The article discloses the cultural and social conditions of the entertainment phenomenon in Ancient Greece and Rome and the attitude of the authorities to it. The appearance of entertainment is closely related to the worship of cult of Gods. It is shown that the Romans being more materialistic and pragmatic paid less attention to spiritual entertainment than Greeks who fostered dramatic performances. Greek rulers and noblemen saw relaxational and educational function of the entertainment and also considered it as reducing tension and promoting solidarity. However, they did not intrude into its practical organization and had only a monitoring position, whereas the Romans were more interested in daily life and its bodily pleasures. Accordingly in recreational activities – games there dominated the spirit of competition, especially the gladiators games, which were bloody and cruel, but heated passions of spectators whose majority was comprised of plebs. There is shown that the authorities considered the entertainment as an effective tool to reach political aims, especially for gaining the support of commons in various elections, so they financed gladiators’ performances generously.This tradition is still topical in the flow of years. These days it has become the constituent part of the political marketing.