Ben Smith 5F JMB GCSE Classical Civilization

‘The only purpose of a day at the Colosseum was to entertain the Romans.'

The Colosseum was originally opened in 50 AD and could hold 50,000seated according to social status. It was a masterpiece of construction, using all the latest technology the Romans (including an enormous canvas awning, manned by hundreds of sailors, to keep spectators cool, and elaborate sprinkler systems for the crowd). A highlight of seeing gladiators compete at the Colosseum was the actual building, which would be very impressive for an ordinary Roman citizen who would be in awe at the sheer size alone.

Before the day of the show, advertisements would go up all round town, announcing the entertainment. On the eve of the show, gladiators would parade around the town, and a feast would be provided for them and the public. The following morning at the arena would begin with religious ceremonies, followed by the entry of the gladiators. Their weapons would be inspected to ensure they were sharp enough, and then they would salute the sponsor of the show, or the emperor, (if he was present).

Many groups viewed the activities in different ways. For the masses (ordinary public) going to the games had many psychological benefits. It satisfied their natural love of violence and it also showed them how superior they were as a race to the men who fought in the arena. Some women saw the gladiators as an object of lust; some even sought their sweat after the battles and used it in a face pack as an aphrodisiac. The Christians were hostile to the games as thousands of Martyrs were killed in the arena to satisfy the blood lust. However, even the first popes kept gladiators and increased the number of crimes punishable by death in the arena. The Emperors would gain tremendous popularity from putting on events, which would hence strengthen their position in power.

Animals from all parts of the empire were captured alive by Roman leaders (in areas such as Africa) who were relied on by Roman politicians. It was a novelty factor to simply see the animals, never mind the fact that they could perform amazing tricks, which would be a great source of entertainment for the public. The opportunity to see a vast range of exotic animals including elephants, wolves, leopards and boars would be special for the ordinary public who wouldn’t have any knowledge of their existence before watching them in

Ben Smith 5F JMB GCSE Classical Civilization

action. Bringing the animals to Rome showed the Romans their skill in conquering nature and the power of the show’s sponsor and/or Emperor.

Besides from the usual gladiators there were several other types of gladiator to attain the crowd’s interest. Some gladiators fought from chariots, whilst others would use clubs. Children and women were forced to fight for novelty value, and in what is described as humorous entertainment, blind people were sent to fight each other. On other occasions, gladiators might be forced to re-enact scenes from military history entertainment. Another unusual twist was to see a left-handed gladiator.

However the animals weren’t primarily used for the entertainment of the masses, but also unarmed men were sent into the arena to be ripped apart by wild animals. These victims often included religious groups such as Christians or criminals. To be killed by animals in the arena was an official and legalized form of the death penalty. Although they sought entertainment from this it provided a purpose for punishments. This meant that they went to precautions to ensure that these contests would be both entertaining and one-sided. They made sure that the men were unarmed, virtually naked. Then they would tie them to stakes and wheel them into the path of the animals. This showed how sadistic the Romans were since they starved the animals before hand.During a contest, when one gladiator was on the verge of defeat, he would appeal for mercy. He would raise his finger as an act of submission, and it would be up to the sponsor of the show to decide whether he would have been spared or not. The sponsor would be swayed by the feelings of the crowd, as this would increase his popularity, and shows were really only put on by politicians to gain votes. It would be entertaining for the crowd to participate in the event by deciding whether or not the gladiator survived, it meant that they were in some way taking on the role of the gods in choosing who lives and who dies.

Even the death was carried out in an entertaining way. After the final fatal blow had been delivered, two officials, dressed in the costumes of Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld, and Mercury would come out. The one dressed as Charon would hit the dead man with a mallet

Ben Smith 5F JMB GCSE Classical Civilization

to ensure that he really was dead, and the one dressed as Mercury would touch him with a red-hot poker, imitating Mercury’s wand.

One form of entertainment was the use of the gladiatorial arena to stage sea-battles or naumachiae. They were only put on very occasionally, and so had a novelty value, but they were no less bloody than the normal shows in the arena. Such shows would have been an enormous drain on wealth, and would have been extremely difficult to produce, but must have been enormously popular for novelty value. They often, for extra entertainment value, involved the re-enactment of a famous naval battle from Roman history, with the participants killed in vast number. To spice things up further, animals such as crocodiles could be put in the water as a change to the usual big cats in the arena.

Many Romans would have grown attached to particular gladiators showing admiration for their fighting skills, since they clearly loved keeping statistics of all the gladiators.

Overall the day was designed to entertain the masses and satisfy their blood lusts, but this was for the host’s own political gain. Not only did it bring together the ordinary public, it showed to the Romans the sheer strength of their empire and the power of their presiding Emperor. It demonstrated the lengths they were prepared to go to in order to please their people, showcasing all kinds of exotic animals from continents across their empire. Emperors could gain tremendous popularity by constructing amphitheaters and this was the reason Vespasian ordered the construction of the Colosseum in AD 70. The shows were also social occasions and not just a chance to seek entertainment from violence. It gave the crowd a chance to see the emperor or rulers. The ordinary people had little direct contact with their rulers, so emperors would use such occasions for self-publicity. The ordinary people used these occasions to put requests to the emperors for lower taxes, or more grain, as, not having the vote, they had no say in the government of Rome.