Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/819

Rh AMPHITHEATRE 775 eix being numbered and allotted to the general body of spectators, while four, at the extremities of the axes of the ellipse, were the principal entrances. The higher arcades had a low parapet with (apparently) a statue in each arch, and gave light and air to the passages which surrounded the building. The openings of the arcades above the principal entrances were larger than the rest, and were adorned with figures of chariots. The highest stage was much more solid, being composed of a continuous wall of masonry, only pierced by forty small square windows. The object of this may have been to obtain the necessary .-; )lidity and weight for steadying the poles which supported the awning, and must have had to carry a severe inward strain. The alternate arcades were ornamented with metal ahields. There was also a series of brackets to support the poles on which the awning was stretched. The interior may bo naturally divided into the arena and the cavea, with their respective appendages. The arena was the portion assigned to the combatants, and derived its name from the sand with which it was strewn, to absorb the blood and prevent it from becoming slippery. Some of the emperors showed their prodigality by substituting precious powders, and even gold dust, for sand. The arena was generally of the same shape as the amphitheatre itself, and was separated from the spectators by a wall built perfectly smooth, that the wild beasts might not by any possibility climb it. At Rome it was faced inside with polished marble, but at Pompeii it was simply painted. For further security, it was surrounded by a metal railing or network, and the arena was some times surrounded also by a ditch (euripus), especially on account of the elephants. Connected with the arena were the dens from which the beasts came, and the rooms where the gladiators met before the show began. In spite of the excavations which have been made, it is not very easy to understand how all the effects described by ancient authors were produced; for after the regular shows were over, the arena was sometimes filled with water, and sea-fights were exhibited with ships. The part assigned to the spectators was called cavea. In the different amphitheatres whose ruins have been examined, there are some differences in the arrangements, but the general features are nearly the same in all. The cavea was divided into several galleries, concentric with the outer walls, and therefore, like them, of an elliptic form. The place of honour was the lowest of these, nearest to the arena, and called the podium. The divisions in it were larger, so as to be able to contain movable seats. At Rome it was here that the emperor sat, his seat bearing the name of suggestum. The senators, principal magis trates, vestal virgins, the provider (editor) of the show, and other persons of note, occupied the rest of the podium. At Nismes, besides the nigh officials of the town, the podium had places assigned to the principal guilds, whose names are still seen inscribed upon it, with the number of places reserved for each. In the Colosseum there were three mceniana or galleries above the podium, separated from each other by terraces (prcednctioncs) and walls (baltei). The lowest was appropriated to the eques trian order. Numerous passages (yomitoria) and small stairs gave access to them; while long covered corridors, behind and below them, served for shelter in the event of rain. At Pompeii each place was numbered, and elsewhere their extent is defined by little marks cut in the stone. The spectators were admitted by tickets (tesserce), and order preserved by a staff of officers appointed for the purpose. The height of the Colosseum is given as from 160 to 180 feet. The seats in the interior do not rise higher than the level of the third order of the exterior, that is, about half the entire height of the building; and this apparent excess of height beyond what was made available, has led some to suppose that there were upper seats and galleries, of which no trace now exists. The height, however, appears to have been necessary for the ventilation of the building. When such enormous crowds were packed closely together for several hours at a time on an Italian summer day, with an awning drawn over them, the atmo sphere would have become quite pestilential if there had not been a considerable space overhead, and at least one range of open arcades, unencumbered by any galleries to prevent the free circulation of air. Scented liquids were at times squirted over the spectators from concealed tubes; but no aroma would have compensated for the want of air, which the arcade all round the building, above the highest spectators, would supply. There may also have been another series of openings serving the same purpose be tween the top of the wall and the edge of the awning, which was supported upon poles. It has been calculated that the Colosseum contained 87,000 places, and that besides these, 15,000 more spectators could be admitted. The greatest length is about 612 feet, and the length of the shortest axis of the ellipse about 515 feet. The dimensions of the arena are variously stated by different writers, some making it 247 feet by 150, and others 281 by 176. With regard to the provincial amphitheatres, Maffei, in his account of that of Verona, appears to have unduly restricted their number, with the object of exalting the honour of the one he describes. Besides the Colosseum, he would hardly allow any ruins to be entitled to this name except those at Verona and Capua. But subsequent writers have not followed him in this rigorism ; and Fried- lander, who is the latest and most complete authority on the subject, gives the measurements and description of fifty-two. Naturally, the early ones would be of wood, like that erected by Atilius at Fidense in the time of Tiberius, which gave way while shows were being exhibited, on which occason 50,000 persons were killed or injured. One at Placentia is also mentioned, which is said to have been the most spacious then in Italy, and to have been burned in the wars between Otho and Vitellius by the inhabitants of a neighbouring town whose envy it had excited. Such disasters, coupled with the growing scarcity of wood and the greater facilities for quarrying stone, would naturally lead to the construction of more solid buildings. At the same time, the progress of this im provement must have been slow, and the building of at least the great majority of the provincial amphitheatres of stone may be ascribed to the period between the reign of Vespasian and that of Constantine, when the establish ment of Christianity threw a discredit on the cruel and bloody shows for which these vast structures were designed. Hadrian is especially commemorated for the numerous