Amphitheatre
As bizarre as it may sound to us nowadays, back in ancient Rome one of the most popular forms of entertainment came from watching people kill each other. These sorts of 'games' took place in the stadium known as the amphitheatre. They were designed specifically to stage exhibition killings, usually between two people, or a person and a dangerous animal. Those who took part in these games were called gladiators. This type of entertainment gained popularity in southern Italy to start with, soon spreading throughout other parts of the country and to Rome. It was such an immense part of Roman's lives that there were even training schools for the gladiators, held at Capua, which was 40 kilometres north of Pompeii. The Pompeian amphitheatre was built around 80 BC, making it one of the oldest buildings at Pompeii.
Gladiatorial traditions originated in the highlands of southern Italy. Named after these hill people, the Samnite was one type of these gladiators. The armour of these gladiators can be easily traced back to it's Samnite origins, as designs of it were found at Pompeii. The amphitheatre itself was oval in shape. It was divided into three parts; the ima cavea (five rows of seats) was the closest to the arena. The media cavea meant 'twelve rows' and was in the middle. Finally, the summa cavea (eighteen rows) was at the top. Overall, the amphitheatre could seat around 20,000 people. This tells us that clearly these fights were massive events during the ancient Roman times, and that thousands upon thousands turned out to watch people fight to the death; the winner being showered in respect and glory by the onlookers. One of these onlookers was a person called the editor, who was involved in politics. By attending the games, he increased his fame and his chance of winning the election. He sat in a specific spot every time, and this spot had the best view of the fight, and he could be seen by everyone in the crowd. The platform which he sat on was called the tribunal editoris. This conveys the fact that politics was also an essential part of life for the ancient Romans. There were two main entrances to the arena, with one being at the north end and one at the south end. The death gate was a narrow passage on the west side, and as the name states, it was where the dead were dragged mercilessly out. The arena was covered with sand, of which the purpose of was to give the fighters a good grip with their feet, and also the more gory reason of soaking up the blood. The area around the arena eventually developed into an area of taverns and places to eat, providing refreshments before and after the games. Signs were painted on the arena walls marking out rented spaces, indicating that booths were set up outside the arena walls, selling food, drink, and souvenirs. This reinforces the popularity of these games, and it also shows how they are the equivalent to today's sports games, concerts, movies, festivals, and other similar forms of entertainment. The amphitheatre also represents social hierarchy, with the seating plan - better seats cost more, and lesser seats were cheaper. This is similar to today, with VIP seating, general seating, and more.
The gladiators themselves were usually slaves or criminals. Their life expectancy, instead of the usual years, were set at weeks. Most of the people gathered by the training schools were only used for exhibition killings by veterans, and they served no other purpose other than simply being entertainment for those more fortunate than them. This shows us that the higher class Romans lacked a sense of compassion and sympathy for those with a lower social status than them - they couldn't really care less about the actual people behind the armour, battling it out in the arena, as they were only interested in the fight and the one who survived. Those who died were not remembered, forgotten immediately, but those who did survive were thrust into the centre of attention, and their future suddenly looked bright and prosperous. Graffiti has been found that listed the victories of gladiators, and many higher class Pompeians had favourites amongst the victors. Both men and woman made idols out of these victors, and one graffiti reads: "Celadus the Thracian makes all the girls sigh." The victors would be the equivalent of movie stars, models, actors, and famous people overall today.
There has been evidence of many riots in the amphitheatre, portraying the fact that ancient Romans enjoyed violence, and even partaking in it. Many of these violent outbursts often took place during the games, and there have paintings of these outbursts. One painting retold a riot that took place in AD 59. The amphitheatre was filled with Pompeian citizens and also people from neighbouring places. The amphitheatre itself could seat twice the population of Pompeii, and therefore it is clear that residents from other cities and towns would travel to Pompeii just to see this spectacle of these vicious games, proving once again how insanely popular they were. On this particular day, in the crowd was a group from the town Nuceria. In the midst of the games, a brawl started between the Pompeians and these Nucerians. Many of the Nucerians were killed or wounded, and the town of Nuceria was outraged. They appealed to Rome and the Emperor closed down the amphitheatre for ten years, which caused quite the uproar, due to the popularity of the games. All this conveys the fact that ancient Romans, along with their bloodthirstiness, were extremely competitive and did not like losing and not having their own way. This particular riot was also depicted in graffiti found in the House of the Dioscuri. It portrayed a triumphant gladiator, carrying a palm of victory and saying, "Campanians, you perished with the Nucerians in our victory."
The Pompeian amphitheatre is still a hugely popular tourist attraction today, for people all over the world. The famous band Pink Floyd even performed there in 1971, for their live concert DVD: "Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii".
SOURCES:
http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/lifestyle/
http://www.ancienthistoryarchaeology.com/pompeii-s-amphitheatre
Pompeii, Peter Connolly, New York, Oxford, 2009. Pages 13, 18, 62, 66, 70
Gladiatorial traditions originated in the highlands of southern Italy. Named after these hill people, the Samnite was one type of these gladiators. The armour of these gladiators can be easily traced back to it's Samnite origins, as designs of it were found at Pompeii. The amphitheatre itself was oval in shape. It was divided into three parts; the ima cavea (five rows of seats) was the closest to the arena. The media cavea meant 'twelve rows' and was in the middle. Finally, the summa cavea (eighteen rows) was at the top. Overall, the amphitheatre could seat around 20,000 people. This tells us that clearly these fights were massive events during the ancient Roman times, and that thousands upon thousands turned out to watch people fight to the death; the winner being showered in respect and glory by the onlookers. One of these onlookers was a person called the editor, who was involved in politics. By attending the games, he increased his fame and his chance of winning the election. He sat in a specific spot every time, and this spot had the best view of the fight, and he could be seen by everyone in the crowd. The platform which he sat on was called the tribunal editoris. This conveys the fact that politics was also an essential part of life for the ancient Romans. There were two main entrances to the arena, with one being at the north end and one at the south end. The death gate was a narrow passage on the west side, and as the name states, it was where the dead were dragged mercilessly out. The arena was covered with sand, of which the purpose of was to give the fighters a good grip with their feet, and also the more gory reason of soaking up the blood. The area around the arena eventually developed into an area of taverns and places to eat, providing refreshments before and after the games. Signs were painted on the arena walls marking out rented spaces, indicating that booths were set up outside the arena walls, selling food, drink, and souvenirs. This reinforces the popularity of these games, and it also shows how they are the equivalent to today's sports games, concerts, movies, festivals, and other similar forms of entertainment. The amphitheatre also represents social hierarchy, with the seating plan - better seats cost more, and lesser seats were cheaper. This is similar to today, with VIP seating, general seating, and more.
The gladiators themselves were usually slaves or criminals. Their life expectancy, instead of the usual years, were set at weeks. Most of the people gathered by the training schools were only used for exhibition killings by veterans, and they served no other purpose other than simply being entertainment for those more fortunate than them. This shows us that the higher class Romans lacked a sense of compassion and sympathy for those with a lower social status than them - they couldn't really care less about the actual people behind the armour, battling it out in the arena, as they were only interested in the fight and the one who survived. Those who died were not remembered, forgotten immediately, but those who did survive were thrust into the centre of attention, and their future suddenly looked bright and prosperous. Graffiti has been found that listed the victories of gladiators, and many higher class Pompeians had favourites amongst the victors. Both men and woman made idols out of these victors, and one graffiti reads: "Celadus the Thracian makes all the girls sigh." The victors would be the equivalent of movie stars, models, actors, and famous people overall today.
There has been evidence of many riots in the amphitheatre, portraying the fact that ancient Romans enjoyed violence, and even partaking in it. Many of these violent outbursts often took place during the games, and there have paintings of these outbursts. One painting retold a riot that took place in AD 59. The amphitheatre was filled with Pompeian citizens and also people from neighbouring places. The amphitheatre itself could seat twice the population of Pompeii, and therefore it is clear that residents from other cities and towns would travel to Pompeii just to see this spectacle of these vicious games, proving once again how insanely popular they were. On this particular day, in the crowd was a group from the town Nuceria. In the midst of the games, a brawl started between the Pompeians and these Nucerians. Many of the Nucerians were killed or wounded, and the town of Nuceria was outraged. They appealed to Rome and the Emperor closed down the amphitheatre for ten years, which caused quite the uproar, due to the popularity of the games. All this conveys the fact that ancient Romans, along with their bloodthirstiness, were extremely competitive and did not like losing and not having their own way. This particular riot was also depicted in graffiti found in the House of the Dioscuri. It portrayed a triumphant gladiator, carrying a palm of victory and saying, "Campanians, you perished with the Nucerians in our victory."
The Pompeian amphitheatre is still a hugely popular tourist attraction today, for people all over the world. The famous band Pink Floyd even performed there in 1971, for their live concert DVD: "Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii".
SOURCES:
http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/lifestyle/
http://www.ancienthistoryarchaeology.com/pompeii-s-amphitheatre
Pompeii, Peter Connolly, New York, Oxford, 2009. Pages 13, 18, 62, 66, 70