The Great Roman Games--A "moment" with Emperor Hadrian

Simple stroll through the marketplace

Pegasus

 

I got ta ticket for the Sunday afternoon "spectacle."  Not knowing exactly what to expect, I figured that if there were contests of skill--fighting, chariot driving, marksmanship--that the "finals" would be on the last day and I would get to see the "Champion" crowned.  It didn't work like that.  Each day, I believe the same scenes were enacted for different crowds.  It was more of a play--a drama--than it was a sporting event.

Getting the Emperor's team ready

Interesting shield design--Spanish maybe?

But first, we had the parade and the "religious" ceremony.  After another tasty breakfast at the bakery (of the huge pink meringues fame) I hopped the tram and took myself to the arena.  There was more activity this morning--the area right outside the stone edifice was bursting with horses and their trainers and equipment--as in chariots!  A small crowd was gathering to watch the procession leave the gates to head up the street to the Maison Carre--the Square House, a beautiful old restored Roman building.  I took a few photos around the exit and then hot-footed it up the street to watch all the participants march by, in full dress. 

Battle dress

Ceremony participants, including the sheep

One of the sacrifices signaled by the smoke

Legion after legion stamped by.  I found out later, as I was watching all the participants take their bows, that most of the Legionnaires were, in fact, Italian.  Some were even from Eastern Europe.  People, especially men, seem to love re-enacting history.  There were mounted "barbarians" led by a very handsome King.  There were the politicians--men dressed as Senators in their white robes adorned with the red stripe.  Barbarian "riff-raff" dressed in skins and coarse clothing marched by beating drums and shouting anti-Roman slogans. 

A riot of color

Emperor Hadrian rode by in his beautiful chariot, pulled by two magnificent white horses.  He was accompanied by a detachment of legionnaires dressed in blue and silver.  Hadrian (this year's Emperor) wore a crown of golden laurel leaves and richly embroidered red robes.  Can't have an Emperor looking shabby, after all.  I wanted to shout out, "How'd that wall of yours work out?|   But I refrained...and it doesn't translate all that well to French.  He would acknowledge members of the crowd...and since I am eight feet taller than most of the people there, he and I connected for a very long moment.  Actually that happened twice--once along the parade route and once again as he entered the arena later.  Yes, my seat was THAT good!

On the steps of the Maison Carre

We made our way up to the Square House and the we had a religious ceremony.  I love that the producers of this event lost no opportunity to work in history.  We went through a ritual that was much like what would have taken place millennia ago, including declaring the spot a holy one by a priest of the temple, prayers to Jupiter, a sacrifice--not that anything was actually killed....it had to be a white animal, so there was a pretty little sheep on stage.  Dignitaries and priests spoke and intones prayers to keep the Emperor and his family safe and to have the Games be good ones. After the ceremony, we all tramped back down to the arena and off to lunch everyone went. 

Some of the barbarian riff-raff

Part of the parade back down to the arema

I had a wonderful Caesar salad (what else at the Roman Games?) for my lunch--maybe one of the best I have ever eaten.  Maybe it was just my imagination, but everyone seemed to be in a most festive mood; even the wind, which was gusting from time to time, didn't dampen people's moods.  Finally it was time to enter the arena and find my seat.  My tickets were in the Vomitorium, and I did have to wonder just how far they were going to carry through with this re-enactment business.  A nice young man helped me find my seat and it was great! Unlike the arena I visited in Paris, this one actually has wooden bench seats--nothing fancy, but it beats sitting on hard stone for 4 hours. I had a completely unobstructed view, close enough to see expressions on the performers' faces but not so close as to get a mouthful of dust when the wind gusted over the floor of the arena. I am going to try to get the same one for next year. The arena began to fill up with people; I was told the place was sold out.  The sky was blue, the clouds were white and puffy and while it was sunny, it was not too warm.  All in all, the weather was perfect.

Beautiful day with a horse-shaped cloud over the arena

It seems that these games were in fact designed to reflect the ones that Emperor Hadrian actually did give to the people of Nimes when he came through on a visit about 1900 years ago.  This year's theme was the Barbarian Wars, and the Roman General Marius' eventual win at Aix-en_Provence.  So we were getting a history lesson, in very broad strokes, to be sure, but I now know about Marius and his victory, something I didn't know before going into the day's activities.

Barbarian King and his beautiful spirtited horse

Windy dy

And, as with so many activities here, I am brought up short by the scope of my ignorance.  I thought |I got a pretty good public school education, but there is so much I do not know.  But all these activities have made me want to learn more, to close those gaps in my education.  As next year's theme is Julius Caesar and the Gallic Wars, I have gotten a copy of Julius Caesar's own account of these events and will learn more about them before going.

The horn-blower and the Officers

Emperor Hadrian enters the arena

After a little while, riders entered the arena on beautiful horses...the Barbarian King, naturally was on a black one,,who pranced and snorted and pawed the ground, first with one hoof and then the other.  he was a gorgeous spirited animal (and the horse wasn't bad either!) and together they made a great team.  Because the horses would be pressed into service during the spectacle, they needed to be warmed up.  So did the crowd....and they did a good job.  And what a job the and their riders did--all that screaming from the arena never seemed to faze them.  The pranced, raced, pawed, snorted, turned on a dime and wove an and out among the crowd on the arena floor with suck ease and skill.  I loved watching them.

At last, here came the Legionnaires...the riders, the soldiers, the chariots, the Emperor.  The banners, the shields--there was so much color.  Trumpets blared, the Emperor made his circuit and then mounted the stairs into the Imperial box where members of the Roman Senate were already seated.   The Games were declared open, after another prayer to Jupiter....

Hadrian enters his box where the Senate waits

There were demonstrations of marching, and of a tactic developed by Alexander the Great to foil attacks by enemy archers.  There were gladiator fights--local boys versus the Romans.  We were all given a napkin inserted in our programs---we were instructed to wave it if we wanted the loser to live...and later we used them to urge on our "color" chariot in the races.  I have been to the horseraces and this was ever bit as exciting.  My chariot lost--but the red one lost its rider, who got himself dragged around the arena behind his horses.  For such a little vehicle, those chariots need a lot of room to negotiate a turn.

Phalanx demonstrates Alexander the Great's technique for repelling arrows

And there were the obligatory gladiator fights--one on one and then a  three-man "tag team" match.  The announcer, who was great, and quite funny at times, urged us to root for our favorites, and kept reminding us, when we roared loudly for the "local" boy from Nimes, that the Emperor was in fact in the arena, along with his army and did we perhaps want to reconsider our decision of support.  Yes, there was a thumbs-up or down when the loser's fate was decided.  There were tow losers, who met their final end by having two burly men come and "smash" their skulls with oversized mallets.  Great fun!  I was surprised by how blood-thirsty the crowd was--death to them all, especially any of the Roman fighters.  Seems a little drastic for simply losing a wrestling match, wouldn't you say?  i would not have done well in those olden days, I suppose.

Here come the Barbarians

And more keep coming

Eventually the "story" began.  The Romans have been plagued by the northern, Germanic barbarians, who defeated them at (present day) Orange.  The barbarians raid a village and kill off the inhabitants, setting fire to the village and carrying off the available women.  After that, one of the most moving scenes was the appearance of figures all dressed in black, accompanying a row boar--Charon has come to ferry the souls of the dead across the River Styx.  It was somber and captivating. 

Barbarian aftermath

Charon comes to ferry the souls

Taking care of the dead

Well, the Romans can't be having this state of affairs, so the Senate meets and elects Marius as a consul and gives him the leadership position with orders to quash these barbarians.  The scenery is positioned to resemble the Roman Forum.  He accepts, with the stipulation thathe be allowed to chose the location of the battle.  

Maneuvers

Getting ready for battle

In the time remaining, the set becomes the seawall at the port of Marseille, and in come two motorized Roman galleys, both with crew, gliding silently, as if on the waters of the Mediterranean.  It was rather spectacular.  Marius stood tall in the bow, like any good conquering hero.  He alights at Marseille, where he is greeted as a savior. The battle is coming.

During the time it took to change the scenery--for the stage crew is busily constructing a Roman "fort"--ah those Roman builders--workers passed out Roman bread--anise flavored baked goods.  Now I knew where the term "bread and circuses" came from.  And before our very eyes, a square Roman fort took shape, large enough to hold scores of Roman soldiers.

Marius in the Roman galley

These were not little row boats

At this point, nearby movement caught my eye.  A barbarian, bare from the waist up, with painted face was climbing around between the tiers of seats, weapon in hand.  When the man next to me tried to stop him from possibly falling and hurting himself, the barbarian simply shrugged off the 'helping hand'" and held his finger to his lips in the universally understood "sshhh"  sign.  Sneak attack!

Soon enough the final battle was engages.  In rode the Barbarian king, followed by his skin-clothed hordes.  The climbed over one another, using their shields as a ramp to get to the top of the fort where they were repulsed by the helmeted Legionnaires.  Eventually, they battered down the door of the fort, the Romans went out the back way and they all met on the battlefield, where the Barbarians fought until only their king was left standing.  Then he, too, was dispatched.  The Romans won the day.

But as we know now, it was just a taste of the Visigoths' sacking of Rome that was to come.  If you take the time to look at the area ruled by Rome in its heyday, it is hard to comprehend.  How could one "power"  keep all of that area in check.  And some managed to do just that--for relatively long periods of time...we learned about the Pax Romana--over 100 years of peace.  Modern day nations a fraction of that size can't keep themselves from splintering.  

Marius lands at Marseille

I stayed for all the "bows."  Those people earned that little time of recognition.  I learned that those wooden shields are HEAVY.  I learned that there were over 500 people responsible for entertaining us that day.  Most of the Legionnaires came from Italy, or Germany, even Croatia.  No wonder it was hard to get a hotel room--they were all taken by the out of town performers.  I cannot imagine the logistics needed to put this all together. There was music, choreography, and the set design, construction and operation.  Bravo to all.  

The entire weekend experience made me want to come home and learn more about Rome,  I will be reading Julius Caesar's account of the Gallic Wars, and am very interested in learning about the entire Roman Empire, especially the five "good" Emperors, one of whom as Hadrian.  What went wrong?

Next year's Games have been scheduled for May 1,2, and 3.  I will get a better hotel room, and a couple of us are thinking about going as a group in costume.  It should be great fun.