a delay in the arrival of the grain fleet caused another serious food shortage. With only a 15-day supply was left in Rome, angry crowds surrounded Emperor Claudius in the Forum and threw stale crusts of bread at him until soldiers rescued the emperor. In 68 AD/CE, food shortages helped to bring down Emperor Nero. In 189 AD/CE an artificial scarcity of grain was created to raise prices, and Emperor Commodus sent in the cavalry to fight the protestors.
Like all peoples, the Romans enjoyed shows and games, and the more spectacular they were, the better. The main centers for public entertainment were the Circus Maximus and the Colosseum (both well depicted in Ben Hur and Gladiator). The word “circus” in ancient Rome meant many things in the realm of entertainment: parades, festivals, gladiator contests, animal fights, chariot races. Much, though not all, of public entertainment at Rome was free, and holidays were frequent. Under Emperor Claudius, 93 days per year were devoted to games at government expense; in the third century AD/CE, the figure almost doubled. Paying for spectacular games, blood sports, parades, religious festivals, and chariot races became a standard tool for politicians to win Roman elections during the Republic. Even in the absence of elections, Roman emperors and provincial governors continued to sponsor lavish entertainment events to demonstrate their generosity and justify their retention of power.
“Bread and circuses” describes well how ancient Rome placated its citizens with free food and entertainment in a city that was critically overpopulated, often hungry, and angry at the politicians. To keep the people satisfied and unquestioning of the government, emperors provided free bread and daily entertainment. But, there was no generosity here, it was simply pragmatic to maintain their political and military power structure across three continents. Moreover, the entertainment reflected life in general under the empire, from the brutality of bloodshed to the avoidance of starvation.
Today we can easily draw parallels: “Bread and circuses” can be substituted with anything that achieves the goal of keeping people distracted from injustices created by government. For example, bread can be food stamps and entertainment can be sports. “Bread and circuses” is an age-old phrase that can be used in any time period (even as a futuristic Star Trek episode!) and still be applicable to current social and political issues. What would Juvenal think of his phrase being used today and what would his substitutions be?
A map of the Roman Empire in 180 AD/CE showing Roman commerce routes and trade goods. Map created by Adhavoc, Wikipedia Creative Commons License.
Additional Illustration:
Model of Rome, — areas of the Circus Maximus and of the Colosseum by Paul Bigot, University of Caen, GNU Free Documentation License.
Originally published at https://drlindaellis.net.
