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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
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