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The Amphitheatre
Amphitheatre exterior Click Here.
The Roman amphitheatre was the centre of entertainment throughout the Roman Empire. Amphitheaters ruins can be found wherever the Romans spread. The largest was the Colosseum in Rome which seats 50,000 people.
The Amphitheatre complex in Pompeii consisted of a very large Paelestra and a huge arena that could hold 20,000 people. This Amphitheatre is the oldest, built in 80 BC. Unlike the usual Roman amphitheatres that came later, it's entrance ramps were all on the outside and there were no underground areas like the Colosseum for instance. Under the main arena of the colosseum,it sinks 40 some odd feet underground, housing warrens of tunnels, cages for animals and criminals, gladiator and slave rooms and huge water systems for flooding the arena.
There was a pecking order for those who attended the games. The lower the seating area the more important the spectator was. The top tier had it's own steps and entrance to the outside. This was reserved for women.
Amphitheatre interior; Click here..
Gladiator Fights
The main entertainment in the amphitheatre was gladiator fights. They fought with swords, daggers, forks and nets. They fought against criminals and slaves, who were often either unarmed or armed only with a net. The fights were bloody and to the death for the most part. Sometime the injured fighter would ask the crowd to spare him by holding up his index finger. He would get a thumbs up, which meant life, or thumbs down which meant death. It was the rule of thumb, so to speak.
There were also fights between men and exotic beasts. Tigers, Lions, panthers were slaughtered in this arena. Some of the gladiators became sports heroes, like the celebrity sports figures we have today.
These fights started out as entertainment at funerals, but this entertainment became so popular, schools for gladiators were opened and arenas built to house the crowds. When a gladiator was killed, an official, dressed as a demon from the underworld, would check to see that he was dead. Then his body was dragged out of the arena, as trumpets played.
Chariot Races
Chariot Races were also a popular sport carried out here. Two to four horses pulled the chariots, which were driven seven times around the arena at excessive speeds. The drivers had to be very skilled or they didn't last long. Accidents happened frequently and many drivers were killed.
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