The Sports Of The Amphitheatre


In no other nation upon the earth and no other period of history has

enjoyment taken so cruel and brutal a shape as in the Roman empire. The

fierce people of the imperial city seemed to have a native thirst for

blood and misery, which no amount of slaughter in the arena, of the

sufferings of captives and slaves, or of the torments of persecuted

Christians sufficed to assuage. The love of theatrical representations,

whi
h has proved so potent and unceasing with other nations, had but a

brief period of prevalence in Rome, its milder enjoyment vanishing

before the wild excitement of the gladiatorial struggle and the

spectacle of rending beasts and slaughtered martyrs.



It was not in the theatre, but in the amphitheatre, that the Romans

sought their chief enjoyment, and few who wished the favor of the Roman

people failed to seek it by the easy though costly means of gladiatorial

shows. The amphitheatre differed from the theatre in forming a complete

circle or oval instead of a semicircle, with an arena in the centre

instead of a stage at the side. It also greatly surpassed the theatre in

size, the purpose being to see, not to hear.



These buildings were at first temporary edifices of wood, but of

enormous size, since one which collapsed at Fidenae, during the reign of

Tiberius, is said to have caused the death of fifty thousand spectators.

The first of stone was built by the command of Augustus. But the great

amphitheatre of Rome, the Flavian, whose mighty ruins we possess in the

Colosseum, was that begun by Vespasian, and finished by Titus ten years

after the destruction of Jerusalem.



This vast building is elliptical in shape and covers about five acres of

ground, being six hundred and twelve feet in its greatest length and

five hundred and fifteen in greatest breadth. It is based on rows of

arches, eighty in number, and rises in four different orders of

architecture to a height of about one hundred and sixty feet. The

outside of this great edifice was encrusted with marble and decorated

with statues. Interiorly its vast slopes presented sixty or eighty rows

of marble seats, covered with cushions, and capable of seating more than

eighty thousand spectators. There were sixty-four doors of entrance and

exit, and the entrances, passages, and stairs were so skilfully

constructed that every person could with ease and safety reach and leave

his place.



Nothing was omitted that could add to the pleasure and convenience of

the spectators. An ample canopy, drawn over their heads, protected them

from the sun and the rain. Fountains refreshed the air with cooling

moisture, and aromatics profusely perfumed the air. In the centre was

the arena or stage, strewn with fine sand, and capable of being changed

to suit varied spectacles. Now it appeared to rise out of the earth,

like the gardens of the Hesperides; now it was made to represent the

rocks and caverns of Thrace. Water was abundantly supplied by concealed

pipes, and the sand-strewn plain might at will be converted into a wide

lake, sustaining armed vessels, and displaying the swimming monsters of

the deep.



In these spectacles the Roman emperors loved to display their wealth. On

various occasions the whole furniture of the amphitheatre was of amber,

silver, or gold, and in one display the nets provided for defence

against wild beasts were of gold wire, the porticos were gilded, and the

belt or circle that divided the several ranks of spectators was studded

with a precious mosaic of beautiful stones. In the dedication of this

mighty edifice five thousand wild beasts were slain in the arena, the

games lasting one hundred days.



The first show of gladiators in Rome was one given by Marcus and Decius

Brutus, on the occasion of the death of their father, 264 B.C. Three

pairs of gladiators fought in this first contest. This gladiatorial

spectacle was continued on funeral occasions, but afterwards lost its

religious character and became a popular amusement, there being schools

for the training of gladiators, whose pupils were recruited from the

captives of Rome, from condemned criminals, and from vigorous men

desirous of fame.



As time went on the magnificence of these spectacles increased. Julius

Caesar gave one in which three hundred and twenty combatants fought.

Trajan far surpassed this with a show that lasted for one hundred and

twenty-three days, and in which ten thousand men fought with each other

or with wild beasts for the pleasure of the Roman populace.



The gladiators were variously armed, some with sword, shield, and body

armor; some with net and trident; some with noose or lasso. The disarmed

or overthrown gladiator was killed or spared in response to signals made

by the thumbs of the spectators; while the successful combatant was

rewarded at first with a palm branch, afterwards with money and rich and

valuable presents.






The gladiators were not always passive instruments of Roman cruelty. We

have elsewhere described the revolt of Spartacus and his brave struggle

for liberty. Other outbreaks took place. During the reign of Probus a

revolt of about eighty gladiators out of a school of some six hundred

filled Rome with death and alarm. Killing their keepers, they broke into

the streets, which they set afloat with blood, and only after an

obstinate resistance and ample revenge were they at length overpowered

and cut to pieces by the soldiers of the city. But such outbreaks were

but few, and the Roman multitude usually enjoyed its cruel sports in

safety.



We cannot here describe the many remarkable displays made by successive

emperors, and which grew more lavish as time went on. Probus, about 280

A.D., gave a show in which the arena was transformed into a forest,

large trees, dug up by the roots, being transported and planted

throughout its space. In this miniature forest were set free a thousand

ostriches, and an equal number each of stags, fallow deer, and wild

boars. These were given to the multitude to assail and slay at their

will. On the following day, the populace being now safely screened from

danger, there were slain in the arena a hundred lions, as many

lionesses, two hundred leopards, and three hundred bears.



The younger Gordian, in his triumphal games, astonished the Romans by

the strangeness of the animals displayed, in search of which the whole

known world was ransacked. The curious mob now beheld the graceful forms

of twenty zebras, and the remarkable stature of ten giraffes, brought

from remote African plains. There were shown, in addition, ten elks, as

many tigers from India, and thirty African hyenas. To these were added a

troop of thirty-two elephants, and the uncouth forms of the hippopotamus

of the Nile and the rhinoceros of the African wilds. These animals,

familiar to us, were new to their observers, and filled the minds of

their spectators with wonder and awe.



Gladiators, as we have said, were not confined to slaves, captives, and

criminals. Roman citizens, emulous of the fame and rewards of the

successful combatant, entered their ranks, and men of birth and fortune,

thirsting for the excitement of the arenal strife, were often seen in

the lists. In the reign of Nero, senators, and even women of high birth,

appeared as combatants; and Domitian arranged a battle between dwarfs

and women. As late as 200 A.D. an edict forbidding women to fight became

necessary.



The emperors, as a rule, were content with sending their subjects to

death in those frightful shows; but one of them, Commodus, proud of his

strength and skill, himself entered the lists as a combatant. He was at

first content with displaying his remarkable skill as an archer against

wild animals. With arrows whose head was shaped like a crescent, he cut

asunder the long neck of the ostrich, and with the strength of his bow

pierced alike the thick skin of the elephant and the scaly hide of the

rhinoceros. A panther was let loose and a slave forced to act as its

prey. But at the instant when the beast leaped upon the man the shaft of

Commodus flew, and the animal fell dead, leaving its prey unhurt. No

less than a hundred lions were let loose at once in the arena, and the

death-dealing darts of the emperor hurtled among them until they all

were slain.



During this exhibition of skill the emperor was securely protected

against any chance danger from his victims. But later, to the shame and

indignation of the people, he entered the arena as a gladiator, and

fought there no less than seven hundred and thirty-five times. He was

well protected, wearing the helmet, shield, and sword of the Secutor,

while his antagonists were armed with the net and trident of the

Retiarius. It was the aim of the latter to entangle his opponent in

the net and then despatch him with the trident, and if he missed he was

forced to fly till he had prepared his net for a second throw.



As may be imagined, in these contests Commodus was uniformly successful.

His opponents were schooled not to put forth their full skill, and were

usually given their lives in reward. But the emperor claimed the prize

of the successful gladiator, and himself fixed this reward at so high a

price that to pay it became a new tax on the Roman people. Commodus, we

may say here, met with the usual fate of the base and cruel emperors of

Rome, falling by the hands of assassins.



The gladiatorial shows were not without their opponents in Rome. Under

the republic efforts were made to limit the number of combatants and the

frequency of the displays, and the Emperor Augustus forbade more than

two shows in a year. They were prohibited by Constantine, the first

Christian emperor, in 325 A.D., but continued at intervals till 404. In

that year Telemachus, an Asiatic monk, filled with horror at the cruelty

of the practice, made his way to Rome, and during a contest rushed into

the arena and tried to part two gladiators.



The spectators, furious at this interruption of their sport, stoned the

monk to death. But the Emperor Honorius proclaimed him a martyr, and

issued an edict which finally brought such exhibitions to an end.



There was another form of spectacle at Rome, in its way as significant

of cruelty and ruthlessness, the Triumph, each occasion of which

signified some nation conquered or army defeated, and thousands slain or

plunged into misery and destitution. The victorious general to whom the

senate granted the honor of a triumph was not allowed to enter the city

in advance, and Lucullus, on his return from victory in Asia, waited

outside Rome for three years, until the desired honor was granted him.



Starting from the Field of Mars, outside the city walls, the procession

passed through the gayly garlanded streets to the Capitol. It was headed

by the magistrates and senate of Rome, who were followed by trumpeters,

and then by the spoils of war, consisting not only of treasures and

standards, but of representations of battles, towns, fortresses, rivers,

etc.



Next came the victims intended for sacrifice, largely composed of white

oxen with gilded horns. They were followed by prisoners kept to grace

the triumph, and who were put to death when the Capitol was reached.

Afterwards came the gorgeous chariot of the conqueror, crowned with

laurel and drawn by four horses. He wore robes of purple and gold taken

from the temple of Jupiter, carried a laurel branch in his right hand,

and in his left a sceptre of ivory with an eagle at its tip. After him

came the soldiers, singing Io triumphe and other songs of victory.



On reaching the Capitol the victor placed the laurel branch on the cap

of the seated Jupiter, and offered the thank-offerings. A feast of the

dignitaries, and sometimes of the soldiers and people, followed. The

ceremony at first occupied one day only, but in later times was extended

through several days, and was frequently attended with gladiatorial

shows and other spectacles for the greater enjoyment of the Roman

multitude.



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