Colosseum, a bloody acre of yore

by Siripathy JAYAMAHA

The capital of Italy is Rome and Roma in Italian, and with its letters reversed it is Amor. Amor means love in Italian. And who doesn't fall in love with Roma the eternal city.

Before we step into the mighty Colosseum, let us stroll into history and a cradle of civilisation that gave to the world one of the wonders of the world. Rome is the only capital of a country wherein another state exists. The tiniest state in the world, the Vatican is governed by His Holiness the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. The magnificent St. Peter's Basilica occupy the centre. Within it are found sculptures by Michael Angelo and the catacombs where the early Christians had taken refuge.

Interior view of the Colosseum

Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa' and the 'Last Supper of Jesus Christ' are paintings that cannot be valued. All, beauties to behold. The river Tiber flowing by the city and the gondoliers of Venice brings memories of the serene Kelani Ganga and the Padar boats steered by boatmen with long sticks or "Riti". The 'Fountain of Trevi' is a must for tourists. Reminds us of Frank Sinatra's immortal song 'Three coins in the fountain'.

Now we come to the Colosseum. It was is and will be one of the most stupendous edifices built by man. Earthquakes and time has caused the edifice to deteriorate. Still it is an imposing structure with a history to match. A few misconceptions. Christians had never been martyred by Nero in the Colosseum. These atrocities took place in Amphitheatres, constructed earlier.

The Colosseum or the Amphitheatre Flavium was named after emperor Vespasian, a member of the Flavium family. The name Colosseum was not attached to the Amphitheatre until the 8th century. It was to be yet another recreational facility for the Roman populace.

Drained

It is built on marshy land. Nero had made a lake close by. This was going to be the site. Vespasian engineers had drained it. It is indeed a marvel of engineering that made such an enormous structure to be erected on such marshy ground. We bring to mind with pride the engineering marvels, such as the 54 mile, linch to a mile, slow flowing gradient. Giant Canal or Yoda Ela as compared to the Roman Aquaducts, anicuts at Liyana Dhora, irrigation tanks and the ingenious Aqua flow-methods devised to take water top to the summit of Sigiriya by our beloved engineers of yore requested by our sagacious monarchs of the past. One digression is begged from the readers. The required skill of the Roman engineers were to beautify the city and construct edifices for combat. Our engineering feats enabled a populace to irrigate and grow. Yes for all time. None of these angels of engineering (Roman and ours) had computers and hi-tech apparatus, to guide them.

Consider the Colosseum's measurements. 620 feet long 513 feet wide and 160 feet high. There were four storeys apart from the basement and sub-basement. All of solid masonry. Corridors were of stone, clamped together with iron. The interior was part concrete, part stone. Bricks had also been used. Little wood had been used. Only thick oak wood for the floor of the arena that gave access to trap doors, elaborate storage facilities for stage-rooms, stage sets, armouries dens and drains under the structure.

The Colosseum had eighty entrances. Two entrances opposite to each other of the short axis. One was for the Emperor and his entourage. The other, for Ambassadors and VIPs. All with grandstand views of only 15 feet from the floor of the arena. The tiers were divided for warriors, tribunes, senators, soldiers and commoners with special tiers for women.

Work began in AD 72. The great Vespasion died before it came up to the final fourth story. It had taken seven years. His son Titus bent on perverted cruelty completed it. Invitation were sent to the elite. The populace flocked in their thousands and filled the 50,000 seats made of marble and stone. The festival of blood began. Beast against beast, bears against bovines, elephant against Rhino, Elephant against elephant. Then man against man and man against man. Brought memories of G.B. Shaw's 'Androcles and the Lion'.

The ribaldry went on for a 100 days. Titus died one year later. It is said that 5,000 animals and an unaccountable number of humans died.

Gladiator

The games went on. They were sponsored. Funny they were there even in ancient times. Fights for sponsorship. Names of gladiator with their records for killing animals and humans were displayed all over.

The stage was set. The animals were in the dens. Then came the sponsor in a chariot. Other chariots followed with gladiators and slaves bearing their armour and arms. The 50,000 blood thirsty populace goes mad, shouting, dancing, amidst an array of may be substitutes for pizzas, sweetmeats and vino.

Like the ice cream vendors, kadala and vadai sellers in the packed Sugathadasa Stadium waiting for the games to begin. Then the spectacle, The Emperor walks in, clad in his flamboyant toga, acknowledging the lusty-cries of the Populus Romanus "Hail to thee Emperor". Somewhat like our 'Jayawewa'. The gladiators who are about to die salute him and the citizens. The Emperor stands holds, the scarf he had in his hand aloft.

Then he drops it. Amidst trumpets "Let the games begin" he says. These spectacular opening words are uttered even at present, on similar occasions. The fights begin. The vanquished holds up his hand and begs for clemency. Had the fight been thrilling and exciting, the hysterical crowd will shout for mercy from the Chief. Then his thumb goes up. A grateful and bleeding man is carried away.

Should the spectators gesture to the chief, that the fight was boring, then his thumb turn earthwards. Then mother earth gets soaked in blood. The winner had acknowledged the verdict. 'Jugula' or kill.

A crew of slaves wake the bloodied sand and another group drags the 'dead' with iron hooks into the Death Gate. The victor approaches the emperor. Spectators go wild, and throw their sweaty, night caps into the air. The victor receives the tiara from the emperor. Also many gifts amid sighs from the ladies.

The next duel begins. It goes on and on. Gladiators were able bodied prisoners of war or slaves or condemned criminals whose lives were akin to animals. Records show that about 5,000 gladiators had died during Emperor Trojan and 300 pairs by Julius Caesar. The winners were the heroes of Rome. Ladies wooed them, children adored them.

It reminds us of the Masais of olden day Kenya who had to fight with a lion if he was to take the hand of a chief's daughter. Gladiators fought with a shield, a sword and dagger. Slaves carried their armour. The opponent had a cast net (Visi dela) slung over his shoulder, a dagger for the final trust and also a trident. There were also those who fought with eyeless helmets, and slashed at each other with gay abandon. There had been intermissions with light entertainment like chariot rides. Chariots drawn by teams of panthers or antics by elephants. No, the people wanted blood. Human blood. The sponsors had to accede. They started their 'non stop' human blood baths. Two condemned men fought, one armed and the other empty handed, actually scourged into the arena. Next the winner had to fight unarmed with another armed gladiator. It went on and on. In 402 AD a horror stricken monk jumped into the arena and tried to separate the two duelists. He was cut to pieces. Honorius, an emperor abolished duels permanently.

Human slaughter stopped. But the blood thirsty Romans had to be appeased. So they turned to animals. At times, spectators used to swarm into the arena to give a hand in the massacre of the quadrupeds.

The butchery ended in AD 523. Generations of lions elephants, hippos and many other gigantic mammals were completely exterminated from the African Continent.

Then suddenly, the groans, tears and the unbearable agonies of humans and our dumb friends were answered. In AD 422 an earthquake cracked the walls of the Colosseum. Other quakes followed and by AD 1255 most of its tiers and walls were brought down. It became a haven for indescribable activities. Also a tourists must, when in Rome.

One of the seven wonders of the world. Also one of bloodiest acres in the world. It is said that Pope Gregory XIV had taken a handful of the arena's earth, whilst in the company of some ambassadors.

He had squeezed 'a handful. Blood had dripped from the hand". No explanations had been necessary. Still, the Colosseum is indeed a most awe-inspiring structure. Visitors now gaze at the ruins of a playground of death, with their minds eye of a glorious edifice built by man.

Postscript

These atrocities happened nearly 850 years back. Sadly, Man has seen much more acreages of blood, during the past two centuries.

The two world wars The Holocaust, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Mai Lai, Bunkers with children shelled, 9-11 and the blood and tears shed in our motherland. They beat the happenings in the Colosseum by leagues.