Gladiators

For more than five hundred years spectacular events took place in amphitheatres, circuses and theatres across the Roman Empire. The most important leisure activities of their day, they captured the popular imagi­nation, and remain fascinating to this day. In the year of Ridley Scott's epic film Gladiator, The British Museum held the sensational exhibition "Gladiators and Caesars" in 2001, which looked at all aspects of the an­cient Roman entertainment industry. Using objects lent from European museums and major pieces from the British Museum's own collections, there were sections on gladiatorial combat, chariot-racing, athletics, box­ing, and the theatre.

Two armed men faced each other in an arena. There was no time limit; they fought until victory was decided. There was usually a clear winner; either one of the gladiators was so severely wounded that he died or was unable to continue, or he was forced to capitulate through exhaustion or loss of blood. His ultimate fate, however, still hung in the balance.

This was decided by the editor, the organizer or sponsor of the games, but he usually went along with the feeling of the crowd. If the loser had fought courageously and fairly, they might feel sympathy, and wave the hems of their togas or cloaks, crying 'missum!' or 'mitte!' ('let him go'). However, if his performance displeased them, they would demand his death, turning their thumbs up (pollice verso) and crying 'iugula!' ('kill him').

The first public appearance of gladiators in the city of Rome was in the third century ВС. Gladiatorial combat originated in warrior fights staged as part of funeral ceremonies for important citizens. The shedding of blood beside a dead man's grave is an ancient practice common to many Mediter­ranean cultures. During the second and first centuries ВС these spectacles became more and more common and elaborate. Gladiatorial schools re­cruited from among prisoners of war, slaves, condemned criminals and vol­unteers.

One of the most famous buildings from ancient rome

In Rome, by the late first century AD, gladiatorial combat took place in the huge stone amphitheatre, the Colosseum. Its ancient name was the Flavian Amphitheatre, after the Flavian dynasty founded by the emperor Vespasian (reigned 69-79). It was planned during \espasian's reign, but dedicated and opened by his son, Titus, in AD 80.

The Colosseum is a marvel of ancient engineering. With an estimated capacity of about 50,000 seats arranged in three tiers, the oval-shaped struc­ture measures 188 by 156 metres (205 by 170 yards) and is 52 metres (170 feet) high. The interior was executed entirely in marble, and the entrances were adorned with reliefs, painting and stucco work. In its fully developed form the arena itself had a wooden floor, beneath which were located a complex of rooms, cages for wild animals, and even lifts to bring the com­batants up into the arena.

The Colosseum took around eight to ten years to complete. The inaugural games lasted a hundred days, and it is said that no fewer than 5,000 animals were killed in an animal fight on a single day. Gladiatorial casualties were higher than ever known before. The people could take part in a free lottery: the emperors' servants threw hollow wooden balls into the audience, containing vouchers for clothes, food, cattle and even slaves.