Gladiators and the Colosseum Flashcards
What is the Cavea?
The Roman/Latin name for seating.
How many spectators could the Colosseum hold?
50,000.
How much was it to go to the Colosseum?
Nothing, it was free.
How much space did each Roman get in their seats?
40cm max per person.
How many rows did the lower tier (ima cavea) consist of? What were their seats made of?
12 rows of marble seats.
How many rows did the middle tier (media cavea)consist of? What were their seats made of?
19 rows of marble seats.
How many rows did the upper tier consist of? What were their seats made of?
7 rows of mainly wooden seats where poorer people, slaves and freedmen sat. 100 metres away from the action.
What was good about the shape of the Colosseum?
The circular/oval shape ensured everyone had a good view.
How many entrances did the Colosseum have and why?
80, to avoid trampling and separate upper class and lower class.
What people was the southern gate for in the Colosseum?
Emperor.
What people was the western gate for in the Colosseum?
Were the gladiatorial procession
What people was the northern gate for in the Colosseum?
Magistrates.
What people was the eastern gate for in the Colosseum?
Were the dead would be removed.
What show/event occurred in the morning?
The animals fought, over 1000 died daily. This demonstrated power of Rome and domination over humans. This show was very popular with humans.
What show/event occurred in the midday?
Condemned criminals fought each other and other criminals to the death. This served as an warning from the emperor to Romans to not break the rules.
What show/event occurred in the afternoon?
The main most popular event, the Gladiators fight. The crowd could decide the gladiators fate which they enjoyed doing.
What is the Lanista in Roman/Latin?
The man in charge for training the gladiators.
How long, on average, was a gladiatorial fight?
10 minutes.
True of false? Winning a single fight was the equivalent of a solider’s annual salary.
True.
What is a greave?
Armour to protect the lower leg.
What was the Murmillo gladiator like?
Murmillo= man-fish/fish fighter. Armed with a short sword, greave, large rectangular shield, padded arm protector and helmet with a fish designed on top.
What was the Thraex gladiator like?
Thraex= Thracian (Bulgarian). Used a curved sword, greaves to the knees, a medium shield and a crested helmet. Him and his sword were feared as the sword could inflict serious wounds.
What was the Retiarius gladiator like?
Retiarius= fisherman. The most lightly defended fighter, armed with a trident, a net, a shoulder shield and a small dagger. He was the most mobile as not weighed down by armour and appeared to the crowd as the perfect underdog.
What was the Secutor gladiator like?
Similar looking to the Murmillo, heavily armed with a short sword, a greave to his left leg, a legionary type shield and an egg-shaped helmet with two small eye holes.
