Collection
Empire & the Arena
Emperors, spectacle, and the machinery of keeping a city entertained.
- 01
bread and circuses (idiom)
Food and entertainment handed out by those in power to keep the public quiet.
Juvenal's complaint.
- 02
circus (word)
a show with performers like clowns and acrobats, or a place where many streets meet; it can also describe a very busy or chaotic situation.
The Circus Maximus.
- 03
a Roman holiday (idiom)
Enjoyment taken from watching somebody else suffer.
Byron on the Dying Gaul.
- 04
fiddle while Rome burns (idiom)
To busy yourself with trivia while a disaster you could be addressing unfolds.
Nero and the fire of AD 64.
- 05
triumph (word)
a great success or victory after a lot of hard work; as a verb, it means to win or succeed against something difficult.
The victory parade.
- 06
laurel (word)
a type of evergreen tree with shiny leaves, often used as a symbol of success or victory.
The victor's wreath.
- 07
rest on one's laurels (idiom)
To rely on past success and stop making the effort to keep improving.
What the wreath came to mean.
- 08
to the victor belong the spoils (idiom)
Whoever wins gets to take everything that comes with winning.
The plunder in the parade.
- 09
purple (word)
a colour made by mixing red and blue; it is also used to describe royal power or very fancy writing.
The dye reserved for emperors.
- 10
wear the purple (idiom)
To hold supreme power, or to be born into the family that holds it.
Holding the office itself.