We start our journey at Rome’s iconic Colosseum, formerly known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. Located in the heart of the ancient city, construction began under Vespasian in 70 CE and continued during the reign of his son, Titus. It was the largest amphitheatre in the Roman world, capable of seating 50,000 spectators. Seating was arranged according to wealth, gender, and social status.
The Colosseum hosted public events like gladiator fights, animal hunts, mock naval battles, and public executions. Such spectacular entertainment was enabled by technological innovations. Early in its history, the water systems enabled the amphitheatre to be flooded with water from the Aqua Claudia to flood the substructures and to set the scene for navy battles.
However, once Domitian rose to power, he added rooms to the substructure to host gladiators before the show. The naval battles ended, but the gladiatorial games became the amphitheatre’s main event.
Gladiators were rigorously trained before they could participate in public spectacles. The Ludus Magnus, or big training ground, was one of four places where gladiators were trained in Rome. It is located adjacent to the Colosseum on its eastern side. Each of the four training grounds was built during the reign of Domitian.
This photograph shows the cells where gladiators would sleep on the left. Including the other wings, which remain unexcavated, there were likely 130 cells to house the training gladiators. On the right, we see the excavated sections of the small arena in the facility's center.
Gladiators received specialized training in a particular fighting style. There were more than two dozen types of gladiators, each differentiated from the other by their armor and weaponry. While training, gladiators would work under a master of their style. Archaeological evidence suggests that training could be harsh, with death as a punishment for misbehavior.
This monument memorializes the victories of a gladiator who won three battles. It may have been a part of a funerary monument on the Via Appia. However, like many other depictions of gladiators, the relief would not have memorialized the deceased gladiator but instead the patron who the victorious gladiator's games honored.
The gladiators are captured mid-fight at the intense moment when one fighter is preparing to swing his sword at his fallen opponent. The scene is typical of representations of gladiatorial combat.
Just two kilometers east of the Colosseum, we can find the remains of Rome's only other surviving amphitheatre, the Amphitheatre Castrense. Built during the 3rd century, it is an example of transitionary architecture between the empire and late antiquity. Although it once stood three stories high, the small brick theatre has one remaining story today. the amphitheatre hosted spectacles until the construction of the Aurelian Walls in the 270s, when the entertainment structure was incorporated into the walls.
The amphitheatre was constructed as a part of the Sessorium, an imperial villa complex built during the Severan Dynasty. The complex also included a circus, the Circus Varianus, and a residential palace. Together, the Amphitheatre Castresnse and Circus Varianus likely hosted spectacles for the imperial court.
Rome's most famous circus is perhaps the Circus Maximus. Known for its flashy chariot races, the Circus Maximus is located in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills. Myths hold that the circus was built in the 6th century BCE under the rule of the Roman kings. According to ancient sources, the circus could hold 150,000 spectators making it the largest venue in the Roman empire.
At least 20 of Rome's annual games had events at the Cirus Maximus. The circus primarily hosted chariot races, but written sources suggest that the space was also used to stage animal hunts, public executions, and gladiator games. The Circus Maximus continued to host spectacles until 549 CE when Totila, the Ostrogoth king of Rome, staged the last official chariot race.
During the early empire, the spina, or central barrier of the circus, was adorned by an obelisk. After the Roman conquest, Augustus transported the 23.7-meter-tall granite obelisk, and it stood until the circus was abandoned.
Another circus was built in the early 4th century by Maxentius. Erected near the Via Appia, the Circus of Maxentius could accommodate approximately 10,000 spectators.The spectators were seated according to social class. Wealthy Romans sat nearest to the track.
Like the Circus Maximus, it's spina was adorned by an obelisk. However, this obelisk dates to the reign of Domitian when it was created for his circus. Later on, the obelisk was moved to the Circus of Maxentius. Today, this obelisk stands above Bernini's fountain in the Piazza Navona.
On the western end of the circus, two towers remain intact. These towers once flanked 12 carceres, or starting gates, with a bigger central arch in the center. After leaving their gate, charioteers would guide their quadriga, a four-horse chariot, around the spina for seven laps. Often the spina had a visual marker of the laps to help the audience keep track.
Rome has four professional racing stables, often called factions. They were the Blues, Greens, Reds, and Whites. Wealthy businessmen fronted the costs for a particular faction, including the stables, horses, equipment, training, and other associated costs.
Typically, twelve charioteers participated in each race, three from each faction. The Blues and Greens were notoriously large factions known to have had an intense rivalry that even drew attention from Rome's highest-ranking officials. Some emperors preferred certain factions. For example, Caligula was known to cheer for the Greens.
Factions may have represented specific neighborhoods, trades, seasons, or gods. Roman citizens were so enthralled that their favoritism of the factions was even known to turn violent.
Games were not the only form of entertainment in Rome. Many Romans sought entertainment from the theatre as well. Early in Rome's history, theatres were temporary structures put up for festivals and quickly removed. The first permanent theatre was the Theatre of Pompey started in 55 BCE, but nothing other than its foundations survive today. However, to see the remnants of a theatre we can look to the Theatre of Marcellus in the Forum Holitorium. The building project was begun by Julius Caesar, but was not finished until the reign of Augustus. By the 4th century, the theatre had fallen out of use.
The theatre could seat over 15,000 spectators. It hosted plays, musical contests, and poetry recitals. Most theatrical productions were either tragedies or comedies. In either category, actors would wear distinctive masks that exaggerate their emotions for the whole audience to see. These masks were copied in surviving art and some even remain intact today.
