Colosseum

Ave Caesar! we who are about to die salute you!

Photo album click here

That is how the gladiators entering the arena for the game of death, or freedom used to salute the king.

Like most of the first time visitors to Rome, our first stop was at the Colosseum. I am not a ball game fan, and have not visited ball parks unless there was a graduation or a musical show I had to go to.

If you have ever watched The Gladiators, this is a place you don't want to miss.
gladiators movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo

Much like the present day American Football, the Roman Gladiator games, borrowed from Etruscan and Greek culture, when it was mostly a funeral rite game, are as much as an entertainment as much a deflection of public pent up emotions away from the powers to be. Although Romans considered everybody else as savages, these sports would be as savage as anything can be. 

Knowing how organized the corporate sports is today, it is surprising that it was not much different two thousand years back. The Gladiators, like the present day football players, have to suffer and inflict suffering on their competitors for the entertainment of the masses and the pockets of their handlers. These 'entertainers' then and now are both paid handsomely, traded like slaves, and are celebrities. The name, fame, money and the adrenaline of the sports made many freemen and nobles to be a gladiator and enter in voluntary servitude for five years, not much different from the football players of today. Money earned in one bout of game could be equal to the annual salary of a Roman soldier. 

Now we have owners of teams, and then they had lanistas, the owner of the Gladiator schools. Half of the players were contractual, rest were slaves. Many of these slaves were not born slaves, but were freeman of the conquered lands and colonies who ended as slaves at the end of wars. For an able bodied man who can fight well, being a gladiator was a god given opportunity to earn freedom and much more; although there was a risk of death. In reality very few of the losers had to pay with their lives. It was the will of the king, with a thumb up or down to let the gladiator live or die. Ninety percent was the chance to survive. There was an economic side of it too. If a gladiator dies, the sponsor has to pay for the replacement.

Sports medicine has its roots in these games as the doctors taking care of wounded gladiators were experts in fractures and treatment with opium and immobilization. 

A POSTHUMOUS INSULT TO NERO:

The Colosseum was build on a site where a lake was build by Nero. It seems that Nero is the punching bag for all the things wrong with Ancient Rome. Probably he was not as bad as history has made him. 

Yes, he may have orchestrated the death of his mother, who had orchestrated his rise to throne, and he had married his half sister, was the first Roman king to commit suicide, had a freedman castrated so he can marry him as he resembled his dead wife; yes all of that may be true but he never played fiddle while the Rome burnt. Fiddle was perhaps not invented by that time. He may have wanted the fire to burn Rome so he can rebuild it the way he wanted. He also used the fire as an excuse to punish Christians, but he opened his palace gates for the ordinary Romans to find shelter after the fire. He had made a lake where the Colosseum now stands, and perhaps after his death, Romans wanted to erase many of the landmarks attributed to Nero so the lake was gone. 

King Vespasian as a general, along with his son Titus had led the First Jewish Roman war which ended in the destruction of the Second Temple ( see the Arch of Titus in Roman Forum). When he became king, he came with the idea of building a colossal stadium for gladiator games. It was to be called Flavian Amphitheatre. It will be a place for him to meet and address Romans and control their thoughts and release there pent up emotions. 

It was to be 150 feet high and would accommodate 50,000 people. Arena( means sand) is oval shaped 280 by 165 covered with a wooden floor and then sand on top of it. The basement was below the arena, where the gladiators and hungry animals were kept, and brought up by lifts.

Vespasian died in 79 AD and his son Titus was left with the task of completing it. During his reign there were two national catastrophes, the volcanic destruction of the southern city of Pompeii ( covered in a later blog) and another fire of Rome. It was becoming clear that he is on the wrong sides of the gods and he needed the Colosseum to turn the tide against his probable fall from grace. 

Given this he wanted a great opening Inaugural Games of the Colosseum. Held in 80 and lasted for one hundred days. 9000 wild animals were killed in these inaugural games. 

Like the Superbowl it was a big extravaganza. There was the pre-game show but without dancing cheer leaders.  Instead there were loins, kept hungry and fed human flesh to develop tastes for human, and common criminals to face them and be eaten alive. Some times the loins got scared by the cheering crowds and then the game-master, the beast trainer had to pay with his life. 

The middle of the day, when the elite may retire to each lunch was reserved for the killing of criminals by crucifixion. And then of course the prime time was for gladiators games.

One of the most vividly recorded game is between Verus and Priscus a Balkan and a Celt. who were both declared winner, a rarity, by Titus and both earned freedom. BBCmovie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR8H4mWItlk

Some myths about the Colosseum is that it was the place where many Christians were executed. 

After the Fall of Roman Empire it slowly got vandalized and used by many Romans, poor and rich as a place to life, steal and hide. The Popes and Catholic Church, the real power left behind in the city after the Fall, were not interested for a long time in preserving the place. Eventually it was claimed to be a site to be preserved and a big cross was put in it where perhaps the Caesar used to sit, along with the Nuns.

Walking around the Colosseum on the outside does not make you realize the enormity of it. You realize it only when you enter it and reach the second level. Amazingly today's ball parks are not much different than the mother of all stadia. Amazing to realize that it was built in 5 years fro 75 to 80 AD. Elliptical in shape 187 meters at its longest and 155 at its shortest.

There ware 80 arches and all the 'gates' are numbered except the four reserved for the royal and elite. Entry was free but it was a privilege. The ticket had the seat number and the route to reach the seat. a total of 50,000 seats, allotted on rigid social division. 

All the glory of Rome would have come alive in this amphitheatre. Strange to think that the citizens and leaders of the most civilized empire loved the savagery of killing sports and were not apologetic about it.

Next: The Vatican

ROMAN FORUM

All Roads Lead to Rome (rather to Roman Forum)

 Italyblogpost.5

Photoalbum

Growing up, this was amongst the first few English language proverbs I learnt. I presumed it meant one would achieve the desired goal what ever way one takes, as long as one is actively engaged. 

But why Rome. It turns out there was a reason this proverb would make sense in Italian peninsula. Rome was a city state, turned eventually into a colonial empire and it needed roads to communicate, conquer and control its colonies.

These roads were made of flat rock, many were lava stones, wide enough to accommodate two carriages, (dual highway) lined with trees on both sides, mostly pine, and had stations every 15 miles or horse change and 30 miles for night stay. Originally laid for military purposes, later used for trade and eventually for commoners to travel. 

This is 500 BC, safely two thousand years before Sher Shah Suri built upon the old Maurya Empire road in early 16th century.

So all the roads originated from Rome to the rest of the world they knew as theirs, and hence if you travel back on any of these roads, you will sooner or later enter Rome, or more specifically the Roman Forum. All these roads had these milestones which told the travelers how far away they were from Roman Forum. Like now we have milestones (at least in my childhood) informing the miles away from the local GPO)

Mile stone

Example of one mile stone in Roman Forum. 

Roman Forum was where Romans lived. literally.  Rome was a city of one million people, a very large number by any standard, definitely the largest for a very long time, considering that we are talking about two thousand years back. 

Rich lived in their palaces and mansions, and poor lived in small cabins around the city, but everyone thrived in the public space. Here you have the public spaces for every activity, religious, civic, senate, official work, and public debate.

Rome has given us concepts and words on all activities of daily civic life. Words like palace (Palatine Hills), Senate, President, Forum, Rostrum. Coliseum, Basilica. all is here.

It is the valley between two of the seven hills of Rome, Palatine Hills and Capitol Hill.

The best example one can imagine the grandeur of Roman Forum is watching the segment of the movie Cleopatra when she enters Rome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNjrfXOgZkM


This ancient Rome, once vandalized by the Vandals at the fall of Roman Empire in 476, and the population of 1 Million was reduced to 10,000,   it slowly deteriorated as the focus shifted from Rome to other areas of power. Even if the Papacy remained intact in Rome as a client state of other kingdoms, the central interest in Roman forum was gone, Over centuries it was neglected, and eventually buried under the dirt and debris of time. Later only the tops of certain monuments and structures were visible, and rest was underground. It was being uses as a grazing ground, Many artifacts and building materials including copper and other minerals were stolen or recycled and it was not until the British Gibbons in 1700, who realized it and it was gradually excavated.

There are more than one way to enter Roman Forum, but the more common is through the Arch of Titus as it takes you from the Coliseum to the Forum. This arch is of particular importance and one of the few places I recommend you spend some time.

This arch is to commemorate the final victory of Romans over Jerusalem. Judea as it was perhaps called was already a Roman province for long time, but the Romans allowed the Jewish Temple to function as long as it did not interfere with the Roman rule. 

Ultimately the Zealots rebelled and Rome responded by siege and final destruction. This arch was perhaps the oldest Arch build to commemorate a victory and has been used as inspiration for many triumphal arches including the famous Paris Arc de Triomphe.

Siege of Jerusalem was in 70 AD which led to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple, ( only the Western Wall of which remains). This Arch was build ten years later by the brother of the king Titus. By that time Saint Peter was already crucified 64, and there would have been presence of Christians in Rome, but this artifact does not show any mention of that.

Two sides on the inner side show two different scenes. Entering the Forum, the left side shows the Jewish Slaves being brought in the city, carrying their belongings, the most prominent being the menorah candle.

 On the opposite side, shows the Romans and their King, Titus entering the city triumphantly on horses. Until the State of Israel was founded in 1948 there was a rabbinical prohibition to walk under the arch and many Jews refused to walk under it. 

The menorah depicted in the Arch is perhaps the oldest relic of a menorah and was used as a model for the menorah on the emblem of the State of Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem_of_Israel#/media/File:Arch_of_Titus_Menorah.png

VESTAL NUNS:

Many pagan cultures have the concept of celibate men and women giving up pleasures of normal life for deities. Perhaps the catholic church's concept of nuns grew form the Roman vestal nuns. After all Catholicism is basically a Roman phenomenon. 

Some how a woman's chastity has always fascinated men of god.

So there is this temple of Vesta. Nuns were from the families of elite, the patricians, from age 6-10 and chosen by the High Priest, Pontifex Maximus (the same name taken by the Pope) and offered 30 years of service. She would remain celibate, have certain privileges like special seating in Colosseum, voting and property rights. She would have special duties like keeper of the wills and keeping the fire on at the temple and after 30 years of service could be free to marry.

If however she did not remain chaste she would lose her life. She would be buried alive, as shedding blood was prohibited in the confines of Rome. In fact burying alive was also prohibited in Rome so they would be buried with some food so that the eventually die in the underground tomb.

Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta represents the site of ancient cult activity as far back as 7th century BCE

And then there is the Temple of Caesar. It was here that Julius Caesar was cremated and later deified. He the first Roman made into a deity. There was a comet appearance in Rome at the time of his death and it was considered that Caesar's soul has joined other gods in the sky as one of them. That is the reason that the sign of comet, ie a star with a tail became the official mark for Rome.

Now the tradition of making 'saints' in Catholicism is perhaps the modification of the same old cult of deification?

Then you have the actual Senate and the Rostrum. Rostrum as the name suggests was the actual Speaker's Corner and gave the Romans the freedom to express their views openly and freely.

The Temple of Saturn,  temple to the god Saturn has the most iconic picture looking at the bare columns from the East side to the rest of the Roman Forum and with Arch if Titus and Coliseum in the background

Next: Killing people for sports, The Colosseum