ROMAN ENTERTAINMENT VENUES Outside the Forum Colosseum Circus Maximus

ROMAN ENTERTAINMENT VENUES

Outside the Forum

Colosseum Circus Maximus

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Colosseum

• Background:– Built on land originally owned by Emperor

Nero.• Nero’s House: Domus Aureus: “Golden House”• Lake

ROMAN BUILDINGSColosseum

• Colosseum:– Type of Building: Ampitheater, a type of

construction without Greek precedent.• Designed to hold spectators. (large central

performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and

were commonly used for spectator sports)

– Location: Rome, just outside the Forum.– Many ampitheaters were built in the Roman

world.– Oldest ampitheater is at Pompeii, 80 BC.

Amphitheater vs A Greek Theater

• An amphitheater and a theater are different types of buildings. Amphi-theaters are "theaters in the round": amphi- means "around" in Greek. A theater is a space with a stage, and the audience is on one side of it. People need to hear, so a theater is relatively small. An amphitheater is for action: it's a sports arena, where the spectators sit around the field. They need to see, but they don't really need to hear, so an amphitheater can be much larger.

AHA!


• Colosseum is also known as the Flavian Ampitheater. built by the Flavian emperors in the first century AD

• Construction was begun by Vespasian (emperor 69-79 AD), between 70-72 AD. inaugurated by Titus in 80 AD and completed by Domitian.

• 10 years to build

• Located on marshy land, it is the first permanent ampi-theater built in Rome.

• Family built other ampitheaters outside of Rome.

• Damaged by fire in 217.

Vespasian

Titus

Domitian


• Colosseum is a vast ellipse.

• Built in tiers, was able to seat 50,000 around a central elliptical arena.

• Floor was made of wood.

• Below floor were a complex set of rooms and passageways for wild beasts and other provisions for staging the games.

Colosseum

• Specs:– 640 ft long X 528 ft wide– Structure covers over 6 acres.– Central interior oval: 287 ft l X 180 ft w– Outer wall: 100,000 cu m of travertine set in

mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.

– Height: 158 ft. (Equivalent to 12-15 story building!)


• Inside and floor area: Elliptical design

Under-floor rooms


• Eighty walls radiate from arena and support vaults for passageways, stairways and the tiers of seats.

• Three tiers of arcades are faced by ¾ columns and entablatures: first story, doric; second, Ionic and third, corinthian.

• Each floor consisted of 80 arches.• Above them is an attic story with

Corinthian pilasters and small square window openings.

• Pilaster: columns attached to a wall so that ½ of its circumference is cut off by the wall.

• Top: brackets and sockets carried the masts from which the velarium, canopy for shade, was suspended. Manned by sailors

The Roman Arch• To support the tremendous weight

of the arches, it was necessary to provide a way of transmitting the force to massive piers to the foundation of the arch. The Romans achieved this feat through the use of the Keystone block. The force was directed down onto the top of the keystone. Force was then translated to the voussoir blocks of the arch which in turn translated the force through the impost to the piers.

Colosseum• Columned tiers

Lower Arcade: Doric Columns

Middle Arcade: Ionic

Upper Arcade: Corinthian


• Outside: Arches arcades), columns, pilasters


• Construction used combination of types:– Concrete for foundations– Travertine for the piers and arcades– Tufa infill between piers for walls of lower two

levels– Brick faced concrete for upper levels and

most of the vaults.


• DETAILS:

– 50,000 could be seated.

– 80 entrances allowing crowds to arrive and leave quickly. 76 used by spectators; 2 used by emperor; 2 used by gladiators

– Spectators used numbered tickets (pottery shards)

– Built so that entry and exit could be done in less than one half hour!


• Details:– Upon entering,

spectators climbed sloping ramps to their seats.

– Seating was according to gender and social class.

• Women and poor stood or used wooden benches on 4th tier.

– During 1st ten years of use, it was filled with water for mock naval battles.


• Plan:

Colosseum

• Plan:

Colosseum• Hypogeum:

– Built by Domitian– Connected by

underground tunnels to points outside the colosseum.

– Machinery in hypogeum:• Elevators and pulleys

raised and lowered scenery and caged animals to surface.


• Details:– Most shows in the Colosseum lasted all day

beginning with comedic contests and exotic animal shows in the morning and moving on to professional gladiator events in the afternoon.

– In all shows, death played a prominent role.– During the Colosseum's opening ceremonies in A.D.

80, spectacles were held for 100 days in which hundreds of animals and 2,000 gladiators were killed.

– Eventually, gladiator fights were outlawed by Emperor Honorius in A.D. 404; however, animal combats continued for another century.

ROMAN BUILDINGSCircus Maximus

• View from the air:

Reconstruction


• Location: Rome, by the Colosseum• Purpose: The Circus Maximus was a track used primarily for

chariot/horse-racing, although it was used on occasion for hunts or mock battles.

• Built in the 6th century BC. First and largest chariot racing stadium in ancient Rome.

• Size: A little more than a1/3 mile long (2037 ft) and 150 yards wide.• There was a long barrier (spina) that ran down the middle of the track.• In addition to obelisks, fountains, statues, and columns, there were also

two temples on the spina, one with seven large eggs and one with seven dolphins. – At the end of each lap of the seven lap race, one egg and one dolphin would

be removed from each temple, to keep the spectators and the racers updated on how many laps had been completed.

• Held 250,000 people. ¼ of cities pop. However, remains suggest seating for 150,000. Even more could view from hills and grass.

• Tradition says first games were held by Taquinius Priscus, 5th king of Rome.

Circus Maximus

• Coins issued by Caracella

Notice the image of the Circus Maximus on the obverse of the coin


• Facts:• It was twice destroyed by fire and on at least two

occasions the stands collapsed, killing many people. – Inside its four-story facade, the Circus was a maze of

shops, rooms, stairways, and arcades. – Throngs of people moved about the great interior

corridor that provided access to any part of the structure.

– Vendors hawked their wares and sold refreshments and souvenirs; and, of course, there were always prostitutes, gamblers, pickpockets, girl watchers, and drunks.


• Reconstruction


• Facts:– Men and women could sit together. – The Circus Maximus also had the ancient equivelant of the skyboxes

you see now in stadiums for professional sports. The Emperor had a reserved seat, as did senators, knights, those who financially backed the race, those who presided over the competition, and the jury that awarded the prize to the winners.

– Originally, 10-12 races per day, then doubled to 24 by Caligula.– Chariots started from 12 gates.– Total distance per race: 3 to 4 miles.– Drivers had to stay in a marked lane for a certain distance.– Presiding magistrate dropped a white flag to start race.– The last race held at the Circus Maximus was in 549 A.D., nearly a full

millenium after the track's construction. – Other Circus’: Circus Flaminius, Circus Maxentius, Circus of Nero.


• From Palatine Hill:


• Facts:• Horses were well bred, drivers were not.• Drivers were slaves or of low status.• Risk of being dragged was very real.• Drivers earned very good money.• Racing was set up into factions: blue, green,

red, white. Races were always between factions.


• Tile Mosaic

ROMAN BUILDINGSCircus maximus

• Construction:– For a long time it was built entirely of wood – carceres or stalls for the horse and chariots also acted as

starting gates, were built in painted wood, as well as the spina.– In 174 B.C. the censors Fulvius Flaccus and Postumius

Albinus had the carcers built in masonry, and placed the seven stone eggs along the spina.

– In 33 B.C. Agrippa had bronze dolphins set up – Augustus had the pulvinar, a sacred box reserved for the

tutelary gods of the games, set up and in 10 B.C. he had the obelisk of Ramses, II taken at Heliopolis placed on the spina.

– The Circus measured 600 with 200 meters. Of the chariot races that were held there, the most important were those of the Ludi Romani the first week of September, which opened with a religious procession in which the highest religious and civil authorities of the city took part.

Circus Maximus• Carceres

Circus Maximus

• Spina from Circus of Maxentius


• Notice the Valley it is in: Between Aventine and Palatine Hills.


• Interesting Tidbits:• The Circus Maximus allowed emperors an opportunity to

announce new laws or taxes• the populace frequently aired its dirty laundry when

horses weren't running. • Displeased with their taxes, the crowd one day shouted

their troubles to Caligula in between races. Rather than hear them out, or even ignore them, Caligula sent out hefty chunks of the military into the crowd with orders to detain any shouting persons. He had them brought to the center of the circus, halted all racing activity, and summarily executed each one so that the bulk of Rome could see he wasn't fooling around.


• Chariots, Horses, Jockeys

Documents

ROMAN ENTERTAINMENT VENUES Outside the Forum Colosseum Circus Maximus