In the latter days of the Roman Empire standards of the people and the government could be seen to be changing. Rome was broken into two primary classes of people, the have’s and the have not’s. Those who had wealth and position acted as if the whole world existed for their entertainment and enjoyment, while those who did not have wealth struggled daily to serve those who had it or connived and schemed for ways to get money. Slavery had been set aside not so much because it was morally reprehensible, but more because it was just too expensive and was a drain to the coffers of the rich.
There was a fighting class of Gladiators who fought in the right but contrary to popular convention it was not usually to the death. That would deplete a group of individuals who required a great deal of training and represented tremendous investments by their owners and handlers. But it was clear evidence of the public’s need and lust for bloody entertainment. In the end the best of these Gladiators could earn their freedom through their performance and wealthy women enjoyed being bred to these warrior studs either for begetting of children or just for the glory of having ridden a wild horse and survived.
Morality and disease were rife as women would lay with virtually any man for almost any reason. Entertainments like prostitution and market shows degraded women but let them feel the power of having emotional and sexual mastery over the men who were watching. Men and women engaged in public parties in which the participants got drunk or high on drugs and engaged in public sex with m