
Roman amphitheatres are theatres – large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating – built by the
ancient Romans
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
. They were used for events such as
gladiator
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
combats, ''
venationes'' (animal slayings) and executions. About
230 Roman amphitheatres have been found across the area of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medit ...
. Early amphitheatres date from the
Republican period, though they became more monumental during the
Imperial era.
[Bomgardner, 61.]
Amphitheatres are distinguished from
circuses
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicycl ...
and
hippodromes, which were usually rectangular and built mainly for racing events, and
stadia, built for
athletics, but several of these terms have at times been used for one and the same venue. The word ''amphitheatrum'' means "theatre all around". Thus, an amphitheatre is distinguished from the traditional semicircular
Roman theatres by being circular or oval in shape.
[Bomgardner, 37.]
Components

The Roman amphitheatre consists of three main parts: the ''
cavea
The ''cavea'' (Latin for "enclosure") are the seating sections of Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European ...
'', the
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...
, and the ''
vomitorium''. The seating area is called the ''cavea'' (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of ...
for "enclosure"). The ''cavea'' is formed of concentric rows of stands which are either supported by arches built into the framework of the building, or simply dug out of the hillside or built up using excavated material extracted during the excavation of the fighting area (the arena).
The ''cavea'' is traditionally organised in three horizontal sections, corresponding to the social class of the spectators:
* The ''ima cavea'' is the lowest part of the ''cavea'' and the one directly surrounding the arena. It was usually reserved for the upper echelons of society.
* The ''media cavea'' directly follows the ''ima cavea'' and was open to the general public, though mostly reserved for men.
* The ''summa cavea'' is the highest section and was usually open to women and children.
Similarly, the front row was called the ''prima cavea'' and the last row was called the ''cavea ultima''. The ''cavea'' was further divided vertically into ''cunei''. A ''cuneus'' (Latin for "wedge"; plural, ''cunei'') was a wedge-shaped division separated by the ''scalae'' or stairways.
The arched entrances both at the arena level and within the ''cavea'' are called the ''vomitoria'' (Latin "to spew forth"; singular, ''
vomitorium'') and were designed to allow rapid dispersal of large crowds.
History
Early amphitheatres

It is uncertain when and where the first amphitheatres were built. There are records attesting to temporary wooden amphitheatres built in the
Forum Romanum for gladiatorial games from the second century BC onwards, and these may be the origin of the architectural form later expressed in stone.
In his ''
Historia Naturalis'',
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
claims that the amphitheatre was invented during the spectacles of
Gaius Scribonius Curio in 53 BC, where two wooden semicircular theatres were rotated towards each other to form one circular amphitheatre, while spectators were still seated in the two halves.
But while this may be the origin of the architectural term ''amphitheatrum'', it cannot be the origin of the architectural concept, since earlier stone amphitheatres, known as ''spectacula'' or ''amphitheatera'', have been found.
According to
Jean-Claude Golvin, the earliest known stone amphitheatres are found in
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
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, at
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History
Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etrus ...
,
Cumae
Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...
and
Liternum, where such venues were built towards the end of the second century BC.
[Bomgardner, 59.] The next-oldest amphitheatre known, as well as one of the best-researched, is the
amphitheatre of Pompeii, securely dated to be built shortly after 70 BC.
[Bomgardner, 39.] There are relatively few other known early amphitheatres: those at
Abella,
Teanum and
Cales
Cales was an ancient city of Campania, in today's ''comune'' of Calvi Risorta in southern Italy, belonging originally to the Aurunci/ Ausoni, on the Via Latina.
The Romans captured it in 335 BC and established a colony with Latin rights of 2,5 ...
date to the
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
n era (until 78 BC), those at
Puteoli and
Telesia from the
Augustan (27 BC–14 AD). The amphitheatres at
Sutrium,
Carmo and
Ucubi were built around 40–30 BC, those at
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
and
Phaestum (Phase I) in the mid-first century BC.
Imperial era
In the
Imperial era, amphitheatres became an integral part of the Roman urban landscape. As cities vied with each other for preeminence in civic buildings, amphitheatres became ever more monumental in scale and ornamentation.
Imperial amphitheatres comfortably accommodated 40,000–60,000 spectators, or up to 100,000 in the largest venues, and were only outdone by the
hippodromes in
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
. They featured multi-storeyed, arcaded façades and were elaborately decorated with
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
and
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
cladding, statues and reliefs, or even partially made of marble.
[Bomgardner, 62.]
As the Empire grew, most of its amphitheatres remained concentrated in the Latin-speaking
Western half, while in the East spectacles were mostly staged in other venues such as theatres or stadia.
[Bomgardner, 192.] In the West, amphitheatres were built as part of
Romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
efforts by providing a focus for the
Imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. " Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult ma ...
, by private benefactors, or by the local government of colonies or provincial capitals as an attribute of Roman municipal status. A large number of modest arenas were built in
Roman North Africa
Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...
,
where most of the architectural expertise was provided by the Roman military.
[Bomgardner, 195.]
The late Empire and the decline of the amphitheatre tradition

Several factors caused the eventual extinction of the tradition of amphitheatre construction. Gladiatorial ''
munera''
began to disappear from public life during the 3rd century, due to economic pressure, philosophical disapproval and opposition by the increasingly predominant new religion of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popu ...
, whose adherents considered such games an abomination and a waste of money.
[Bomgardner, 201–202.] Spectacles involving animals, ''
venationes'', survived until the sixth century, but became costlier and rarer. The spread of Christianity also changed the patterns of public beneficence: where a pagan Roman would often have seen himself as a ''homo civicus'', who gave benefits to the public in exchange for status and honor, a Christian would more often be a new type of citizen, a ''homo interior'', who sought to attain a divine reward in heaven and directed his beneficence to alms and charity rather than public works and games.
[Bomgardner, 207.]
These changes meant that there were ever fewer uses for amphitheatres, and ever fewer funds to build and maintain them. The last construction of an amphitheatre is recorded in 523 in
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
under
Theoderic.
[Bomgardner, 221.] After the end of ''venationes'', the only remaining purpose of amphitheatres was to be the place of public executions and punishments. After even this purpose dwindled away, many amphitheatres fell into disrepair and were gradually dismantled for building material, razed to make way for newer buildings, or vandalized.
[Bomgardner, 223.] Others were transformed into fortifications or fortified settlements, such as at
Leptis Magna
Leptis or Lepcis Magna, also known by other names in antiquity, was a prominent city of the Carthaginian Empire and Roman Libya at the mouth of the Wadi Lebda in the Mediterranean.
Originally a 7th-centuryBC Phoenician foundation, it was great ...
,
Sabratha
Sabratha ( ar, صبراتة, Ṣabrāta; also ''Sabratah'', ''Siburata''), in the Zawiya District[Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...](_blank)
and
Pola, and in the 12th century the
Frangipani fortified even the Colosseum to help them in Roman power struggles.
[Bomgardner, 222.] Yet others were repurposed as Christian churches, including the arenas at Arles,
Nîmes,
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...
and
Salona
Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia.
Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...
; the Colosseum became a Christian shrine in the 18th century.
Of the surviving amphitheatres, many are now protected as historic
monuments; several are tourist attractions.
Important Roman amphitheatres
The Colosseum
The Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome, more generally known as the
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...
, is the archetypal and the largest amphitheatre. Built from 72 to 80 AD, it remains as an icon of
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...
. Its building and arena dimensions are 188 × 156 and 86 × 54 meters respectively. It was commissioned by the Emperor
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
for the capital city of the ancient
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medit ...
from 70–80 AD but was not completed and opened until 80 AD by his son
Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
, as a gift for the people of Rome.
Pompeii

The
Amphitheatre of Pompeii is one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatres. It is located in the Roman city of
Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
, and was buried by the eruption of
Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of s ...
in 79 AD, that also buried Pompeii itself and the neighboring town of
Herculaneum
Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
Like the n ...
. It is also the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre built with stone.
Faleria
The second-largest Roman amphitheatre was the Faleria, built 43 A.D. It was located in
Picenum
Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organization of Roman Italy. Picenum was also ...
(now
Falerone), Italy. Its building dimensions were 178.8 × 106.2 meters, and it had an arena shaped like an ellipse.
It had twelve entrances, four of which led to the arena and had eight rows of seats divided into three sections.
Only the outside wall of the amphitheatre remains and the arena is covered in grass all the way to the podium.
Capua
The third-largest Roman amphitheatre was the
Amphitheatre of Capua, with building dimensions of 169.9 × 139.6 meters. It was located in the city of Capua (modern
Santa Maria Capua Vetere
Santa Maria Capua Vetere ( nap, Santa Maria 'e Capua) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, part of the region of Campania (southern Italy).
Though it is not connected with the ''Civitas Capuana'', the town is a medieval place and ...
), Italy. It was erected by
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
in the first century B.C. and could hold up to 60,000 spectators.
It is known as the arena that
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave upri ...
fought in in 73 B.C.
The theatre was eventually destroyed by the
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The Vandals migrated to the area be ...
in their invasion of Rome in 456 AD.
Julia Caesarea
The fourth-largest Roman amphitheatre, the Julia Caesarea, was erected after the time of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, a ...
. It was built in Mauretania between the times of 25 BC and 23 AD by the Roman-appointed ruler
Juba II and his son
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, which is now considered to be modern day
Cherchell
Cherchell ( Arabic: شرشال) is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the ...
, Algeria. Although it has not endured, its building dimensions are known to have been 168 × 88 meters with an arena dimension of 72.1 × 45.8 meters.
Italica
The fifth-largest Roman amphitheatre is found in the province of
Sevilla, Spain. Its building dimensions are 156.5 × 134 meters and its arena dimensions are 71. 2 × 46.2 meters.
Built in the reign of emperor
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...
, 117–138 AD, the
Italica amphitheatre could hold up to 25,000 people and still stands today.
See also
*
Roman architectural revolution
*
Theatre of ancient Rome
The architectural form of theatre in Rome has been linked to later, more well-known examples from the 1st century BC to the 3rd Century AD. The theatre of ancient Rome referred to as a period of time in which theatrical practice and performance t ...
References
*
Footnotes
External links
Marin Buovac: ''On the inscriptions of Roman amphitheatres in the Eastern Adriatic seaboard'', VAPD 105, 2012., 83-95.
{{Ancient Rome topics