Lecture 18 Flashcards
(37 cards)
What does Amphitheater mean and what was its nickname?
Theatre in the round, they are ovals and SAND because the sand on the floor would soak up the blood
What was the first known amphitheatre?
Rome, built out of stone
Where did they hold gladiatorial combats and animal hunts?
Combats were held in the forum(downtown) and hunts in the circus.
How were semi-permanent amphitheaters used?
Torn down after a month or 2, built out of wood, they were very costly to build
How was the 1st amphitheatre destroyed?
In the Great Fire
How many emperors ruled during the 13 years it took to build?
3
Why was this amphitheatre so much larger than the others?
It was built on what was supposed to be a private lake for Emperor Nero
What was the building made of?
Brick and Marble on the surface, also used concrete guts but the concrete is too heavy for such a tall building, they used a lot of arches to lighten it, near the top the added volcanic rock because its very light
What was the foundation of the building?
Limestone, which makes it very sturdy
What were the seat made of?
Marble, all white which was the cheapest form of marble, though there were coloured areas for the VIP area
How many levels did the building have?
4
What was on the ground story?
Just a series of doric columns (most basic one)
What was on the second story?
Ionic columns(a little more fancy looking) with a parapet which would prevent people from calling off but it was quite low so people could still die
What was on the third story?
Corinthians columns (super fancy) with a parapet
What was on the fourth story?
It was just a solid wall with windows, pilaster and braces
What are braces?
They are above the windows and they held up the poles, which would project above the coliseum and had ropes/fabrics on them, you were able to have a retractable dome
What is a 2 step limestone?
2 stairs walk up that are different colours to get to the amphitheatre
What are Gilded Shields?
Looked gold but aren’t gold, they just decorated the exterior of the amphitheatre
How many entrance did they have in Rome?
80 so you could get in and out quickly, there would be a specific entrance you had to use on your ticket
What were the 4 “reserved” entrances?
They were for the high class people, such as the emperor and family, the other 76 were for the commoners
Why did they want people to get in and out quickly?
They were concerned about violence NOT connivence
What is a Cavea?
Seating
What did the first 20 rows mean?
Meant you were in the upper class
What was the highest levels like?
Made of wood, didn’t have the marble seating
