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w 30 Series 10 Under the arena 1. Animals could be loaded into the cage in this area dailytelegraph.com.au/classmate 2. Using a pulley system and the manual labour of slaves the cage was hoisted up into position T he ancient Romans had some strange, sometimes bloodthirsty, ways of keeping themselves entertained. The warlike Romans enjoyed sports packed with excitement and, more importantly, danger. Men fighting men, gladiators fighting animals, animals fighting other animals, and chariots hurtling around an arena were some favourite pastimes. Today we satisfy our taste for action with sporting festivals, events such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. Ben Hur – The Stadium Spectacular, which comes to Sydney next month, also recreates some of the excitement of ancient Rome’s sports events. 3. On a signal the cage and trapdoors were opened via a pulley system 4. The animal then leapt into the battle To shield spectators from bad weather, a coloured canvas awning known as a velarium could be stretched over the arena Did you know? Statues decorated the exterior walls century BC the Romans held such fights at other special occasions. Eventually they became a regular fixture at many of the holy days (holidays) dedicated to the many gods. The name gladiator comes from the short Roman sword, the gladius, which was used by the original competitors. But a system evolved of dressing the competitors in costumes resembling the dress of barbarians. A Thraex or Thracian carried a small shield and a curved sword, a Retiarius carried a trident Revolt: Kirk Douglas in the film and a net, and a Murmillo wore a Spartacus, and (below right), a sketch of bodies being carried helmet with a fish crest, carried out of the Colosseum a rectangular shield called a scutum and fought with a gladius. Not every gladiatorial contest was to the death. If a gladiator had bested his opponent he could appeal to the audience to spare or kill his competitor, they would signal with a thumbs up for a kill (contrary to popular opinion that it was a thumbs down). To the death: Maximus (Russell Crowe) fights for his life in the film Gladiator The earliest Roman sporting events were usually performed as part of a religious ritual. Even chariot races probably evolved from the Greek practice of holding funerary games, the earliest mention of which is in Homer’s epic poem The Iliad (from about the 9th or 8th century BC). Rather like the saints’ days observed by Christians, the Romans had many religious festivals dedicated to their numerous gods. While not all were occasions for holding sporting events, many allowed the Romans to take the day off from work and file into a hippodrome or circus to watch chariot races, a theatre to watch plays or an arena to watch gladiators fight. Ludi publicis, or public games, were a right of all Roman citizens. There were various kinds of games, among them ludi circenses, which were held in a circular arena known as a circus and usually involved chariot races. The munera or gladiatorial games – contests between armed fighters, were also sometimes held in circuses but later purpose-built venues, such as the Colosseum (see Colosseum) were used. Ludi saeculum were games held every century or so to mark the end of a saeculum or generation. The ludi scaenici or stage games, consisted of plays performed in theatres. Association with sporting glory was used by Roman politicians to help their careers. Wealthy Romans would invest in horses and chariots for the chariot races, or buy their own stable of gladiators, so that they could entertain the people and win votes. The lanista was the owner of gladiators and while some were very low on the social scale, patricians could also become a lanista as long as it was not their only source of income. Marcus Licinius Crassus, possibly the richest man in Rome’s history, owned gladiators and commanded an army to put down the slave revolt of the gladiator Spartacus. For free teacher resources visit dailytelegraph.com.au/classmate The arena floor was made of wood, with a layer of sand laid over it Passageways circled the structure Arches were used throughout the structure to support the weight of the seating Building area: Total height: Arena area: Seating: The organisers Entrepreneurs 2 The complex system of ramps, lifts and pulleys used to dramatically introduce wild animals into the middle of the arena The ancient Romans did not invent gladiatorial contests. They are believed to have originated with the ancient Campanians or Etruscans who used to sacrifice a slave at funerals. However, Romans were not keen on human sacrifices so they preferred to pit man against man in fights to the death known as a munera. These contests proved so popular that by about the 4th Originally games were organised by private individuals for funerals, or by Roman priests, who were wealthy Roman citizens. However, official public games were the responsibility of the magistrates, known as the aediles. The aediles had to pay for the games which often sent them bankrupt – Gaius Julius Caesar (pictured left) was known to have gone into debt to pay for games during his term as aedile in 65 BC. As the games became more popular aediles became more willing to pay for spectacular festivals to help boost their political careers. 1 3 Gladiators From private to public festivals 4 Chariot racing Spartacus Perhaps the best known gladiator in history is Spartacus, who led a slave revolt in 73 BC. Originally from Thrace, Spartacus had served time in the Roman army but he may have deserted, committed a crime or sold himself voluntarily into slavery to cover debts. Spartacus broke out of a gladiatorial train near Naples, and gathered an army mad ing school in Capua, slaves. Using his knowledge of Roman e up of gladiators and farm army tactics, he and his force took on armies sent by the Rom an with unconventional forms of warfare, senate. He defeated them avoi with the heavily armed Roman soldiers. ding pitched battles He reached the northern border of Italy, but for some reason his followers chose not to escape to their homelands. Spartacu s led his army south again and was trying to cross to Sicily whe na Licinius Crassus defeated Spartacus. Roman army under Marcus About 6000 of the slave survivors of the battle were later cruc ified. The Romans derived many traditions from the Etruscans, among them chariot racing, which the Etruscans had picked up from the Greeks. Roman chariot races involved two-wheeled chariots drawn by horse teams of two (a biga), three (a triga), or four (a quadriga). The races were always between four teams or parties (factiones). People would support either the red (russata), the green (prasina), the white (albata), or the blue (veneta). Rivalry was fierce and Romans also placed bets. The races were held in a circus, an elongated oval stadium with a narrow track inside that had sharp turns. Crashes or spills from the chariots could be fatal. 188m x 156m 48m 79m x 45m 50,000 It had 80 entrances that allowed huge crowds to fill the four levels of seating according to their social status Beneath the floor of the Colosseum was a maze of corridors, cells and machinery Colosseum Between 70 and 72 AD the emperor Vespasian ordered the building of the Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Colosseum (a name derived from a colossal statue that once stood near it). The arena, the largest of any of the Roman gladiatorial auditoriums holding 50,000 people, was made of stone and concrete and finished in marble. It had an ingenious system of sails that could be moved to give the audience shade according to the position of the sun. The Colosseum was the scene of fights between gladiators and between men and animals. The arena could also be flooded to create mock naval battles. Hippodromes Throughout the Roman empire the Romans constructed hippodromes and circuses for chariot races. The largest chariot racing arena was the Circus Maximus in Rome. It was built on a site that had been used for chariot races for centuries. Julius Caesar expanded it in 50 BC and subsequent leaders improved on it until it measured over 600m by about 150m and could hold about 250,000 people. Today little remains of the actual structure, but the site is now used to host concerts and other public gatherings. Thrilling spectacle: A chariot race (left), and (above right), the huge Circus arena n Some gladiators were pitted against wild animals, these contests were known as venationes. n In 2000 it was announced that an ancient burial site in London revealed the remains of a gladiatrix, a female arena fighter. Evidence suggests a minority of gladiatorial bouts were fought between women. n Not all gladiators were captured foreign slaves, there is evidence that some people sold themselves into slavery to avoid payment of debts. Because gladiators received prize money, fought only two or three times a year and were treated like celebrities if they won, the lifestyle had some attractions despite its obvious dangers. n Circuses and arenas were set up in all corners of the Roman empire as a display of the wealth and strength of Rome. The ruins of many of these venues still exist today. n The 1880 novel, Ben-Hur, by Lew Wallace, introduced audiences to the thrills of the ancient Roman chariot race. In 1899 it was adapted as a Broadway play with horses running on treadmills. The most famous adaptation was a 1959 film starring Charlton Heston. A more recent incarnation is the live arena show coming to Sydney in October and featuring Academy Award-winning actor Russell Crowe as narrator. A TV miniseries is also planned. Modern day Some Roman games have left traces in modern culture. Sports such as boxing and extreme fighting have some resemblance to gladiatorial contests and a reality TV show (pictured) that pitted person against person in feats of strength was named Gladiators. The town of Jerash in Jordan reintroduced chariot races at its ancient Roman hippodrome as a tourist attraction. Sources and further study Ancient Rome e.explore (Dorling Kindersley) Chariot Racing In The Roman Empire, by Fik Meijer (Johns Hopkins) Cruelty And Civilization, by Roland Auguet (Routledge) The Spartacus War, by Barry Strauss (Phoenix) The Story Of The Roman Amphitheatre, by D.L. Bomgardner (Baker and Taylor) BBC History Romans www.bbc.co.uk/history/ ancient/romans/ Colosseum Rome’s Arena Of Death BBC DVD britannica.com Ben Hur – The Stadium Spectacular www.benhur.com.au Cl@ssmate EVERY TUESDAY Email: [email protected] Phone: 9288 2542 Editor: Troy Lennon Design: Will Pearce Graphics: Justin Richardson