# Roman-circus of or pertaining to entertainment given in an arena in ancient Rome, as a chariot race or a public game. The arena, called a circus, was a large, usually oblong or oval, roofless enclosure, surrounded by tiers of seats rising one above another. Gladiatorial contests (in which men, singly or in troops, often fought to the death to provide spectacles for the populace) and beast hunts were also regularly given in circuses in Rome.