Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/567

AMPHITHEATRE. are among the finest remains of Roman architecture. Whenever possible, the natural lay of the ground was utilized to save expense, by cutting part of the seats in the natural rock and using the hillside as an incline. But in most cases the amphitheatres were entirely free-standing structures of elliptical shape, built of brick, stone, and marble. The Coliseum at Rome seated 87,000 persons, according to a document of the fourth century; but Hülsen believes that there were that number of running feet of benches, and that only about 50,000 persons could be seated. Its greatest length is 616 feet, its greatest breadth 510 feet. Several others are of about the same size, as, for example, those at Pozzuoli, Capua, Italica, Verona, Tarragona, El-Jemm. The exterior wall of the Coliseum, 160 feet high, was divided into four stories; the three lower ones consisted of a series of arcades framed by architraves and pilasters, the lowest, Tuscan-Doric; the second, Ionic; the third, Corinthian, according to a common Roman usage. The upper story was broken merely by windows and pilasters, as well as by the high masts to support the awnings. The lower arcades served as entrances; four were main entrances; seventy-six were numbered entrances leading to the staircases. The arcades of the second and third stories opened on the covered promenade galleries, passage-ways, and staircases. To the upper story were fastened the great awnings, which protected the spectators from the sun when necessary. Other amphitheatres vary, from two stories at Nîmes, to three at Verona, three and a basement at Pola, to four at El-Jemm. The arrangements were as follows at the Coliseum: There were four tiers, or stories, of seats, forming the cavea, and corresponding to the four external stories. Under their foundations were five concentric corridors communicating with the staircases; and the raking vaults that support the seats and staircases are one of the most superb and impressive parts of the structure. The interior of the cavea, or place for the spectators, had three sections: the lower one, or podium, with the seats and thrones of honor; the mæniana, or lines of steps for the seats: the porticus, or portico. The podium was a platform immediately above the arena, reserved for the Emperor and other persons of greatest distinction, and crowned with special boxes and balconies. The mæniana were in three horizontal sections, where the spectators could be seated according to their rank; the equestrian order in the lower, the citizens in the middle, and the general populace in the upper section. Ordinarily, the women were obliged to be satisfied with the highest places under the portico. Each row of seats was numbered and the places chalked. A large personnel kept order. The central space, measuring 280 by 170 feet, in which the contests took place, was called the arena and was encircled by a low wall to protect the podium from the wild beasts. Under it was an elaborate system of substructures, not only for under-draining, but also for housing men and animals, with wells, windlasses, and inclined planes for hoisting the animals, and other means of communicating with the arena — such as the vomitoria — and with the outside — such as passages to the imperial palaces. Especially interesting is a row of beasts' dens following the oval outline of the arena above. The Coliseum has not preserved its seats; those at Verona and Nîmes have. Neither is the entire circuit of outer wall as well preserved in the Coliseum as at these cities or at Pola. At Capua and Pozzuoli the substructures of the arena are in perfect condition. Consult: Friedländer, Sittengeschichte Roms (Leipzig, 1887-93): De Ruggiero, Dizionario epigrafico (Rome, 1887-93); Middleton, Remains of Ancient Rome (London, 1892): Daremberg and Saglio, Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et Romaines (Paris, 1881-92), and Baumeister, Denkmaler des klassischen Alterthums (Munich, 1885-88).

AM'PHITRI'TE (Gk. Ἀμφιτρίτη). The daughter of the sea-god Nereus and of Doris; and the wife of Poseidon. Amphitrite was worshiped only in company with Poseidon, and appears with him on many painted votive tablets from Corinth. Her marriage forms the subject of a fine Roman marble relief, in Munich, with Poseidon, representing her as drawn in a car by Tritons, surrounded by Nereids and sea-monsters. She also appears with Poseidon in representations of assemblies of the gods.

AMPHIT'RUO, or AMPHIT'RYON. A comedy or burlesque by Plautus (q.v.), based on the legend of Jupiter and Alcmene, Amphitryon's wife. Its Greek prototype is unknown.

AMPHIT'RYON (Gk. Ἀμφιτρύων). Legendary son of Alcæus of Tiryns. He accidentally killed Electryon, father of Alcmene (q.v.), King of Mycenæ, for which deed he was expelled from Mycenæ. He took refuge in Thebes with his wife Alcmene. Here she became the mother of Heracles by Zeus, and of Iphicles, by Amphitryon. Amphitryon's tomb and the ruins of his house were shown in Thebes in the days of Pausanias.

AMPHITRYON. (1) A comedy of Molière, produced in 1668, and taken from that of Plautus. (2) An opera by Grétry, the words being by Sedaine, produced in Paris, 1781. (3) A comedy by Andrieux, presented in 1782. There are also operas with this title in Italian, Portuguese, and Swedish.

AMPHITRYON, OR THE TWO SO'CIAS. A comedy by Dryden, with musical portions, produced in 1690. It was adapted from Molière's play.

AM'PHIU'MA (Corruption from Gk. ἀμφί, amphi, on both sides + πνεῦμα, pneuma, breath, referring to the gill). A genus of tailed amphibia that loses its tadpole gills but retains in the adult stage one gill-slit on each side of the neck; hence it is half-way between the mud-puppy (Proteus), which retains its external gill's throughout life, and the newts, which retain neither gills nor slits. See.

AM'PHORA (Gk. ἀμφορεύς, amphoreus, Homeric ἀμφιφορεύς, amphiphoreus, from ἀμφί, amphi, on both sides, and φερειν, pherein, to carry). Among the Greeks and Romans, a large vessel, usually made of clay, with a narrow neck and two handles. Many amphoræ ended in a sharp point below for insertion in a stand or in the ground. The pointed form of the amphora was used for preserving wine and oil, as in the Panathenaic amphoræ. A peculiar tall and slender form was the Loutrophoros. which was used for water for the bridal bath and to mark the graves of the unmarried. The amphora appears in a great variety of forms among the