Panem et circenses

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The expression panem et circenses ( Latin [ˈpaːnẽː ɛt kɪrˈkẽːseːs] ) ( accusative of panis et circenses ) comes from the Roman poet Juvenal . It means "bread and circus games". In his satire , Juvenal criticized the fact that the Roman people in the time of the principate , disempowered by the emperors Augustus , under whom the elections of the magistrates became a mere formality, and Tiberius , who completely withdrew them from the people and transferred them to the Senate, no longer himself interested in politics and only wanted these two things: bread and games. Instead, the view is taken in the scientific literature that already in the time of the late republic the voters expected panem et circenses and, bribed in this way, were tempted to cast their votes in the municipal elections.

Even Fronto tells of Emperor Trajan , the latter had particularly cared mass entertainments in the firm opinion "that the Roman people, in particular by two things, cereals and spectacles, keep in thrall to leave" ( populum Romanum duabus praecipue rebus, annona et spectaculis, teneri ). Dion of Prusa accuses the residents of Alexandria of being fixated only on bread and chariot races.

Antiquity

Already at the time of the Roman Republic, the Senate provided the citizens of Rome with extremely cheap, sometimes even free, grain. The purpose of this was to provide for the masses of the poor, the plebs, at least to the extent that they would not start riots. At the same time, wealthy aristocrats often held circus and gladiator games that could be attended free of charge by any citizen. Successful politicians such as B. Julius Caesar secured votes in the regular elections by giving away large amounts of food on the one hand and by staging particularly splendid and entertaining games on the other. This then ensured that the respective politician was elected. Through this “control” the citizens ensured, on the one hand, more and more entertainment and free food, on the other hand, an office was more or less for sale.

Today's meaning

The expression still describes the strategy of political (or industrial) rulers to distract the people from economic or political problems with election gifts and impressively staged major events. The pair of words bread and games criticizes a dulled society whose interest does not go beyond elementary needs and "base desires". The massive expansion of sports reporting leads z. For example, important political or social issues are pushed into the background in the media .

It also serves as the name of various events, organizations and media in the field of entertainment and games in a self-deprecating sense. Respect, the American author took Suzanne Collins in her dystopian novel series The Hunger Games (Original: The Hunger Games , published in 2008 to 2010) have been sold worldwide, from over 100 million books. Based on this, four commercially successful film adaptations were made between 2012 and 2015.

See also

literature

  • Klaus Bartels : Veni, vidi, vici. Winged words from Greek and Latin (dtv 30322). dtv, Munich 7., revised. Edition 1989, p. 130 f.
  • Karl-Wilhelm Weeber : Panem et circenses. Mass entertainment as politics in ancient Rome (Zabern's illustrated books on archeology). Zabern , Mainz , expanded. and equipped with ill. 1994, esp. Pp. 145–155 (chap. "Drama and Politics - The Public Demonstrations in the Imperial Era") and p. 166–169 (chap. "Rightsless in the land of milk and honey? Comments on some clichés")
  • Jean-Paul Thuillier: Sports in Ancient Rome . (Editions Errance, Paris 1996) Wiss. Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1999, esp. Pp. 173–186 (Chapter "Emperors and Games - Opium for the People")

Web link

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Juvenal: Satires 10, 81
  2. ^ Fronto: Principia historiae 18 , ed. Van den Hout, pp. 199f.
  3. ↑ Dion of Prusa: Speech to the Alexandrians, 31
  4. ↑ Arnd Krüger : Cui bono? On the effect of sports journalism. In: Arnd Krüger, Swantje Scharenberg (Ed.): How the media prepare sport. Selected aspects of sports journalism. Tischler, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-922654-35-5 , pp. 24-65.
  5. ↑ Marcus Hammerschmitt: In the stadium, around the stadium and around the stadium. Retrieved February 29, 2020 .