• An expression contained in the Satires of the Roman poet Juvenal, "Panem et Circenses" becomes a symbol of imperial Rome, summarizing very clearly the aspirations of the plebeians.
There is no doubt about the value of bread in ancient Roman culture, being consumed daily by all social classes. The bread ancient roman it was usually made from leavened dough. Raised white bread was made by mixing flour with water and leaving the mixture in the open air to be colonized by airborne yeasts and was preferred to unleavened bread, the latter being associated with the lower classes.
The writings of the era convey that the bread it was eaten for breakfast with fruit, and for lunch and dinner to be dipped in soups, oils and stews. This certifies the vital role of bakeries in Roman society, they were found in large numbers in all the cities of the empire. Even the coins bore the effigy of Annona, the divine personification of Rome's grain supply. She is closely associated with Ceres, the goddess of harvests and grain with whom she is often depicted in art.
Trade and bread were equally interconnected, with bread sometimes being used as a form of payment and soldiers even receiving a ration of bread as part of their payment. At the same time, the authority in charge of grain supply, "cura annonae", had remarkable control over the population.
"Cure Annonae"
In Imperial Rome, "Cure Annonae" represented the importation and distribution of grain to city dwellers. Roman farmland was not suitable for growing grain – it was meant for vegetables and fruit, and the local supply had to be supplemented with imported grain to feed the people.
The city of Rome imported all the grain consumed by its population, estimated at 1.000.000 in the XNUMXnd century AD. Grain prices were often used as platforms for populist politicians, as the free market meant that prices were unpredictable and favored traders. Later in Rome's history, inequity would lead emperors to provide free cereal or subsidized to feed the population, inspiring the poem that gave rise to the famous expression.
During the imperial era, a regular and predictable supply of subsidized grain, or so-called grain aid, and lavish public games, such as gladiator contests and chariot races, won the submission of potentially rebellious lower-class urban citizens, providing what which the poet Juvenal sarcastically summed up as "bread and circus".
Grand shows and subsidized grains
Juvenal, a Roman writer and poet born in Aquinas between 50 and 60 AD and died in Rome after 127 AD, used the Satires to describe where he lived, at a time when rulers ensured their support population through ostentatious grain donations ("panem") and by organizing grandiose public performances ("circenses"), including the famous gladiatorial fights, but also fights between animals of different breeds, or even chariot races for which the Romans were true fanatics.
There were numerous opportunities to witness performances during the festivities, at a rough calculation we could say that more than half of the days of the year there was a festival or holiday, not to mention the fact that on several occasions the holidays overlapped, taking place on the exact same day.
And that's not all, besides the celebrations in Rome, there were also festivities in smaller cities, festivals on the occasion of the inauguration of new sanctuaries, celebrations of a military nature or even festivals regarding the introduction of new cults.
Holidays throughout the empire
If we add to all this the feasts patronized by the emperors themselves, which, especially in the XNUMXnd century AD, could last for months, we can imagine that at that time the performances were practically daily.
And Suetonius he even tells us that, during the principate of Augustus, he, in days of great agitation, was obliged to enlist men to guard the city against possible robberies, considering the small number of inhabitants left in their houses.
Around 100 AD, in a fragment of Satire X, the poet Juvenal wrote: "[...] iam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli / uendimus, effudit curas; nam sie dabat olim / imperium, fascio littorio, legiones, omnia, nunc se / continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, / Panem et circenses – […]“ („unfortunately, since votes are no longer sold, [the people] have lost all interest; before he attributed everything to himself, powers, factions, legions; now he leaves everything as it is, he only longs for two things: bread and games").
Control of the masses
If the Satires mainly deal with two great themes, namely the corruption of society in the city of Rome and the brutality and decadence of all mankind, in Satire X Juvenal examines the aspirations of men – wealth, power, glory, long life and beauty. It shows that said ambitions lead to disappointment or danger, and emphasizes that mankind should desire a sound mind in a sound body and a brave heart.
At the same time, through the rendered fragment, it identifies the only remaining interest of a Roman population that no longer cares about its historical right to political involvement, describing what appears to be a political strategy designed to keep the masses satisfied. And some 40 years after Juvenal's bitter comments, Marcus Cornelius Fronto, himself a writer and orator, lamented the same things in these words: "the Romanian people now mainly care about only two things, food and entertainment".
In this way, those who held the power won the appreciation of the people, while the latter, not understanding the smallness of what they received in comparison with the privileges of the richest, were content only with bread and shows. The expression panem et circenses it has remained a constant throughout the ages, finding its place on the political scene today, especially in election years, proving once again that history has a habit of repeating itself.
Don't miss the continuation of the article series: Bread in Human History Part IV: Bread in the Middle Ages - essential food and reason for religious disputes.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
Read on Arta Albă and the first two parts of the series: Bread in Prehistoric Cultures: Bread in Human History Part I and The Blessing of Isis: Bread in Ancient Egypt. Bread in Human History Part II
