Interesting Facts About the Colosseum

Thanks to Hollywood recreations such as Gladiator, nothing symbolizes the cruelty of Imperial Rome as much as the Colosseum. In truth, the games held there were even more extreme and theatrical than modern film directors dare to suggest. A day at the Empire’s most famous arena was a total entertainment package, mixing bouts of savage violence with solemn religious pageantry, sexual titillation, slapstick comedy and kitschy stage shows. Want to know more?  We are going to share with you lots of Interesting Facts About the Colosseum.

During the regular festivals, 50,000 spectators would line up early in the morning at the Colosseum’s splendid vaulted entrances with their numbered wooden tickets, eager to take their places. Thanks to the advanced design, there were no bad seats in the house, although men and women were separated, and the higher social classes got ringside seats near the Emperor’s box.

The day’s schedule began with the slaughter of wild animals – ostriches, lions, panthers, bears and leopards brought back from military campaigns. This was followed by the brutal executions of criminals. According to accounts by Roman writers like Martial, the condemned might be dropped into cages filled with poisonous snakes, castrated or crucified. For comic relief, the executions were interspersed with pantomimes, acrobats and clowns. Erotic dancers would perform in gauzy costumes, while perfumes from Arabia wafted from braziers. Between acts, the audience was showered with figs, dates, nuts, cheeses and pastries donated by their generous host, the Emperor.

But of course the gladiatorial combats, held in the afternoon, were considered the main event. Hollywood makes them look more like modern boxing prize fights, but the bouts were far more confusing to follow. Dozens, even hundreds, of fighters were often in the arena at once, and the duels were often set to music. Although there are no surviving scores, we know the bands included flutes, trumpets, horns and even hydraulic organs. Elaborate scenery was also provided – enormous backdrops and cut-outs would be raised from underground chambers, transforming the arena in an instant to the deserts of the Nile or jungles of Africa. Dwarves would run amongst the combatants dressed as Mars, the God of War, egging them on. When a gladiator fell, he would be poked with hot irons to ensure he wasn’t feigning death; an attendant dressed as Pluto, God of the Underworld, then bounded forth with a giant mallet, to administer the coup de grace. In summer, this relentless schedule of gore, comedy and spectacle went on late into the night, with hundreds of slaves carrying lanterns for illumination.

Historians believe that few Romans objected to the violence of the Colosseum. The otherwise humane philosopher Seneca recommended a visit to the games as a way to get over melancholy. In his Confessions, the Christian author St. Augustine himself admitted to a youthful fascination with gladiatorial bouts. Taken to the amphitheater by friends, he found himself utterly addicted to the endless permutations on the theme of cruelty.

Other Interesting Facts:

• It is estimated that the games played in the Colosseum took the lives of about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals.
• At the time of its construction, the Colosseum was the largest public entertainment arena in the world, with 80 entrances, 4 of which were reserved for the emperor, imperial family and vestals) and seats for 50,000 spectators.
• The marble facade and some parts of the Colosseum were used for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica and later monuments.
• The Colosseum’s original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, named after its benefactors, the emperors of the Flavian dynasty.
• Female gladiators, some noble and wealthy, appeared in the arena.
• In the medieval era, the Colosseum ceased to be used for entertainment purposes.  Instead, it was used for housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine.
• The Colosseum is an ellipse measuring externally 615 feet by 510 feet, with the base of the building covering about six acres.
• In the hundred days of the opening ceremony alone, it is thought that around 2,000 gladiators and 5,000 animals were slaughtered.
• The Colosseum had a canvas roof – the velarium – raised and lowered by a specially trained team of Roman sailors known for their skill with rigging ships.  The canvas “big top” had a large hole in the center to admit more light.
• There were special boxes in the Colosseum, at the north and south ends, for the emperor and vestals virgins, providing the best views of the arena.
• The Colosseum was not only used for gladiatorial contests featuring both humans and exotic animals, but also hosted animal reenactments of famous battles, executions and dramas.
• The various walkways and rooms on the ground level of the Colosseum once held animals and gladiators awaiting their fates.  It was covered by a floor made of wood and sand.
• The lions that were used to fight gladiators were North African Barbary lions and went extinct in the wild in the 20th century.  It is thought that only 250 Barbary lions survive in the world, all living in captivity.
• Plays, concerts and demonstrations are staged in and around the Colosseum throughout the year.
• The Colosseum is currently under going renovations through 2016.  The renovations may cause some inconvenience to visitors but a cleaner Colosseum should be well worth it.
• The Colosseum is open to the public daily from 8:30 am until 1 hour before sunset.  Lines can be quite long so buy tickets in advance or go as part of an Italy tour vacation and your group will have front of the line access to the Colosseum and other sites throughout Italy.

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