What was a day at the Roman Colosseum like? - From Tickets to T-Shirt Catapults DOCUMENTARY

The Romans had many sources of entertainment, but none loomed so large for them, or even us today, as the famed spectacles in the Colosseum. Yet while most media focused their attention on what happened within the blood-stained arena, today I wanted to explore what it would be like from the perspective of your everyday spectator. All the way from buying your ticket, to finding your seat, getting snacks, rooting for your favorite gladiator, winning prizes, and rushing home to beat the traffic. So come on, let's spend a day at the games. In this video we'll be covering how the everyday person accessed the grand events of the Roman Colosseum. Today our sponsor Masterworks is also here to open the gates to folks like you and I. Masterworks is a platform that allows you to invest in the art world that was once the exclusive playground of the ultra-rich. 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There's a wait list, but by clicking the link in the description below you can start investing and support the channel, so check it out today. I wanted to begin by setting the historical stage for you. After all, gladiatorial games were an old Roman tradition which stretched out and evolved over roughly 800 years. We cover this history in greater depth in our episode on the rise of the gladiators which you can check out, but for now I will provide just a brief overview. The basic idea is that the blood sport began as a religious ritual meant to honor the dead. Such buner were initially privately held but gradually came to take place in public spaces. Here they quickly attracted an audience as the entertainment and propaganda value of these events proved self-evident. Soon politicians began to compete fiercely amongst one another to see who could organize the most elaborate games. This in turn led to the creation of a massive gladiatorial industry set to make their dreams a reality. Thus by the late republic hundreds of gladiators and wild animals were being trotted out before the crowds for multi-day events with accompanying parades, feasts, and parties. The disruption of the servile and civil wars temporarily slowed down the rise of gladiators but once peace was restored their return was inevitable. During the imperial period the games roared back to life ascending to new heights with such spectacles as the massive Namaquia of Augustus and Claudius. Shortly thereafter came the construction of the famed coliseum capable of holding 80,000 spectators. It is during this era of the golden age of the gladiator which we shall set our episode. So the first thing we might want to know is just how did one exactly get into the coliseum to see one of these famous games? Well unlike the modern tourist attraction it wasn't open for visitors every day of the week. Rather the coliseum would only open its doors to the public on scheduled days. These corresponded to certain festivals throughout the year or celebratory events like triumphs or the dedication of new major building projects. One surviving calendar from the 4th century AD indicates that there were just 10 days of the year on which games were scheduled so roughly one a month on average. However on major occasions spectacles might actually run for 100 days on end as was the case for Trajan's victory over the Dacians in 107 AD. That may seem like quite a lot but in reality the games of the coliseum were eclipsed by the frequency of the chariot races over in the Circus Maximus. So let's say you were new in town how would you know when one of these big days was approaching? Well as it turns out that would be quite hard to miss. Games of the imperial period were highly organized with dates being selected and preparations being made months in advance. The person in charge known as the aeditor had their hands full. Beasts had to be imported from exotic locations, gladiatorial schools had to be contracted, amenities had to be acquired, and everything had to be set up just so. This flurry of activity would send waves through the commercial world as the orders of the aeditor were fulfilled. In addition you would also see advertising campaigns for the event. These consisted of hiring artists to paint giant ads on buildings, producing programs for the day which listed the events and stats of the gladiators and otherwise spreading news through word of mouth. Here is one example of an ad we've recovered from The gladiator troop hired by Allosudius Curtius will fight in Pompeii on May 31st. There will also be a wild animal hunt. The awnings will be used. As the day of the great event drew closer the social buzz would have been inescapable especially for the larger events. This sort of word of mouth excitement was exactly the sort of thing that an aeditor was looking to create and it would not be surprising to find out that they sent out volunteers or paid staff to spread gossip and scratch out evocative graffiti. In addition an aeditor might set up small teaser events to further generate buzz. Things like walking a giraffe around the forum or displaying caged beasts outside the coliseum seemed like no-brainer marketing ploys. Alright, so now that the people know when the games will occur, how would they actually get in? Well, it turns out that the Romans had a ticketing system for designating seats much like our own modern events. These typically consisted of pottery shards with a listed entrance gate, level, section, and row number. Tickets were free for the masses and would be distributed months in advance to powerful individuals and groups who would in turn disperse them as they saw fit. However, considering that Rome had a population far larger than could fit in the coliseum, it's possible that not everyone who wanted to go could do so. In such situations you might just have to wait until the next availability. Alternatively, there was an unofficial market of scalpers collecting and reselling tickets who you could seek out, so maybe you knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy that could get you tickets for the big show and might even get you better seats for a reasonable price. When the scheduled day arrived you were to come to the coliseum. Usually events started in the morning and ended in the evening, but really you could come and go at any time. Perhaps you might show up early to chat with some friends and wander through the vendor stands that had set up shop in the plaza outside. Many would have been selling food and drink with which to snack on during the events. Others would be selling useful items like mats, cushions, and umbrellas to be brought into the arena. There were also more exotic items for the super fans. These included used weapons thought to bring vitality, vials of gladiator sweat that apparently went into women's body oils or cosmetics, as well as blood from slain fighters which would be used in wedding ceremonies and other rituals. Tucked away in other areas would be the more illicit activities such as gambling. Here you could bet on anything from small games of dice to the outcomes of upcoming gladiatorial matches. Technically such gambling was illegal in Rome, but it became permissible on certain festival days and at other times the authorities merely turned a blind eye. For example we hear of how Augustus himself once bet and lost 30,000 sesterces on a gladiatorial match. With so much financially at stake, it's likely that investments were also being made into magic and voodoo to sway the outcome of events. This would have taken the form of spells and curse tablets which were ubiquitous in the Roman world and which we covered in a previous episode. So all this considered there was really a lot of ways you could have fun and mischief at the Colosseum without ever going inside, but for our purposes let's assume we are here for the games and are ready to go in. The next step will be to proceed to the correct gate marked on your ticket. Finding the right one might take a little time for newcomers as there were 80 of them. Two were reserved for the imperial family, two for gladiators, and the other 76 for spectators. If it was a particularly busy day you might have to wait in line as the crowd streamed in, however the building was engineered with plenty of stairways to maximize traffic flow and you shouldn't have to wait too long before reaching the ticket check and being allowed in. Ancient sources claim that the whole structure could be filled or emptied in just 15 minutes. Once inside you would then proceed to your designated level either by asking the way or referring to handy diagrams on the wall. The levels were a reflection of the social order. The first tier for example had arena side seating and their luxurious setup. It was reserved for the most important Romans including the emperor and his entourage, the royal family, the Vestal Virgins, the senators, and other nobles or religious figures. So entrenched was their status that these individuals and groups often had their names actually carved into their stone seating. Behind them was the second tier which was reserved for non-senatorial equestrians. The third tier meanwhile held the plebeians, the bulk of Rome's citizen population, and behind this in the fourth and later fifth tier held the poor, the non-citizens, the foreigners, and the women. Generally the further away you were the more bare and cramped your seating and at a certain point there was only standing room available. Ovid has a great passage that illustrates the relatable experience of a crowded arena quite well. Quote, Yes, the circus does offer some advantages in its seating rules. On the right, whoever you are, be more considerate of the lady. You're hurting her by pressing up against her. And you too, behind us, draw in your legs if you have any sense of decency and don't stick your bony knees in her back. So just as today, there would be all the usual drama in the stands. People would flirt, joke, argue, gamble, eat, laugh, belch, chant, and brawl. There wasn't much security at these events and at the end of the day the unruly masses simply did their thing. This drew some flack from later Christian writers like Clement of Alexandria who lamented the promiscuous vices of the mingling crowd of women and men, arguing that such events should therefore be banned. But for everyone else, the social nature of the games were part of their appeal. So now that we found our seat, what can we expect from the day? Well, you could find the answer on the programs that had been prepared for the event. But even without these, it should be quite easy to guess as the spectacles often followed a predictable format that had first been standardized by Augustus. This had four basic parts. The pompa, which was an opening procession of the showrunners and entertainers. The venaciones, which were the morning beast hunts. The meridiani, which was the lunch break, often involving executions. And the munera, which were the afternoon gladiatorial matches. Let's now cover each of these in greater detail. The pompa kicked off the spectacles officially with a standardized parade. By tradition, the lictors of the aeditor came first, followed by trumpeters, whose fanfare would announce the bearers of the gods, or at least idols of them. Next would be the official scribes of the spectacle, who would take the records of the day's events, preserving them for all posterity. Next came the aeditor himself, parading in a manner of his choosing. A mural from Pompeii shows an aeditor entering with a parade of horses, and it's not so much of a stretch to imagine that chariots and even elephants may have been used in this capacity. Yet no matter how hard the organizer tried, the crowd would always cheer louder for the true stars of the show who came next, the gladiators. With 80,000 people cheering and the trumpets sounding off, it must have been an insanely raucous event that could be heard far beyond the walls of the Colosseum. Once the parade had concluded, the participants would disperse to their respective stations. Now, the venetiones could begin. These featured a wide array of animals that would put the full scope of the Roman Empire on display. Spectators saw lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, bears, elephants, rhinos, apes, giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, ostriches, seals, and more. They might be trotted out through the gates or lifted up through hidden trapdoors. To further add to the scene, there might also have been plants and terrain added to the arena to make it seem like their natural environment, almost like a zoo exhibit. Sometimes the goal was just to have the exotic nature of the animal speak for itself, or to have it perform a neat trick. This could be as simple as having a seal balance a ball on its nose. One of my favorite anecdotes though, is the ludicrous mention of having trained monkeys don soldier's armor and ride around on goats as if they were doing battle. However, as entertaining as this might be the first few times, the people always wanted more sensational events, which often meant having animals fight one another or fight some humans. The latter proved extremely popular and often featured prominently on the ads of the Colosseum. In these events, fierce beasts, often trained to kill, would be pitted against a guanator, or hunter, with nothing more than light padding and a spear. It was a true contest of skill on both sides with the added stakes that the human had not just to survive, but to make a show of it. In these duels, the crowd might just as easily cheer on a hunter with a string of victories under his belt, as they would a notorious predator with a bloody history to its name. The level of animal killing in the games is insane, and numbered in the hundreds if not thousands slain for the particularly large spectacles. So bloodthirsty were the Romans that they literally drove several species to extinction due to the popularity of these hunts. Eventually, as the sun rose higher and higher and noon approached, the massive awnings of the Colosseum which were operated by the sailors would be unfurled. These helped keep the vast crowds cool while leaving a central hole to illuminate the arena. In addition, we hear of water pipes called sparsiones that helped pump water into the arena and misted the entire area, efficiently combating the heat. Apparently, some emperors even added perfumes to the water to create an even more pleasing environment. As the crowd began to cool off both physically and emotionally from the morning events, they could now enjoy the intermission known as the meridiani. This would be a good time to stretch your legs, go to the bathroom, and grab some water. Once more, there would be vendors outside and throughout the Colosseum to meet your every need. In true Roman fashion, there were even prostitutes available. With no concern for privacy, the nooks and crannies of the building would be filled with people either having sex or trying to sell it. The archways called fornices are the root of the English fornication for a reason, and were a popular diversion. As you meteorite back to your seat, or perhaps enter the Colosseum for the first time, you would also be presented with the main scheduled event for the lunch break, the execution of condemned criminals that had been saved up for the games. Hollywood likes to embellish these, giving the embattled individuals a chance at survival and freedom if they won. In reality though, the Romans were not actually that merciful. Those who went in to die almost never came back alive. While this was a near certainty, the particular method of execution was up to the organizer. As recounted by ancient authors, these could be gruesomely sadistic. For instance, Marshall tells of a recreation of Prometheus with the criminal being staked out and sliced open for an oncoming beast. Another time, performers were made to dance in gaudy clothes until gladiators emerged to stab them and set them on fire. Some were fed to hungry beasts, while one Roman novel writes of a murderess who was sentenced to be publicly raped by a donkey before both were devoured by lions. It was a truly brutal, brutal spectacle. While many in the crowd certainly cheered, we have numerous ancient authors who wrote and discussed about the practice that lacked any redeeming qualities of honor or bravery. Eventually, after the hour or two of intermission, it would be time for the most popular events of the day, the Munera, or the gladiatorial matches. These were the real appeal of the spectacles, and it's at noon that the coliseum would truly begin to fill to capacity. Apparently, so many people swarmed in that actors would complain regularly that their spectators would vanish almost instantly when a gladiator show was about to begin. The gladiators themselves came from different backgrounds. Many were slaves or criminals condemned to the arena, while others might actually be paid volunteers and freemen. Whatever the case, they would often undergo some training to make sure they put on a good show. This typically meant specializing in one of the more than 20 fighting styles, including the heavily armed Murmillo or the light, net-wielding Retiarius. Different styles naturally had their own pros and cons, and the best fighters pitted various combinations against one another for dynamic action. This was especially important when it came to the more professional duels between masters of their respective craft. Such famed gladiators were celebrities who might only have three to five public matches a year. You would not want to miss these when they came around. Such bouts might last anywhere from just a few minutes to upwards of 15. The pros knew how to work the crowd with dazzling moves which would in turn be even more dramatized through the use of music to build tension and sound off the hits. To keep the high-end matches fair, there were actually referees involved who enforced rules, separated opponents, or called an end to the Contrary to popular belief, not every battle was fought to the death, and many times a gladiator could merely be bested in a non-lethal manner or shown mercy. It was really about the performance they gave. For instance, if a fighter showed cowardice or fought poorly, the crowd might turn against them and begin to chant for their punishment. When the mob mentality of tens of thousands took hold, there was little an emperor could do but obey. Once the deed was done and the soul was dispatched, it was customary for an attendant dressed as Chiron, the ferryman of Hades, to strike the defeated gladiator to confirm his death, at which point he would be carded off. In this way, the afternoon at the Colosseum would be filled with multiple duels that often built up to your big headliners. Along the way, small lulls between matches would be opportunities for the crowd to once again stretch their legs, go to the bathroom, and grab a bite. However, one reason to remain in your seat would be the sparsiones mausoleum, which were basically the ancient equivalent to the t-shirt canon, only better. The way this worked is that small wooden balls would be filled with a piece of parchment that could be redeemed for special prizes. These could be anything from small rewards of food or cash to truly incredible valuables like silver, gold, slaves, horses, elephants, and even apartments or country estates. Emperors were famous for their particular impish sense of humor when it came to crafting prizes. Elagabalus, for instance, amused himself with having a range of prizes at one event, from a bear to a dormus, and from ten cabbages to ten pounds of gold. Needless to say, these were far more popular than foul balls are today, and when the Massilia were brought out, violence was soon to follow. Seneca, for instance, describes how they were used at virtually all public entertainment, and that it was best to leave before they started to be thrown. Herodian even describes how it was common for people to murder each other over catching the prizes, and how there were speculators who hung outside the arena, paying people for unopened prizes. This irony, that this final bout of violence was often orchestrated among the audience themselves, was lost on them, as well as the fact that the fights over the prizes often led to the destruction of the slip of paper that the prize was on. There will be much more to cover in our series on gladiators, but for now this is where we will end our episode. I've absolutely loved exploring the Colosseum from the audience's perspective, and continue to be amazed by just how familiar many aspects of the past are to us today. If you'd like to bring a piece of that past home as well, you can actually check out some of the merch from our store, which we've created to celebrate a day at the games. These help ensure we can keep making more awesome documentaries, so please consider a purchase. A huge thanks to the patrons as well for funding the channel, and to the researchers, writers, and artists for making this episode possible. Be sure to like, and subscribe for more content, and check out these other related episodes. See you in the next one.