Panem et Circenses: The Role of the Colosseum in Ancient Rome’s Social Order
The name “Colosseum” probably comes from the Colossus of Nero, a big bronze statue that was probably moved near the amphitheater and of which the foundations may still be visible.
People started calling both structures the “Colosseum” because Rome was a well-known place at the end of the Roman Empire and maybe even in the first few centuries of the Middle Ages. This is true even though the 30 meter-tall statue of Nero is no longer there.
The Colosseum is the biggest of all the Roman amphitheaters, but a building with such huge dimensions has probably never been built before or since. It was originally 52 meters long and 527 meters around. It is an elliptical amphitheater that could hold up to 50,000 people.
Panem et circenses
The Colosseum was a great example of the phrase “Panem et circenses.” It had a 527-meter wall around it, and up to 50,000 people could fit inside.
Games were played there more than anywhere else in Rome. It was free to get in, and the games there were a big part of keeping the empire’s social order. The Colosseum was a good example of the phrase “Panem et circenses,” which means “bread and shows.” Both the free entertainment and the low-cost grain donations (frumentationes) served a clear social purpose that helped the Emperor of Rome keep tensions low among the people.
People went to the Colosseum to watch different kinds of games. Some of these games used animals and included fights between different kinds of animals, even wild beasts, or real hunts inside the arena (Venationes). Animals were also used in some cases of death sentences, which was called “Damnatio ad bestias.”
In the first few years that the amphitheater was used, real naval battles were also held there. At the time, the floor of the arena was a wooden structure that could be moved around. This meant that the Colosseum could be filled with water and used to play with snow and have real naval battles.
Then, under the arena, a complicated system of stone corridors was built thanks to Emperor Domitian (51–96 AD), the last of the Flavians. These hallways served the needs of the scene and had freight elevators that made it easy for animals and gladiators to get quickly onto the arena.
And it was the myth of the gladiators and their fights (munera) that made the Colosseum famous all over the world. The Colosseum has become a symbol of these fights, which used to be the most important part of the games. The most important fights took place in the afternoon.
Do you think that the games to open the Colosseum during Tito’s reign lasted about three months and ended with the deaths of thousands of animals and gladiators on the arena?
When you look out from the Colosseum arena today, you can’t help but think about the hard fights that used to happen there in front of a screaming crowd on sand that was often red.
The Visit
The Colosseum is mostly just a set of bones now. Over the years, many of its marble and metal coverings, as well as parts of its stonework, have been taken off. In fact, it was used as a quarry inside the city of Rome in the Middle Ages, and many of its stones were used to build Christian temples.
The underground area, on the other hand, was filled in soon after the Roman Empire ended (the last show seems to have been in 533 AD), and this part of the building stayed in good shape until it was almost completely rediscovered in the 1800s.
The underground
The underground is one of the most interesting parts of a visit to the Colosseum, but you can’t get there without a guided tour, since a standard ticket doesn’t let you see the arena floor or the third ring.
The basements still have their original marble floors, and you can see the buildings that Domitian wanted to build as well as some signs of the high-tech freight elevators that brought animals and gladiators right onto the arena floor.
The water channels that brought water to different parts of the Colosseum are still there, and most of the most important discoveries have been made in the sewage system. This has helped archaeologists figure out what people who went to the games did for a living.
The nobles and patricians sat on the first level, which was mostly made of marble. The bourgeoisie sat in the middle, and the commoners sat in the upper part of the auditorium, which was mostly made of wood.
Since the games were free, a lot of people came to watch them all day long. They brought food and other useful things, which archaeologists later found in the sewage drains.
Most of the things that have been found are put on display in glass cases along the normal path. Just think: there were 170 days a year when it rained or snowed in Rome.
You can also go up to the third level, which has a very steep staircase, on a guided tour. From the top, you can get a great view of the whole arena as well as the nearby Forum and Arch of Constantine. But even with a simple ticket that lets you get to the second level, you can see a beautiful view of the whole Colosseum cavern.
Useful information
On Via dei Fori Imperiali, right next to where Line B (Colosseum) gets off the subway, is the entrance to the Colosseum. You can buy an entrance ticket at the ticket office once you’re inside. Because there are so many people, it’s best to buy your ticket online in advance. That way, you can avoid the long lines that form every day inside the arcade to get to the ticket office.
Traditional views start at 9 a.m. and go on until 4:30 p.m. in the winter and 7:30 p.m. in the summer.
Tickets: The full price for an access ticket is €12, while the discounted price is €7.50 if you buy it before the event.
Guided tours
The Underground Tour takes you from the Dungeons to the Third Level on a guided tour. If you buy it online, it costs 21 euros plus 1.5 euros for pre-sale rights. It comes with a strong recommendation. The tour is always full if you try to sign up on site, so it’s best to book ahead of time. The Moon over the Colosseum is a new tour for 2013. It runs from 8:20 p.m. to midnight (the last departure is at 10:45 p.m.), and it takes you inside the Colosseum while it is lit up in a mysterious way. The tour costs €20, but this time you can’t book the entrance online.