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Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names below) are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that are colored, polarized or darkened. In the early 20th century, they were also known as sun cheaters (cheaters then being an American slang term for glasses).^[1]

Since the 1930s, sunglasses have been a popular fashion accessory,^[2] especially on the beach.

The American Optometric Association recommends wearing sunglasses that block ultraviolet radiation (UV) whenever a person is in the sunlight^[3] to protect the eyes from UV and blue light, which can cause several serious eye problems. Their usage is mandatory immediately after some surgical procedures, such as LASIK, and recommended for a certain time period in dusty areas, when leaving the house and in front of a TV screen or computer monitor after LASEK. Dark glasses that do not block UV radiation can be more damaging to the eyes than not wearing eye protection at all, because they tend to open the pupil and allow more UV rays into the eye.

History

First precursors

Since the 13th century and until the spread of contemporary UV-shielding spectacles against snowblindness, Inuit made and wore snow goggles of flattened walrus or caribou ivory with narrow slits to look through to block almost all of the harmful reflected rays of the sun.^[4][5] In many different forms and with many different materials, the indigenous peoples of North America and northern Asia crafted highly efficient equipment to protect their eyes against the damaging effects of strong sunlight in icy circumstances.^[6]

Other precursors

Pliny the Elder claimed that the Roman emperor Nero liked to watch gladiator fights using cut emeralds. These, however, appear to have worked rather like mirrors.^[7]

The first sunglasses, made from flat panes of smoky quartz called Ai Tai, meaning “dark clouds,”^[8] which offered no corrective powers but did protect the eyes from glare, were used in China in the 12th century or possibly earlier. Documents describe the use of such crystal sunglasses by judges in ancient Chinese courts to conceal their facial expressions while questioning witnesses.^[9][10]

In 1459, Nuno Fernandes made a request for a pair of spectacles to protect the eyes while horseriding in the snow against the glare coming from the snow, though no description of any actual spectacles is given.^[11]

King Louis XIV‘s court watched the 1706 solar eclipse through a telescope with a smoky glass filter attached.^[12]

By the 18th century, tinted, mirror-like framed Murano glasses had been used as so-called “gondola glasses” (vetri da gondola and also da dama) by Venetian women and children, to shield their eyes from the glare from the water in the canals. The Doge and other well-off Venetians, such as possibly Goldoni, sported, in the late 18th century, so-called “goldoni glasses,” tinted pairs of spectacles with pieces of cloth as sun guards on the sides of the glasses.^[13][11]

James Ayscough began experimenting with tinted lenses in spectacles around 1752. These were not “sunglasses” as that term is now used; Ayscough believed that blue- or green-tinted glass could correct for specific vision impairments. Protection from the sun’s rays was not a concern for him.

One of the earliest surviving depictions of a person wearing sunglasses is one from 1772 of the scientist Antoine Lavoisier, who worked with amplified sunlight. By the 19th century, tinted spectacles were worn by railway travelers.^[14]

Popularly, it is claimed that yellow/amber and brown-tinted glasses had been used to alleviate symptoms of syphilis in the 19th and early 20th centuries, because sensitivity to light was one of the symptoms of the disease, although no sources have been found that state prescription of such.^[15]

From the late 19th century, short references of sunglasses have been found in reports, such as one from 1866 by Walter Alden, who wrote of soldiers using, during the American Civil War (1861–1865), “shell spectacles” (“verres de cocquille”) to protect against sunlight on long marches, or by the British T. Longmore reporting in The Optical Manual (1885) of soldiers in Egypt being equipped with tinted glass “eye protectors.” By 1895, sunglasses were mentioned in advertisements, such as in The Sioux City Journal.^[11]

Modern developments

Jean-Marie-Théodore Fieuzal (1836–1888) was the first to argue for UV protection with (yellow) shaded glasses, and by 1899, Rodenstock GmbH produced possibly the first sunglasses intended for shielding eyes from UV light and not just glare.^[16]

In 1913, Crookes lenses^[17] were introduced,^[18] made from glass containing cerium, which completely blocked ultraviolet light.^[19][20] In the early 1920s, the use of sunglasses started to become more widespread, especially among movie stars. Inexpensive mass-produced sunglasses made from celluloid were first produced by Sam Foster in 1929. Foster found a ready market on the beaches of Atlantic City, New Jersey where he began selling sunglasses under the name Foster Grant from a Woolworth on the Boardwalk.^[21] By 1938, Life magazine wrote of how sunglasses were a “new fad for wear on city streets … a favorite affectation of thousands of women all over the U.S.” It stated that 20 million sunglasses were sold in the United States in 1937 but estimated that only about 25% of American wearers needed them to protect their eyes.^[2] At the same time, sunglasses started to be used as aids for pilots and even produced for the gaining aviation sector, eventually adding to sunglasses as cultural icons and to their popularity. Polarized sunglasses first became available in 1936 when Edwin H. Land began experimenting with making lenses with his patented Polaroid filter. In 1947, the Armorlite Company began producing lenses with CR-39 resin.^[22]

As of 2008, Xiamen, China, was the world’s largest producer of sunglasses with its port exporting 120 million pairs each year.^[23]

Functions

Visual clarity and comfort

Sunglasses can improve visual comfort and visual clarity by protecting the eye from glare.^[24]

The lenses of polarized sunglasses reduce glare reflected at some angles off shiny non-metallic surfaces, such as water. They allow wearers to see into water when only surface glare would otherwise be seen, and eliminate glare from a road surface when driving into the sun.^[25]

Protection

Sunglasses offer protection against excessive exposure to light, including its visible and invisible components.

The most widespread protection is against ultraviolet radiation, which can cause short-term and long-term ocular problems such as photokeratitis (snow blindness), cataracts, pterygium, and various forms of eye cancer.^[26] Medical experts advise the public on the importance of wearing sunglasses to protect the eyes from UV;^[26] for adequate protection, experts recommend sunglasses that reflect or filter out 99% or more of UVA and UVB light, with wavelengths up to 400 nm. Sunglasses that meet this requirement are often labeled as “UV400”. This is slightly more protection than the widely used standard of the European Union (see below), which requires that 95% of the radiation up to only 380 nm must be reflected or filtered out.^[27] Sunglasses are not sufficient to protect the eyes against permanent harm from looking directly at the Sun, even during a solar eclipse. Special eyewear known as solar viewers are required for direct viewing of the sun. This type of eyewear can filter out UV radiation harmful to the eyes.^[28]

More recently, high-energy visible light (HEV) has been implicated as a cause of age-related macular degeneration;^[29] before, debates had already existed as to whether “blue blocking” or amber tinted lenses may have a protective effect.^[30] Some manufacturers already design glasses to block blue light; the insurance company Suva, which covers most Swiss employees, asked eye experts around Charlotte Remé (ETH Zürich) to develop norms for blue blocking, leading to a recommended minimum of 95% of the blue light.^[31] Sunglasses are especially important for children, as their ocular lenses are thought to transmit far more HEV light than adults (lenses “yellow” with age).

There has been some speculation that sunglasses actually promote skin cancer.^[32] This is due to the eyes being tricked into producing less melanocyte-stimulating hormone in the body.

Assessing protection

The only way to assess the protection of sunglasses is to have the lenses measured, either by the manufacturer or by a properly equipped optician. Several standards for sunglasses (see below) allow a general classification of the UV protection (but not the blue light protection), and manufacturers often indicate simply that the sunglasses meet the requirements of a specific standard rather than publish the exact figures.

One “visible” quality test for sunglasses is their fit. The lenses should fit close enough to the face that only very little “stray light” can reach the eye from their sides, or from above or below, but not so close that the eyelashes smear the lenses. To protect against “stray light” from the sides, the lenses should fit close enough to the temples or merge into broad temple arms or leather blinders. Another test is for lenses said to be polarising: having two such lenses, they should block all light when after each other with one pair turned 90°.

It is not possible to “see” the protection that sunglasses offer. Dark lenses do not automatically filter out more harmful UV radiation and blue light than light lenses. Inadequate dark lenses are even more harmful than inadequate light lenses (or wearing no sunglasses at all) because they provoke the pupil to open wider. As a result, more unfiltered radiation enters the eye. Depending on the manufacturing technology, sufficiently protective lenses can block much or little light, resulting in dark or light lenses. The lens color is not a guarantee either. Lenses of various colors can offer sufficient (or insufficient) UV protection. Regarding blue light, the color gives at least a first indication: Blue blocking lenses are commonly yellow or brown, whereas blue or gray lenses cannot offer the necessary blue light protection. However, not every yellow or brown lens blocks sufficient blue light. In rare cases, lenses can filter out too much blue light (i.e., 100%), which affects color vision and can be dangerous in traffic when colored signals are not properly recognized.

High prices cannot guarantee sufficient protection as no correlation between high prices and increased UV protection has been demonstrated. A 1995 study reported that “Expensive brands and polarizing sunglasses do not guarantee optimal UVA protection.”^[33] The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has also reported that “[c]onsumers cannot rely on price as an indicator of quality”.^[34] One survey even found that a $6.95 pair of generic glasses offered slightly better protection than expensive Salvatore Ferragamo shades.^[35]

Further functions

While non-tinted glasses are very rarely worn without the practical purpose of correcting eyesight or protecting one’s eyes, sunglasses have become popular for several further reasons, and are sometimes worn even indoors or at night.

Sunglasses can be worn to hide one’s eyes. They can make eye contact impossible, which can be intimidating to those not wearing sunglasses; the avoided eye contact can also demonstrate the wearer’s detachment,^{[citation needed]} which is considered desirable (or “cool“) in some circles. Eye contact can be avoided even more effectively by using mirrored sunglasses. Sunglasses can also be used to hide emotions; this can range from hiding blinking to hiding weeping and its resulting red eyes. In all cases, hiding one’s eyes has implications for nonverbal communication; this is useful in poker, and many professional poker players wear heavily tinted glasses indoors while playing, so that it is more difficult for opponents to read tells which involve eye movement and thus gain an advantage.

Fashion trends can be another reason for wearing sunglasses, particularly designer sunglasses from high-end fashion brands. Sunglasses of particular shapes may be in vogue as a fashion accessory. The relevance of sunglasses within the fashion industry has included prominent fashion editors’ reviews of annual trends in sunglasses as well as runway fashion shows featuring sunglasses as a primary or secondary component of a look.^[36] Fashion trends can also draw on the “cool” image of sunglasses and association with a particular lifestyle, especially the close connection between sunglasses and beach life. In some cases, this connection serves as the core concept behind an entire brand.

People may also wear sunglasses to hide an abnormal appearance of their eyes. This can be true for people with severe visual impairment, such as the blind, who may wear sunglasses to avoid making others uncomfortable. The assumption is that it may be more comfortable for another person not to see the hidden eyes rather than see abnormal eyes or eyes which seem to look in the wrong direction. People may also wear sunglasses to hide dilated or contracted pupils, bloodshot eyes due to drug use, chronic dark circles or crow’s feet, recent physical abuse (such as a black eye), exophthalmos (bulging eyes), a cataract, or eyes which jerk uncontrollably (nystagmus).

Lawbreakers have been known to wear sunglasses during or after committing a crime as an aid to hiding their identities.^[37]

Standards

The international standard for sunglasses is ISO 12312.^[38] It is divided into three parts, the first of them, about “Sunglasses for general use”, was first published in 2013^[39] and then with a new edition in 2022.^[40][41] The second, about “Filters for direct observation of the sun”, was published in 2015^[42][43] and the third “Sunglasses for running, cycling and similar active lifestyles” in 2022.^[44][45]

Australia

Australia introduced the world’s first national standards for sunglasses in 1971.^{[citation needed]} They were updated and expanded in 1990 to AS 1067.1-1990 Sunglasses and fashion spectacles (incl. Part 1 Safety Requirements and Part 2 Performance Requirements), and replaced in 2003 by AS/NZS 1067:2003 Sunglasses and fashion spectacles. This aligned the Australian standard to the European standard^{[citation needed]} opening the European market to Australian-made sunglasses.^{[46][full citation needed]} The Australian Standard AS-NZS 1067 defines standards for sunglasses with respect both to UVA (wavelengths between 315 nm and 400 nm) and UVB transmittance.^[47] The five ratings for transmittance (filter) under this standard are based on the amount of absorbed light, 0 to 4, with “0” providing some protection from UV radiation and sunglare, and “4” indicating a high level of protection, but not to be worn when driving.

Europe

The European standard EN 1836:2005 has four transmittance ratings: “0” for insufficient UV protection, “2” for sufficient UHV protection,^{[clarification needed]} “6” for good UHV protection and “7” for “full” UHVV protection, meaning that no more than 5% of the 380 nm rays are transmitted. Products which fulfill the standard receive a CE mark. There is no European rating for transmittance protection for radiation of up to 400 nm (“UV400”), as required in other countries (incl. the United States) and recommended by experts.^[27] The current European standard, EN 1836:2005, was preceded by the older standards EN 166:1995 (Personal eye protection – Specifications), EN167: 1995 (Personal eye protection – Optical test methods), and EN168: 1995 (Personal eye protection – Non-optical test methods), which in 2002 were republished as a revised standard under the name of EN 1836:1997 (which included two amendments). In addition to filtering, the standard also lists requirements for minimum robustness, labeling, materials (non-toxic for skin contact and not combustible) and lack of protrusions (to avoid harm when wearing them).^[48] Categories for the European standard, which are required to be marked on the frame:^[49][50]

• Category 0 – 80–100% transmission – for fashion, indoor use, or cloudy days
• Category 1 – 43–80% transmission – low sun exposure
• Category 2 – 18–43% transmission – medium sun exposure
• Category 3 – 8–18% transmission – strong brightness, light reflected of water or snow
• Category 4 – 3–8% transmission – intense sunshine for high mountains, glaciers; not for use when driving or on the road.

United States

Sunglasses sold in the United States are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and are required to conform to safety standards. The U.S. standard is ANSI Z80.3-2001,^[51] which includes three transmittance categories. According to this standard, the lens should have a UVB (280 to 315 nm) transmittance of no more than one per cent and a UVA (315 to 380 nm) transmittance of no more than 0.3 times the visual light transmittance. The ANSI Z87.1-2003 standard includes requirements for basic impact and high impact protection. In the basic impact test, a 1 in (2.54 cm) steel ball is dropped on the lens from a height of 50 in (127 cm). In the high velocity test, a 1/4 in (6.35 mm) steel ball is shot at the lens at 150 ft/s (45.72 m/s). To pass both tests, no part of the lens may touch the eye.^[52]

Special-use

Land vehicle driving

When driving a vehicle, particularly at high speed, dazzling glare caused by a low Sun, or by lights reflecting off snow, puddles, other vehicles, or even the front of the vehicle, can be lethal. Sunglasses can protect against glare when driving. Two criteria must be met: vision must be clear, and the glasses must let sufficient light get to the eyes for the driving conditions. General-purpose sunglasses may be too dark, or otherwise unsuitable for driving.

The Automobile Association and the Federation of Manufacturing Opticians have produced guidance for selection of sunglasses for driving. Variable tint or photochromic lenses increase their optical density when exposed to UV light, reverting to their clear state when the UV brightness decreases. Car windscreens filter out UV light,^[53][54] slowing and limiting the reaction of the lenses and making them unsuitable for driving as they could become too dark or too light for the conditions. Some manufacturers produce special photochromic lenses that adapt to the varying light conditions when driving.

Lenses of fixed tint are graded according to the optical density of the tint; in the UK sunglasses must be labelled and show the filter category number. Lenses with light transmission less than 75% are unsuitable for night driving, and lenses with light transmission less than 8% (category 4) are unsuitable for driving at any time; they should by UK law be labelled ‘Not suitable for driving and road use’. Yellow tinted lenses are also not recommended for night use. Due to the light levels within the car, filter category 2 lenses which transmit between 18% and 43% of light are recommended for daytime driving. Polarised lenses normally have a fixed tint, and can reduce reflected glare more than non-polarised lenses of the same density, particularly on wet roads.

Graduated lenses, with the bottom part lighter than the top, can make it easier to see the controls within the car. All sunglasses should be marked as meeting the standard for the region where sold. An anti-reflection coating is recommended, and a hard coating to protect the lenses from scratches. Sunglasses with deep side arms can block side, or peripheral, vision and are not recommended for driving.^[55]

Even though some of these glasses are proven good enough for driving at night, it is strongly recommended not to do so, due to the changes in a wide variety of light intensities, especially while using yellow tinted protection glasses. The main purpose of these glasses are to protect the wearer from dust and smog particles entering into the eyes while driving at high speeds.

Aircraft piloting

Many of the criteria for sunglasses worn when piloting an aircraft are similar to those for land vehicles. Protection against UV radiation is more important, as its intensity increases with altitude. Polarised glasses are undesirable as aircraft windscreens are often polarised, intentionally or unintentionally, showing Moiré patterns on looking through the windscreen; and some LCDs used by instruments emit polarised light, and can dim or disappear when the pilot turns to look at them.

Sports

Like corrective glasses, sunglasses have to meet special requirements when worn for sports. They need shatterproof and impact-resistant lenses; a strap or other fixing is typically used to keep glasses in place during sporting activities, and they have a nose cushion.^[56]

For water sports, so-called water sunglasses (also: surf goggles or water eyewear) are specially adapted for use in turbulent water, such as the surf or whitewater. In addition to the features for sports glasses, water sunglasses can have increased buoyancy to stop them from sinking should they come off, and they can have a vent or other method to eliminate fogging.^[57]

Mountain climbing or traveling across glaciers or snowfields requires above-average eye protection, because sunlight (including ultraviolet radiation) is more intense in higher altitudes, and snow and ice reflect additional light. Popular glasses for this use are a type called glacier glasses or glacier goggles. They typically have very dark round lenses and leather blinders at the sides, which protect the eyes by blocking the Sun’s rays around the edges of the lenses. What are Glacier Glasses?

Special shaded visors were once allowed in American football; Jim McMahon, quarterback for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers, famously used a sun visor during his professional football career due to a childhood eye injury and almost always wears dark sunglasses when not wearing a football helmet. Darkened visors now require a doctor’s prescription at most levels of the game, mainly because concussion protocol requires officials to look a player in the eye, something made difficult by tinted visors.^[58]

• Swimming goggles
• Sports sunglasses for mountain climbing and hiking

Space

Special protection is required for space travel because the sunlight is far more intense and harmful than on Earth, where it is always filtered through the atmosphere. Sun protection is needed against much higher UV radiation and even against harmful infrared radiation, both within and outside the spacecraft. Within the spacecraft, astronauts wear sunglasses with darker lenses and a thin protective gold coating. During space walks, the visor of the astronauts’ helmets, which also has a thin gold coating for extra protection, functions as strong sunglasses.^[59][60][61] The frames of sunglasses and corrective glasses used in space must meet special requirements. They must be flexible and durable, and must fit firmly in zero-gravity. Reliable fit is particularly important when wearing corrective glasses underneath tight helmets and in space suits: once inside the spacesuit, slipped glasses cannot be touched to push them back into place, sometimes for up to ten hours. Frames and glasses must be designed so that small pieces of the glasses such as screws and glass particles cannot become dislodged, then float and be inhaled. 90% of astronauts wear glasses in space, even if they do not require corrective glasses on Earth, because zero-gravity and pressure changes temporarily affect their vision.^[59]

The first sunglasses used in a Moon landing were the original pilot sunglasses produced by American Optical. In 1969 they were used aboard the Eagle, the Lunar Module of Apollo 11, the first crewed mission to land on the Moon.^[62] NASA research primarily by scientists James B. Stephens and Charles G. Miller at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) resulted in special lenses that protected against the light in space and during laser and welding work. The lenses used colored dyes and small particles of zinc oxide, which absorbs ultraviolet light and is also used in sunscreen lotions. The research was later broadened to further terrestrial applications, e.g., deserts, mountains, and fluorescent-lighted offices, and the technology was commercially marketed by a U.S. company.^[63] Since 2002 NASA uses the frame of the designer model Titan Minimal Art of the Austrian company Silhouette, combined with specially dark lenses developed jointly by the company and “the” NASA optometrist Keith Manuel. The frame is very light at 1.8 grams, and does not have screws or hinges that could detach.^[59]

• 1969 on board the Eagle: Buzz Aldrin stows his sunglasses before the Moon landing.
• 1969: Helmet visor protecting Aldrin‘s eyes on the Moon

Construction

Lens

The color of the lens can vary depending on style, fashion, and purpose, but for general use, red, grey, green, or brown are recommended to avoid or minimize color distortion, which could affect safety when, for instance, driving a car or a school bus.

• Gray and green lenses are considered neutral because they maintain true colors.
• Brown lenses cause some color distortion, but also increase contrast.
• Turquoise lenses are good for medium and high light conditions, because they are good at enhancing contrast, but do not cause significant color distortion.
• Yellow is “optimum for object definition, but creates a harsh visible light”; amber “allegedly makes distant objects appear more distinct, especially in snow or haze. These lenses are popular with skiers, hunters, boaters and pilots”.^[30]
• Blue or purple lenses are popular with shooters as they increase the contrast of orange targets against green foliage or grass backdrops.^[64]

With the introduction of office computing, ergonomists may recommend mildly tinted glasses for use by display operators, in order to increase contrast.^{[citation needed]}

While some blue blocking sunglasses (see above) are produced as regular sunglasses for exposure to bright sunlight, others—especially for macular degeneration patients—do not block light or other colors in order to function well in regular daylight and even dim sunlight.^[27] The latter allow the passage of enough light so normal evening activities can continue, while blocking the light that prevents production of the hormone melatonin.^{[citation needed]} Blue-blocking tinted glasses, i.e. amber or yellow, are sometimes recommended to treat insomnia; they are worn in artificial lighting after dark, to reestablish the circadian rhythm and treat delayed sleep phase disorder.^[65][66]

Some models have polarized lenses, made of Polaroid polarized plastic sheeting, to reduce glare caused by light reflected from non-metallic surfaces such as water (see Brewster’s angle for how this works) as well as by polarized diffuse sky radiation (skylight). This can be especially useful to see beneath the surface of the water when fishing.

A mirrored coating can be applied to the lens. This mirrored coating deflects some of the light when it hits the lens so that it is not transmitted through the lens, making it useful in bright conditions; however, it does not necessarily reflect UV radiation as well. Mirrored coatings can be made any color by the manufacturer for styling and fashion purposes. The color of the mirrored surface is irrelevant to the color of the lens. For example, a gray lens can have a blue mirror coating, and a brown lens can have a silver coating. Sunglasses of this type are sometimes called mirrorshades. A mirror coating does not get hot in sunlight and it prevents scattering of rays in the lens bulk.

Sunglass lenses are made of either glass, plastic, or SR-91. Plastic lenses are typically made from acrylic, polycarbonate, CR-39 or polyurethane. Glass lenses have the best optical clarity and scratch resistance, but are heavier than plastic lenses. They can also shatter or break on impact. Plastic lenses are lighter and shatter-resistant, but are more prone to scratching. Polycarbonate plastic lenses are the lightest, and are also almost shatterproof, making them good for impact protection. CR-39 is the most common plastic lens, due to low weight, high scratch resistance, and low transparency for ultraviolet and infrared radiation. SR-91 is a proprietary material that was introduced by Kaenon Polarized in 2001. Kaenon’s lens formulation was the first non-polycarbonate material to pass the high-mass impact ANSI Z.87.1 testing. Additionally, it was the first to combine this passing score with the highest marks for lens clarity. Jerry Garcia’s sunglasses had a polykrypton-C type of lens^[usurped] which was ‘cutting edge’ in 1995.

Any of the above features, color, polarization, gradation, mirroring, and materials, can be combined into the lens for a pair of sunglasses. Gradient glasses are darker at the top of the lens where the sky is viewed and transparent at the bottom. Corrective lenses or glasses can be manufactured with either tinting or darkened to serve as sunglasses. An alternative is to use the corrective glasses with a secondary lenses such as oversize sunglasses that fit over the regular glasses, clip-on lens that are placed in front of the glasses, and flip-up glasses which feature a dark lens that can be flipped up when not in use (see below). Photochromic lenses gradually darken when exposed to ultraviolet light.

Frames

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Frames are generally made of plastic, nylon, a metal or a metal alloy. Nylon frames are usually used in sports because they are lightweight and flexible. They are able to bend slightly and return to their original shape instead of breaking when pressure is applied to them. This flex can also help the glasses grip better on the wearer’s face. Metal frames are usually more rigid than nylon frames, thus they can be more easily damaged when the wearer participates in sport activities, but this is not to say that they cannot be used for such activities. Because metal frames are more rigid, some models have spring loaded hinges to help them grip the wearer’s face better. The end of the resting hook and the bridge over the nose can be textured or have rubber or plastic material to improve hold. The ends of the resting hook are usually curved so that they wrap around the ear; however, some models have straight resting hooks. Oakley, for example, has straight resting hooks on all their glasses, preferring to call them “earstems”.

In recent years, manufacturers have started to use various types of woods to make frames for sunglasses. Materials such as bamboo, ebony, rosewood, pear wood, walnut and zebrawood, are used making them non-toxic and nearly allergy free. The construction of a wooden frame involves laser-cutting from planks of wood. Already cut and ground to a uniform size, a buffing wheel is used to sand and buff every piece separately before they are assembled. The laser-cutouts of wood are then glued together by hand (mostly), layer on layer, to produce wooden frames. Some brands have experimented with recycled wood from objects like skateboards, whiskey barrels and baseball bats. Shwood, for example have experimented with these materials, they have even used recycled newspaper to manufacture frames.

Their final look can vary according to the color, type and finishing. With wooden sunglasses, various shades of brown, beige, burgundy or black are most common. Wooden sunglasses come in various designs and shapes. However, these sunglasses are usually more expensive than the conventional plastic, acetate or metal frames and require more care. They have been famously worn by the likes of Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg and Machine Gun Kelly.

Frames can be made to hold the lenses in several different ways. There are three common styles: full frame, half frame, and frameless. Full frame glasses have the frame go all around the lenses. Half frames go around only half the lens; typically the frames attach to the top of the lenses and on the side near the top. Frameless glasses have no frame around the lenses and the ear stems are attached directly to the lenses. There are two styles of frameless glasses: those that have a piece of frame material connecting the two lenses, and those that are a single lens with ear stems on each side.

Some sports-optimized sunglasses have interchangeable lens options. Lenses can be easily removed and swapped for a different lens, usually of a different color. The purpose is to allow the wearer to easily change lenses when light conditions or activities change. The reasons are that the cost of a set of lenses is less than the cost of a separate pair of glasses, and carrying extra lenses is less bulky than carrying multiple pairs of glasses. It also allows easy replacement of a set of lenses if they are damaged. The most common type of sunglasses with interchangeable lenses has a single lens or shield that covers both eyes. Styles that use two lenses also exist, but are less common.

Nose bridge

Nose bridges provide support between the lens and the face. They also prevent pressure marks caused by the weight of the lens or frame on the cheeks. People with large noses may need a low nose bridge on their sunglasses. People with medium noses may need a low or medium nose bridge. People with small noses may need sunglasses with high nose bridges to allow clearance.

Fashion (alphabetically)

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The following types are not all mutually exclusive; glasses may be in Aviator style with mirrored lenses, for example.

Aviator

Main article: Aviator sunglasses

Aviator sunglasses feature oversize teardrop-shaped lenses and a thin metal frame with double or triple bridges.

The design was introduced in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb for issue to U.S. military aviators. As a fashion statement, aviator sunglasses are often made in mirrored, colored, and wrap-around styles.

The model first gained popularity in the 1940s when Douglas MacArthur was seen sporting a pair at the Pacific Theatre. However, it was in the late 1960s when the frames became widely used with the rise of the hippie counterculture, which preferred large metallic sunglasses. The brand became an icon of the 1970s, worn by Paul McCartney and Freddie Mercury among others, and was also used as prescription eyeglasses. Aviators’ association with disco culture led to a decline in their popularity by 1980. The model saw more limited use throughout the 1980s and 1990s, aided by a 1982 product placement deal, featured most notably in Top Gun and Cobra, with both films causing a 40% rise in 1986. Aviators became popular again around 2000, as the hippie movement experienced a brief revival, and was prominently featured in the MTV show Jackass.

Browline

Main article: Browline glasses

Based on the eyeglass design of the same name, browline glasses have hard plastic or horn-rimmed arms and upper portions joined to a wire lower frame. A traditional, conservative style based on mid-20th century design, browlines were adapted into sunglasses form in the 1980s and rapidly became one of the most popular styles; it has ebbed and sprung in popularity in the decades that have followed.^[67]

Oversized

Oversized sunglasses, which were fashionable in the 1980s, are now often used for humorous purposes. They usually come in bright colors with colored lenses and can be purchased cheaply.

The singer Elton John sometimes wore oversized sunglasses on stage in the mid-1970s as part of his Captain Fantastic act.

Since the late 2000s, moderately oversized sunglasses have become a fashion trend. There are many variations, such as the “Onassis”, discussed below, and Dior white sunglasses.

Onassis glasses or “Jackie O’s” are very large sunglasses worn by women. This style of sunglasses is said to mimic the kind most famously worn by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the 1960s. The glasses continue to be popular with women, and celebrities may use them, ostensibly to hide from paparazzi.

Oversized sunglasses, because of their larger frames and lenses, are useful for individuals who are trying to minimize the apparent size or arch of their nose. Oversized sunglasses also offer more protection from sunburn due to the larger areas of skin they cover, although sunblock should still be used.

Shutter shades

Main article: Shutter shades

Shutter shades were invented in the late 1940s, became a fad in the early 1980s and have experienced a revival in the early-to-mid 2010s. Instead of tinted lenses, they decrease sun exposure by means of a set of parallel, horizontal shutters (like a small window shutter). Analogous to Inuit goggles (see above), the principle is not to filter light, but to decrease the amount of sun rays falling into the wearer’s eyes. To provide UV protection, shutter shades sometimes use lenses in addition to the shutters; if not, they provide very insufficient protection against ultraviolet radiation and blue light.

Teashades

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“Teashades” (sometimes also called “John Lennon glasses”, “Round Metal”, or, occasionally, “Granny Glasses”) were a type of psychedelic art wire-rim sunglasses that were often worn, usually for purely aesthetic reasons, by members of the 1960s counterculture. Pop icons such as Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Boy George, Liam Gallagher, Suggs, Ozzy Osbourne, Duckie (Jon Cryer) in Pretty in Pink and Jodie Foster‘s character in the film Taxi Driver all wore teashades. The original teashade design was made up of medium-sized, perfectly round lenses, supported by pads on the bridge of the nose and a thin wire frame. When teashades became popular in the late 1960s, they were often elaborated: Lenses were elaborately colored, mirrored, and produced in excessively large sizes, and with the wire earpieces exaggerated. A uniquely colored or darkened glass lens was usually preferred. Modern versions tend to have plastic lenses, as do many other sunglasses. Teashades are hard to find in shops today; however, they can still be found at many costume Web sites and in some countries.

The term has now fallen into disuse, although references can still be found in literature of the time. “Teashades” was also used to describe glasses worn to hide the effects of recreational drugs such as marijuana (conjunctival injection) or heroin (pupillary constriction) or just bloodshot eyes.

Wayfarer

Main article: Ray-Ban Wayfarer

The Ray-Ban Wayfarer is a (mostly) plastic-framed design for sunglasses produced by the Ray-Ban company. Introduced in 1952, the trapezoidal lenses are wider at the top than the bottom (inspired by the Browline eyeglasses popular at the time), and were famously worn by James Dean, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, The Beatles and other actors and singers. The original frames were black; frames in many different colors were later introduced. There is often a silver piece on the corners as well. Since the early 1980s, makers have also developed variants of the model, most notably the Clubmaster model, introduced in 1982, essentially Browlines made of plastic.

These were mostly popular in the late 1950s and during the 1960s (being linked to the rock-and-roll/blues and Mod cultures), before plastic glasses were displaced by metallic rims popular among the counter-culture. In the late 1970s, the rise of New wave music, New Romanticism and the popularity of The Blues Brothers aside from 50s and 1960s nostalgia and the anti-disco backlash later on brought the model out of near-retirement, becoming the most sold model between 1980 and 1999 aided by a lucrative 1982 product placement deal, which put it on many movies and TV shows such as The Breakfast Club and Moonlighting. 1980s nostalgia and the influence of the hipster subculture and the television series Mad Men boosted Wayfarers once again after a slump in the 1990s and 2000s, also aided by a 2000 redesign (New Wayfarer), surpassing Aviators since 2012.

Wrap-around

Wrap-arounds are a style of sunglasses characterized by being strongly curved, to wrap around the face. They may have a single curved semi-circular lens that covers both eyes and much of the same area of the face covered by protective goggles, usually with a minimal plastic frame and single piece of plastic serving as a nosepiece. Glasses described as wraparound may alternatively have two lenses, but again with a strongly curved frame.

These were first made in the 1960s as variants of the Aviator model, used by Yoko Ono and Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry films. The modern variant surged in the mid-1980s, heavily based on the then-popular Wayfarer, but adapting it to a more futuristic look. As a backlash against 80s fashion occurred in the 1990s, wraparounds became one of the favorite frames of the decade.

Variants

Clip-on

Clip-on glasses are a form of tinted glasses that can be clipped on to eyeglasses for protection from the sun. An alternative are flip-up glasses.

Gradient lenses

Gradient lenses go from a darker shade at the top to a lighter one at the bottom, so there will be more protection from sunlight the higher one looks through the lens, but the lower one looks through the lens, the less protection is offered. An advantage is that one can wear them indoors without fear of tripping over something and also allowing the user to see. Wearing sunglasses to nightclubs has become common in recent times, where the gradient lens comes in handy. Gradient lenses may also be advantageous for activities such as flying airplanes and driving automobiles, as they allow the operator a clear view of the instrument panel, low in his line of sight and usually hidden in shadow, while still reducing glare from the view out the windscreen. The Independent (London), has also referred to these style of sunglasses as the Murphy Lens.^{[citation needed]}

Double gradient lenses are dark at the top, light in the middle and dark at the bottom.

Gradients should not be confused with bifocals and progressive lenses.

The spectacles in ancient Rome were numerous, open to all citizens and generally free of charge; some of them were distinguished by the grandeur of the stagings and cruelty.

Romans preferred to attend gladiatorial fights, those with ferocious beasts (venationes), reproductions of naval battles (naumachia), chariot races, athletic contests, theatrical performances by mimes, and pantomimes.

Forty years after the invective of Juvenal (n. between 55 and 60-m. after 127), who lamented the republican sobriety and severity of a people who now aspired only to panem et circenses, bread and spectacles, Fronto (100–166), in almost the same words, described disconsolately the sad reality:

Populum romanum duabus praecipue rebus, annona et spectacula, teneri.^[1]

The Roman people are concerned primarily with two things, food and spectacles.

Indeed, the Roman ruling class considered it its primary task to distribute food once a month to the people and to distract them and regulate their leisure time with the free entertainment offered on religious holidays or secular occasions.

Feasts in the Roman calendar

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See also: Ludi

Numerous were the occasions for Romans to attend spectacles during Roman festivals on the occasion of religious celebrations. From a rough calculation “[…] neglecting certain duplications whereby two festivals coincided [on the same day]…we arrive at this mathematical calculation: the obligatory feast days of imperial Rome occupied more than half the year….”

But in addition to those offered in Rome by the Caesars there were also those that were celebrated in the countryside in peasant hamlets, neighborhood festivals in honor of local shrines, those of the new cults, those of the guilds (scholae^[2]), those of the military, and finally those that surprisingly offered imperial munificence such as gladiatorial fights that in the second century CE could last for months at a time. Thus “it can be said that […] there was no Roman year that did not bear two feast days to a working day.”^[3] and that the spectacles were thus almost daily. Suetonius records that since confusion and disorder reigned in the spectacles, the Roman emperor, Augustus, introduced order and discipline,^{[note 1]} as well as:

Spectaculorum et assiduitate et varietate et magnificentia omnes antecessit. Fecisse se ludos ait suo nomine quater, pro aliis magistratibus, qui aut abessent aut non sufficerent, ter et vicies. Fecitque nonnumquam etiam vicatim ac pluribus scaenis per omnium linguarum histriones, munera non in Foro modo, nec in amphitheatro, sed et in Circo et in Saeptis, et aliquando nihil praeter venationem edidit; athletas quoque exstructis in campo Martio sedilibus ligneis; item navale proelium circa Tiberim cavato solo, in quo nunc Caesarum nemus est. Quibus diebus custodes in urbe disposuit, ne raritate remanentium grassatoribus obnoxia esset.

“In number, variety and magnificence of spectacles he surpassed all [his predecessors]. [Augustus] himself says that in his own name he celebrated public games four times and twenty-three times for other magistrates who were absent or had insufficient means. And he also celebrated in different districts, with numerous scenes, using actors speaking all languages; he held spectacles not only in the forum and the amphitheater, but also in the circus and the Saepta, and sometimes it was just hunting parties (venationes); he also organized fights between athletes in the Campus Martius, building wooden benches; and a naval battle, for which he had the ground dug near the Tiber (Naumachia Augusti), where the Caesars’ forest is now. During those days he placed overseers to guard the city [of Rome], so that it would not be exposed to the danger of brigands, considering the small number of those who remained there.”

—Suetonius, Augustus, 43.

Augustus had also made it a habit, in the days leading up to the spectacles, in case some animal never before seen and worthy of being known had been brought to Rome, to present it to the people in an extraordinary way, in any place: for example, a rhinoceros at the Saepta Julia, a tiger in a theatrical scene, a snake of fifty cubits (about 22 meters) in front of the Tribal Assembly.^[4]

Again Augustus had the Senate decree that, for the duration of public spectacles, wherever they were offered, the first row of benches belonged to the senators, and he forbade Rome to allow ambassadors from allied or free nations to take their seats in the orchestra, because he had been embarrassed [to learn] that there were free slaves in some delegations.^[5] He separated the soldiers from the people; he assigned to the married plebeians their own bleachers; to those who wore the pretesta a particular sector of the bleachers and the one beside their preceptors; he forbade those who were poorly dressed to stand in the middle bleachers. He did not allow women to sit during gladiator fights, which they once could observe alongside their men, except at the top and alone. Regarding fights between athletes, he strictly forbade women from entering the theater before the fifth hour.^[5]

The religious significance of the spectacles

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Originally each festival had a religious cult linked to it.^[6] For example: the fishing contest that took place on June 8 in the presence of the praetor and ended with an eating of fried fish was originally, as Festus testifies, a substitute sacrifice in honor of the god Vulcan, who accepted the exchange of pisciculi (small fish) pro animis humanis (in place of human souls).^[7]

The religious sacrificial significance, which the Romans had now forgotten, was still present in the horse race held in the Forum on October 13. The winning horse was immolated, its blood spilled for lustrations, its head hotly contested between the inhabitants of the Via Sacra and those of the Suburra who competed for the honor of displaying the relic of the “October horse.” This festival was a reminder of the horse race that the Latins of ancient Rome celebrated at the end of the annual war expedition that began in the spring and ended in the fall. In those bygone days the blood of the winning horse that was sacrificed served to purify the city.

The sacred character was also present in the Republican age when in 105 BC gladiatorial fights were instituted by the state, originally born as a cult rendered by private individuals at the tomb of their parents. The religious character was preserved in the term munus (public office) that designated these bloody fights that were meant to appease the gods. Even in the second century AD Festus calls them “oblations offered on official grounds,” Tertullian, “obligatory honors to the Mani,” and Ausonius, “blood shed on earth to appease the god armed with a sickle.”

By the imperial era, Roman audiences had completely forgotten these religious references even though a certain ritual etiquette had been established since the time of Augustus: spectators, for example, had to wear the gala toga:^[8][9]

“He strove to bring back the fashion and custom of former times: one day, seeing in a gathering of the people a crowd of ill-dressed people, he indignantly exclaimed, “Here are the Romans, masters of the world and the people wearing the toga,” and instructed the Aediles, after that, not to tolerate anyone stopping in and around the Forum unless he or she first dropped the cloak that covered the toga.”

— Suetonius, Augustus, 40.

And, if they did not want to be turned away, they had to keep a polite attitude: they could, finally, neither eat nor drink during the performances.^[10] Even if one had to stand up during the inaugural procession with the statues of the imperial stars along with those of the deities, it was done as a sign of respect and gratitude to the imperial dynasty that offered them such grandiose spectacles.

The ancient religious imprint of the games for the Romans of the imperial age had now been reduced to formalities that bore no relation to the rituals of a religion now forgotten and had been replaced by the astrological symbolism depicted in the arena, which represented the earth, and in the moat surrounding the track, the sea; the obelisk (spina) symbolized the sun at the top of the sky; the seven laps of the chariot race track reproduced the orbit of the seven planets and the succession of the seven days of the week; the twelve doors of the chariot sheds facing the circus depicted the places of the zodiac.^[11][12][13]

The relationship between the prince and the crowd

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See also: Bread and circuses

Propitium Caesarem ut in ludicro precabantur.^[14]

They begged Caesar’s favor as if they were at the public games.

When the emperor appeared in the circus, amphitheater, or theater, the crowd greeted him by standing up and waving white handkerchiefs, paying homage to him and manifesting their presence and their emotional, almost religious, co-participation in his witnessing the same spectacle taking place in common sight.

Of this crowd of spectators who had the good fortune “to see the prince in person in the midst of his people,”^[15] the emperor also made it an instrument of political power by forging, through his direct relationship with the crowd in the spectacles, the public opinion that, in the absence of the ancient Comitia and the autonomy of the Senate, no longer had a way of expressing itself.

The spectacles thus strengthened the political power of the prince and at the same time safeguarded what remained of traditional religion. Spectacles, in a population where 150,000 people lived without working at the expense of the state and where those who had employment had half the day free of commitments, including, forcibly, political ones, served to occupy leisure time and to distract and channel passions, instincts, and violence.

A people that yawns is ripe for revolt. The Caesars did not let the Roman plebs yawn, either from hunger or boredom: the spectacles were the great diversion to the unemployment of their subjects, and, consequently, the certain tool for absolutism.

— Carcopino 1971, p. 239

Suetonius reports that Augustus, when he attended the games, usually sat in the dining room of one of his friends or freedmen, sometimes sitting in his tribune, together with his wife and children. He would absent himself from the performances sometimes for several hours, sometimes for days, apologizing and recommending to the people the magistrates who were to take his place in his absence. When he attended, he was very attentive and participative to avoid discontent, since the people in the past had complained about his adoptive father, Gaius Julius Caesar, who used to devote himself during the games to reading letters and petitions. Augustus took supreme pleasure in attending them, something he never made a secret of.^[16]

It happened, then, that he frequently offered, even at his own expense, gladiatorial spectacles and games organized by others, with crowns and rich prizes. He did not attend any contest of performances of Greek origin and setting without honoring each of the participants on his own merit. He had particular interest in boxing matches, especially the Latin ones, which he often compared with the Greek ones, and not only among professionals, but also among commoners fighting on street corners, without special boxing technique. To the athletes he preserved their privileges, indeed increased them, and forbade gladiators to fight without adequate reward; as for the histrions, he limited to the period of the games and the theater the coercive power of the magistrates, which previously a law had extended to everywhere and to any period. He always demanded strict discipline in competitions among athletes or in gladiatorial combat. He repressed, finally, some behavior judged morally disordered by the histrions, and when he learned that a certain Stephanius, author of fabulae togatae, was being served at the table by a woman with her hair cut in a boyish fashion, he banished him and had him beaten with rods in three theaters.^[16]

The spectacles

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Agons

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The main sports in ancient Rome were: pankration, wrestling, boxing, running, javelin throw, discus throw, and shot put, which were modeled after Ancient Greece. The conception of sports in Ancient Rome, however, did not reflect the Greek culture’s predilection for nonprofessional athletic activities, for agons (ἀγῶνες), bloodless contests concerning not only sports but also different fields of human activities, where the winner received a prize for demonstrating, according to the Greek mentality, his or her superior physical and moral gifts. Forty years before the conquest of Greece, even before its civilization influenced the Roman civilization, certamina graeca, such as those instituted by Marcus Fulvius Nobilior in 186 BC, were considered by Roman society to be immoral exhibitions devoid of the practical purposes that gave meaning to military gymnastic training for the exercise of war. The intellectual Tacitus wrote that he feared, as did the part of Roman society most attached to traditions, that Greek refinements might invalidate ancient values:

What is left today [for young people] but to show themselves naked, take the boxing gloves and think about those fights instead of military service.

— Tacitus, Annals, XIV, 20

In the same vein should be considered the aversion of the senatorial class to those emperors infatuated with Greek civilization such as Caligula or Nero, who aroused scandal by taking pleasure in attending the games in person.

Chariot racing

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See also: Chariot racing

Most likely the Romans borrowed the custom of organizing chariot races from the Etruscans, who in turn had borrowed it from the Greeks. However, Roman customs were influenced by the Greeks in a direct way, especially after they conquered mainland Greece in 146 BC. According to one Roman legend Romulus used the stratagem of organizing a chariot race shortly after the founding of Rome to distract the Sabines. While the Sabines were enjoying the spectacle Romulus and his men captured and kidnapped the Sabine women. This event is traditionally known as the Rape of the Sabine Women.

In ancient Rome, the main structure designated to host chariot races was the Circus Maximus, located in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills, which could accommodate up to 250,000 spectators. The construction of the Circus Maximus probably dates back to Etruscan times, but it was rebuilt around 50 BC by order of Julius Caesar, reaching a length of about 600 meters with a width of about 225 meters. One end of the track, the one where the chariots were lined up at the start, was wider than the other. To organize the starts, the Romans used a series of barriers called carceres, a term that has the same meaning as the Greek hysplex. They were placed in steps like the hysplexes, but there were some slight differences because the Roman tracks had a median separating barrier, the spina, in the center of the track itself. The carceres were set up at one of the vertices of the track, and the wagons were arranged behind these barriers that were secured by a snap system. When all the chariots were ready, the emperor (or the organizer of the races if they were not held in Rome) would drop a cloth known as a map thus starting the race. The barriers then opened all at once allowing an equal start for all participants.

Once the race began, chariots could move freely around the track to try to cause an accident to their opponents by pushing them against the spinae. On the spinae were “eggs,” large signals similar to the “dolphins” of Greek races, which were dropped into a gutter of water that flowed through the center of the spina to signal the number of laps to go until the end. The spina ended up becoming a very elaborate construction-decorated with statues, obelisks and other works of art-to such an extent that spectators often could not follow the chariots when they were on the opposite side (but apparently they thought this fact made the experience more exciting by increasing suspense). At the two ends of the spina were the two curves of the course (called metae), and there, as in Greek races, spectacular collisions and accidents occurred. Accidents that resulted in the destruction of chariots and serious injuries to horses and charioteers were called naufragia, the same term for shipwrecks. The course of the race was also very similar to that of the Greek races, and the main difference was that dozens of races could be held in each day, and the events sometimes lasted for hundreds of days consecutively. A race, however, was held over the distance of only 7 laps (and in later times 5, so that more races could be held on the same day) instead of the 12 of which the Greek race-type was composed. The Roman organization was also much more interested in economic aspects: the runners were professionals and a huge betting round was widespread among the public. The chariots in the race could be drawn by four horses (quadrigae) or two horses (bigae), but races among those with four horses were more important. In some rare cases, when a charioteer wanted to demonstrate his skill, he could employ up to ten horses, but it was a practice that combined great difficulty with little actual utility. Roman charioteers, unlike Greek charioteers, wore a helmet and other body protectors and tied the reins around their waists, while the Greeks held them in their hands. Because of the latter custom, the Romans could not let go of the reins in case of an accident, so they often ended up being dragged by the horses around the track until they were either killed or managed to free themselves: this is why they carried a knife with them to be able to get out of such situations. The most famous and best reconstruction of a Roman chariot race, despite not actually being historically accurate in several respects, can be seen in the 1959 film Ben-Hur.^[17]

Gladiators

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See also: Gladiator

The origin of gladiatorial combat is open to debate, although there is a tendency to interpret it as a practice from Etruria that, like many other aspects of Etruscan culture, was adopted by the Romans. There is systematic evidence of it beginning with Roman funeral rites during the Punic Wars (3rd century BC), and from then on it quickly became an essential element of the Roman world’s politics and social life. The munera gladiatoria, in particular, were due to the custom of wealthier individuals to offer the people, at their own expense, public spectacles on special occasions, such as duels to the death between slaves on the occasion of the funeral of some relative. The munera could be ordinaria, that is, scheduled on certain holidays, or extraordinaria to celebrate particular occasions. The popularity of gladiators led to their use in increasingly lavish and expensive ludi. Gladiatorial games lasted for nearly a thousand years, reaching their peak between the first century BCE and the second century CE. The Flavian dynasty, which began with Emperor Vespasian, endowed Rome with special monumental infrastructures expressly dedicated to the munera: first and foremost, the Flavian Amphitheater, which has gone down in history as the “Colosseum,” inaugurated by Emperor Titus, to which were added the imperial gladiatorial schools, the ludi (Ludus Magnus, Ludus Gallicus, Ludus Matutinus and Ludus Dacicus), built by Emperor Domitian. The Flavians and their successors thus had a privileged stage and a dedicated “assembly line” for their expensive and bloody spectacles. Between 108 and 109 CE, Trajan celebrated his Dacian victories using 10,000 gladiators and 11,000 animals in ludi lasting 123 days. The cost of gladiators and munera continued to rise out of all control. Marcus Aurelius‘ 177 AD legislation did little to solve the problem, and the subsequent reign of Commodus, Marcus Aurelius’ son and heir, was marked by inordinate use of munera and venationes. Christians disapproved of the games because they involved idolatrous pagan rites, and the popularity of gladiatorial contests declined in the fifth century, leading to their demise.

The first munera took place at or near the tomb of the deceased and these were organized by a munerator, lit. “the one who made the offering.” Later games were held by an editor, identical to the munerator or an official employed by him. Over time, these titles and meanings may have merged.^[18] In Republican times, private citizens could own and train gladiators, or rent them from a lanista (owner of a gladiator training school -see below). From the Principate onward, private citizens could hold munera and own gladiators only with imperial permission, and the role of editor was increasingly tied to state officialdom. Claudius‘s legislation required quaestors, the lowest rank of Roman magistrate, to personally subsidize two-thirds of the cost of games for their communities in the case of small towns, thus formalizing a fixed cash outlay that was at once an advertisement of the politician’s personal generosity and a partial buyout of their duty. More important games were organized by high-ranking magistrates who could better afford them. The largest and most lavish of all were paid for by the emperor himself.^[19][20]

The first types of gladiators were named after the enemies of the Republic of Rome: the Samnites, Thracians, and Gauls. The Samnite, heavily and elegantly armed and probably the most popular type, was renamed Secutor and the Gaul renamed Murmillo, as the lands inhabited by those peoples were absorbed into the empire. In the mid-Republican munus, each type of gladiator fought either with his own kind or with an equated type. In the late Republic and early Empire, various types of “fantasy” were introduced as well as opposing but contrasting types of gladiators who were different but complementaryː e.g., the agile Retiarius (“net man”), bareheaded, armored only on his left arm and shoulder, used the net and trident and then charged with his dagger at the more heavily armored Secutor protected by a solid helmet.^[21] Most depictions of gladiators show the most common and popular types, with respect to which there are reliable historical reconstructions available to us today. Other innovations introduced in this period included gladiators fighting on war chariots or in cavalry formations.

The gladiator trade was empire-wide and subject to official supervision. Rome’s military success produced a supply of soldier-prisoners who were redistributed for use in mines or state-owned amphitheaters and for sale on the open market. For example, in the aftermath of the First Jewish War, gladiatorial schools received an influx of Jews: those rejected for training were sent directly to the arenas as noxii (lit. “the hurtful ones”), while the sturdier ones were sent to Rome.^[22][23] In Rome’s military ethos, enemy soldiers who had surrendered or allowed their own capture and enslavement were granted an undeserved gift of life. Their training as gladiators amounted to a redemption of honor through munus.^[24]

Naumachiae

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See also: Naumachia

The naumachia (Latin naumachia, from ancient Greek ναυμαχία/naumachía, literally “naval combat”) denotes in the Roman world both a spectacle representing a naval battle and the reservoir, or in a broader sense the building in which they were held.

The first known naumachia was the one organized by Julius Caesar in Rome in 46 BC for his fourfold triumph. After having a large reservoir dug near the Tiber in the Campus Martius, capable of containing real biremes, triremes, and quadriremes, he hired from among the prisoners of war 2,000 fighters and 4,000 oarsmen. In 2 BC, for the inauguration of the temple of Mars Ultor (Avenging Mars), Augustus organized a naumachia that faithfully reproduced the one of Caesar. As he himself recalls in the Res gestæ,^[25] he had a reservoir dug on the right bank of the Tiber, in the place called the “forest of the Caesars” (nemus Caesarum), where 3,000 men, not counting the oarsmen, on 30 vessels with rostrums, and many smaller units faced each other.

Claudius in 52 held a naumachia on a vast natural body of water, Fucine Lake, to inaugurate its drainage works through the opening of Claudius’ tunnels.^[26] The combatants were convicts sentenced to death. It is known in particular from Suetonius^[27] that the naumachiarii (fighters in the naumachia) before the battle greeted the emperor with a phrase that has become famous: Morituri te salutant. An erroneous tradition has appropriated it to make it a ritual phrase of the gladiators to the emperor, when in fact it is attested only on this occasion.

The naumachia was thus a more deadly spectacle than that of the gladiators: the latter engaged lesser personnel, and the battles did not systematically end with the death of the vanquished. The appearance of the naumachiae is closely related to that, somewhat earlier, of another spectacle, the “combat between troops,” which did not engage combatants in pairs, but two small armies. Precisely in the latter the combatants were more often convicts without specific training than real gladiators. Caesar, creator of the naumachia, simply transposed the principle of land battle formations to a naval setting.

However, in relation to troop combats, naumachia had the peculiarity of developing historical or pseudo-historical themes: each fleet facing each other embodied a people famous for their maritime power in classical Greece or the Hellenistic East: Egyptians and Phoenicians for Caesar’s naumachia, Persians and Athenians for Augustus’, Sicels and Rhodians for Claudius’. Moreover, it required considerable means, greater than even the largest troop battles. This factor made naumachia a spectacle reserved for exceptional occasions, closely linked to celebrations of the emperor, his victories and his monuments. The irreducible specificity of the spectacle and its themes drawn from the history of the Greek world explains the origin of the term: a phonetic transcription of the Greek word for a naval battle (ναυμαχία / naumakhía), later also indicating the vast reservoirs dedicated to it.

Theater

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In ancient Rome, theater represented one of the highest expressions of Latin culture. By the middle of the third century BC. multiple forms of dramatic performance had already developed in the Italian peninsula, owing both to Greek influence and to local traditions,^[28] including: (i) in Etruria and Rome the fescennine had developed, which was sometimes accompanied by music and dance performances or sports games;^[29] (ii) in the south of Campania Atellan Farce was widespread;^[30] (iii) finally, in the Dorian colonies of southern Italy and Sicily, phlyax plays were performed;^[29] and in Taranto, the Italic cradle of the dramatic art that came to Rome thanks precisely to a Tarentine author,^[31] in particular, the poet Rhinthon (323–285 BC) who had given literary form to mythological parody.^[32]

The theatrical genres that have remained with us and are best documented are both of Greek origin, the palliata (comedy) and the cothurnata (tragedy -from cothurnus, the typical footwear of tragic actors), and with a Roman setting, called togata or trabeata (comedy) and praetexta (tragedy) respectively. The togata is distinguished from more popular comic genres, such as the Atellan Farce, juxtaposed with commedia dell’arte, and mime. Roman subject tragedy (praetexta) was renewed in events, considering historical facts. The tabernaria, on the other hand, was a comic play with a Roman setting.

Roman theater reached its zenith with Livius Andronicus, Gnaeus Naevius, Plautus, and Terence for comedy and Seneca for tragedy:

• The theatrical production of Livius Andronicus (280–200 BC) shifted the attention of the Romans from pre-literary comic works to the tragic genre. Andronicus, with whom the Archaic Age of Latin literature is usually said to begin, was the first author, albeit of Greek origin, to compose a play in Latin, performed in 240 BC at the ludi scaenici organized for the Roman victory in the First Punic War. No fragments of that work are preserved, and it is not even possible to determine whether it was a comedy or a tragedy.^{[33][34][35][36]}
• The innovation that Gnaeus Naevius (275–201 BC) brought to Latin literature was the introduction of the praetexta, a tragedy set in Rome instead of Greece. Two titles are known: Romulus (or Lupus) and Clastidium. In Romulus the story of Romulus and Remus is told; Clastidium tells of the battle of Clastidium in 222 BC won by Marcellus against the Gauls, a victory that enabled the Romans to conquer Cisalpine Gaul.^[37] Nevius also wrote six cothurnate tragedies, that is, tragedies with a Greek subject: Aesiona, Danae, Equos Troianus, Iphigenia, Hector Proficiscens and Lycurgus. Danae and Equos Troianus (the latter presented at the opening of Pompey’s theater in Rome in 55 BCE.) repeat titles from Livius Andronicus, and the best known is Lycurgus, the story of the Thracian king Lycurgus (not to be confused with the mythical Spartan lawgiver) who drove the god Bacchus and the Bacchae out of his land, provoking the baleful wrath of the wine god, who retaliated by killing the king and setting fire to his palace (a theme relevant to Rome where the cult of Dionysus had been introduced in the last decades of the 3rd century BC. C. as a propitiatory-orgiastic rite forbidden by a ruling by the senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus), of which 24 fragments have remained to this day. As far as comic production is concerned, that of Nevius makes him the most important predecessor of Plautus in this field; from the fragments that have come down to us we note a colorful verbal inventiveness that seems to prepare the field for that of Plautus.^[38]
• Titus Maccius Plautus (255–184 BC) was an author of enormous success, both immediate and posthumous, and of great prolificacy: it seems that during the second century as many as 130 comedies related to his name circulated, but it is unknown how many were authentic. Plautus’ great strength lies in the comedy that arises from individual situations, taken one after another, and from the verbal creativity that each new situation can unleash. However, only a direct reading can restore an adequate impression of all this: and if Plautus’ comic art by its very nature escapes overly closed formulas, greater systematicity arises precisely from the consideration of the plots, in their most basic constructive lines. In Plautus’ comedy it is possible to distinguish, according to an already ancient subdivision, the deverbia and the cantica, that is, the dialogic parts, with several actors interlocuting with each other, and the sung parts, mostly monologues, but sometimes also dialogues between two or even three characters. The pattern of love intrigue often recurs, with a young man (adulescens) falling in love with a girl. His love dream always encounters problems in turning into reality depending on the woman he falls in love with: if she is a courtesan he has to find the money to marry her, if she is honest the obstacle is a family one. Helping him to overcome the various difficulties is the servus callidus (tricky slave) or the parasite (penniless man who helps him in exchange for food) who with various deceptions and pitfalls manages to overcome the various difficulties and get the two married. The pranks organized by the servus are some of the most significant elements of Plautian comedy. The servus is one of the figures most widely used by Plautus in his comedies and is central to Plautian metatheater: he is in fact the character who takes on the role of the poet’s alter idem as the creator of deception.
• Publius Terentius Afer (190–159 BC) wrote only six comedies, all of which have been preserved in their entirety to the present day.^[39] Terence adapted himself to Greek comedy; in particular, he followed the models of the Attic New Comedy (νέα κωμῳδία) and, above all, Menander.^[40] Because of this strong artistic connection with the Greek playwright, he was called by Julius Caesar the “Menander dimidiatus“.^[41] Terence’s work was not limited to a simple translation and re-proposition of the Greek originals but connotes itself as contaminatio, that is, the introduction into the comedy of characters and episodes belonging to different comedies, which were also of Greek origin. Part of Terence’s fortune can be attributed to the abilities of his actor, Lucius Ambivius Turpio, one of the best at the time.^[42] Compared to Plautus, Terence aimed at a more cultured audience so much so that in some comedies some socio-cultural topics of the Scipionic Circle, of which he was a member, can be found.^[41] In addition, in contrast to the Plautian comedies, called motoria because of their excessive showmanship and characterized by the figure of the servus currens, estrangement, and the presence of cantica, Terence’s work is called stataria, because they are relatively serious and do not include moments of metatheatery or cantica. Given the greater sophistication of his plays, it can be said that with Terence simple audiences move away from the theater, something that had never happened before. Another difference is the care taken with the plots, which are more coherent and less complex than those of the Plautian comedies, but also more engaging since Terence, unlike Plautus, does not use an expository prologue (containing the antecedents and an anticipation of the plot). Particularly important in Terence is also the moral message underlying his entire work, aimed at emphasizing his humanitas, that is, his respect for every other human being, while being aware of each person’s limitations.
• The tragedies of Lucius Anneus Seneca (4–65 AD) are the only Latin tragic works that have come down to us in non-fragmentary form and thus constitute a valuable testimony both to an entire literary genre and to the revival of Latin tragic theater, after the vain attempts implemented by Augustan cultural policy to promote a revival of theatrical activity. In the Julio-Claudian age (27 BC – 68 AD) and the early Flavian age (69–96) the senatorial intellectual elite resorted to tragic theater to express their opposition to the regime (Latin tragedy takes up and exalts a fundamental aspect in classical Greek tragedy, namely, its republican inspiration and execration of tyranny). Not surprisingly, the tragedians of the Julio-Claudian and Flavian ages were all prominent figures in Roman public life. There are nine tragedies believed to be authentic (plus a tenth, the Octavia, believed to be spurious), all of them with Greek mythological subjects. Works, perhaps, intended primarily for reading, which may not have excluded stage performance at times. The cumbersomeness or grim spectacularity of some scenes would seem to presuppose a stage performance, whereas a simple reading would have limited the effects sought by the dramatic text. The various tragic events take the form of clashes of opposing forces and conflict between reason and passion. Although themes and motifs from philosophical works are taken up in the tragedies, the Senecian theater is not merely an illustration, in the form of exempla provided by myth, of Stoic doctrine, both because the specifically literary matrix remains strong and because, in the tragic universe, the logos, the rational principle to which Stoic doctrine entrusts the government of the world, proves incapable of curbing the passions and stemming the spread of evil. The various tragic events are set against the background of a reality with dark and atrocious tones, giving the conflict between good and evil a cosmic dimension and universal scope. Of particular prominence is the figure of the bloodthirsty and power-hungry tyrant, closed to moderation and leniency, tormented by fear and anguish. The despot provides the cue for the ethical debate on power, which is most important in Seneca’s reflection. Of almost all the Senecian tragedies, the Greek models remain, in relation to which Seneca has a great autonomy, which, however, presupposes an ongoing relationship with the model, on which the author makes interventions of contamination, restructuring, and rationalization in the dramatic structure.

Venationes

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See also: Venatio

Venationes (sing. venatio) were a form of entertainment that involved hunting and killing wild animals. Wild and exotic beasts were brought to Rome from the far reaches of the empire, and venationes were held during the morning before the main afternoon event, the gladiatorial duels. These hunts were held in the Roman Forum, the Saepta, and the Circus Maximus, although none of these venues offered protection to the crowd from the wild animals in the arena. Special precautions, such as erecting barriers and digging ditches, were taken to prevent animals from escaping from these places. Very few animals escaped these hunts, although they sometimes defeated the bestiarius, or hunter of wild beasts. Thousands of wild animals were slaughtered in a day. For example, during the games held by Trajan when he became emperor, more than 9,000 animals were killed. Not all animals were ferocious, although most were. Animals that appeared in the venationes included lions, tigers, leopards, elephants, bears, deer, wild goats, and camels.^[43]