Customer Reviews

The Story of the Roman Amphitheatre

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book investigates Roman amphitheaters, their development, their use during the height of Roman power, and later, the uses put to the amphitheaters as Rome declined. There are lots of pictures of the ruins, as well as diagrams and lists of the amphitheaters, most of which were located in the western part of the empire, some in north Africa.

Entertainingly written, it can be read by the person who simply is interested in history, as well as by scholars.

The money lavished on the amphitheaters and the gladiators and beasts is simply staggering. Julius Caesar "amassed an extensive network of gladiators and training schools...He established...at Capua...5,000 gladiators" (p 23).

During the late republic a vast bureaucratic army worked on all different aspects of the amphitheaters. The ancient Roman world was games mad, and the emperors invested heavily in the spectacles put on and on the amphitheaters themselves. Marble, sculptured keystones, arenas with trapdoors and early forms of elevators--quite siimply, they are wonders of engineering.

Although there is little information on the prices paid for the exotic beasts used in the areas, we know that Magerius "spent a total of 4,000 denarii...or about 100,000 English pounds" (p 211) for 4 leopards. By the time of Diocletian "a top quality African lion now costs a maximum of 600,000 seterces (nearly 4 million today) (p 211).

One oddball tidbit: the countryside of North Africa was said to flourish with agriculture since lions and other large beasts were heavily hunted.

Only a few Romans objected to the cruelty and the bloodshed. The Jews, Stoics, and especially the Christians disliked the games. The Christians, many of whom were slaughtered in the areas, condemned the bloodshed forcefully.