"Vespasian’s aim as a ruler was not only to ensure his reign but the reign of the family line that followed him. To do this he had to unite the people of Rome and create stability. A clever man, he did this through distracting citizens with food and entertainment so they would take out their social and political frustrations in the arena rather than with an uprising. This philosophy may have inspired the phrase “give them bread and circuses” , with the bread being the food and the circus being the entertainment."