As you probably well know, Gladiators fought for their lives against beasts and men in this pit of glory where crowds of spectators cheered with excitement, but here are some less well-known facts for you to chew on.
- Did you know that the events were free to enter? That’s right! The emperors of the time saw it fit to keep up public relations, offering entertainment and even free food to gobble while watching the games. Sometimes they even threw money at the spectators to keep them interested!
- The ringmaster of the games was known as the Editor, sometimes who was the emperor himself, who decided if the loser should live or die, however, sometimes gladiators refused to kill their opponents!
- Graffiti may be frowned upon today, unless of course it is a work of art. Things weren’t so different two millennia ago as both gladiators and fans scrawled the walls of the Colosseum with their markings.
- Talking of which, the internal walls of the Colosseum were painted in bright colours for that ‘modern’ deco effect!
- And… Even though the Colosseum was completed in 80 A.D. it still holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest amphitheatre!
We hope that one day you can visit this magnificent monument, knowing its secrets, and knowing fine well that this was a place for the ancient people of Rome.