As the scribes meticulously documented each scene of the gladiator fight, Seneca quietly observed the ebb and flow of the crowd’s reactions. From the lowly plebeian citizen sitting far away at the upper rows, to the patrician aristocrats resting at the decoratively shaded bottom, closer, and had a better view to the arena.
The gladiator show was not merely an entertainment. Not every Romans enjoy the brutality, but the attendance was compulsory for every Romans. The event was a method of communication to the mass, delivering a spectacular show to apprise, to warn, and to influence people. It also served as an opportunity for the ruling emperor to read the response of his citizen.
Seneca noticed that with Spiculus’s popularity and an unknown noxii woman as his opponent, the crowd surely
