een riches and poverty, and the luxurious palaces
of the wealthy were matched by the squalid tenements of the proletariat.
In outward appearance Rome underwent a transformation which made her
worthy to be capital of so vast an empire. This was largely due to the
great number of public buildings erected by the various emperors and to
the lavish employment of marble in public and private architecture from
the time of Augustus. The temples, basilicas, fora, aqueducts, public
baths, theatres, palaces, triumphal arches, statues, and parks combined to
arouse the enthusiastic admiration of travelers and the pride of its
inhabitants. But, although after the great fire of 64 A. D. many
improvements were made in the plan of the city, restrictions placed upon
the height of buildings, and fireproof construction required for the lower
stories, still the streets remained narrow and dingy, the lofty tenements
were of flimsy construction, in perpetual danger of collapse, and
devastating conflagrations occurred periodically.

The task of feeding the city plebs and providing for their entertainment
was a ruinous legacy left by the Republic to the principate. Although the
number of recipients of free corn was not increased after Augustus, the
public spectacles became ever more numerous and more magnificent. Under
Tiberius eighty-seven days of the year were regularly occupied by these
entertainments but by the time of Marcus Aurelius there were one hundred
and thirty-five such holidays. In addition came extraordinary festivals to
celebrate special occasions, like the one hundred and twenty-three day
carnival given by Trajan at his second Dacian triumph in 106 A. D. The
spectacles were of three main types; the chariot races in the circus, the
gladiatorial combats and animal baiting in the amphitheatre, and the
dramatic and other performances in the theatre. The expense of these
celebrations fell upon the senatorial order and the princeps. Indeed the
most important function of the consulship, praetorship and, until its
disappearance in the third century, the aedileship, came to be the
celebration of the regular festivals. The sums provided for such purposes
by the state were entirely inadequate and so the cost had to be met
largely from the magistrates' private resources. The extraordinary
spectacles were all given at the expense of the princeps who also at times
granted subventions to favored senators from the imperial purse. The cost
of the