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(Saintes, Charente-Maritime">Saintes), priest of Rome and of Augustus, [and Caius Julius ?...] his son and grandson built this amphitheatre and its podium at their own expense.
This dates the building to 19 AD. The figures who financed its construction belonged to an old Gallic family in Saintes which had held Roman citizenship since the
The Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls (french: Amphithéâtre des Trois Gaules) of
_
A_santon_is_a_small_hand-painted_figurine_cast_in_terracotta_or_a_similar_material_that_is_used_for_building_nativity_scenes._Santons_are_a_traditional_product_of_the_Provence_region_of_southeastern_France._A_maker_of_santons_is_called_a_''sant_...
_(Saintes,_Charente-Maritime.html" ;"title="Mediolanum_Santonum.html" "title="Tiberius.html" ;"title="..
:For the safety of Tiberius">..
:For the safety of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, C. Julius Rufus, citizen of the city of Mediolanum Santonum">Santons
A santon is a small hand-painted figurine cast in terracotta or a similar material that is used for building nativity scenes. Santons are a traditional product of the Provence region of southeastern France. A maker of santons is called a ''sant ...Lugdunum
Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settle ...
(Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
) was part of the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls
The Sanctuary of the Three Gauls ''(Tres Galliae)'' was the focal structure within an administrative and religious complex established by Rome in the very late 1st century BC at Lugdunum (the site of modern Lyon in France). Its institution serve ...
dedicated to the cult of Rome and Augustus celebrated by the 60 Gallic tribes when they gathered at Lugdunum. In 1961, it was classified as a ''monument historique
''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...
''.
History
First building
Theamphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
was built at the foot of the La Croix-Rousse
La Croix-Rousse is a hill high in the city of Lyon, France, as well as the name of a neighborhood located on this hill. The neighborhood is divided into les pentes (slopes, belonging to the city's 1st arrondissement) and le plateau (atop the hil ...
hill at what was then the confluence of the Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
and Saône
The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île.
The name deri ...
. An inscription on one of the blocks found in 1957 (''Inscription latine des Trois Gaules'', n°217 ( ''AE'' 1959, n°61)) connects the amphitheatre with the sanctuary of Rome and Augustus and allows its origins to be identified :
Which can be completed as
: .._
:For_the_safety_of_Tiberius_Caesar_Augustus,_C._Julius_Rufus,_citizen_of_the_city_of_ .._
:For_the_safety_of_Tiberius_Caesar_Augustus,_C._Julius_Rufus,_citizen_of_the_city_of_Mediolanum_Santonum">SantonsGallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homela ...
and also built the Arch of Germanicus
:''There was also an Arch of Drusus and Germanicus, made up of two arches built in 19 in honour of Nero Claudius Drusus and Germanicus either side of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus, in honour of their German campaigns.''
The Arc ...
there. The curious formula "filii f(ilius)" perhaps derives from a wish to affirm the antiquity and continuity of the family's lineage, as on the Arch of Germanicus, which names Rufus's ancestors.
Other stones bear the names of Gallic tribes (Arverni
The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the ne ...
, Tricasses
The Tricasses were a Gallic tribe dwelling on the upper Seine and the Aube rivers during the Roman period. Until the first century AD, they were probably reckoned among the Senones.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Tricasses'' by Pliny (1st c. AD ...
, Bituriges The Gaulish name Bituriges, meaning 'kings of the world', can refer to:
* Bituriges Cubi, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bourges
* Bituriges Vivisci, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Bordeaux
{{Disambiguation ...
) confirming its identification as federal sanctuary.
Excavations have revealed a basement of three elliptical walls linked by cross-walls and a channel surrounding the oval central arena. The arena was slightly sloped, with the building's south part supported by a now-vanished vault. The arena's dimensions are 67.6m by 42m, analogous to those at the arenas at Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
and 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 of ...
, though with a smaller number of rows of seats (probably only four levels) that gave the amphitheatre external dimensions of 81m by 60m (much smaller than those of Nîmes, which was 133m by 101m).
This phase of the amphitheatre housed games which accompanied 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 may ...
, with its low capacity (1,800 seats) being enough for delegations from the 60 Gallic tribes.
Expansion
The amphitheatre was expanded at the start of the 2nd century, according to J. Guey by C. Julius Celse, procurator of Gallia Lugdunensis
Gallia Lugdunensis ( French: ''Gaule Lyonnaise'') was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon ...
from 130 to 136. Two galleries were added around the old amphitheatre, raising its width from 25 metres to 105 metres and its capacity to about 20,000 seats (though this was still modest compared to the amphitheatres at Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
and 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 of ...
). In so doing it made it a building open to the whole population of Lugdunum and its environs. Historians identify the building as the site of Saints Blandina
Saint Blandina (french: Blandine, c. 162–177 AD) was a Christian martyr who died in Lugdunum (modern Lyon, France) during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Context
In the first two centuries of the Christian era, it was the local Roman of ...
and Pothinus
Pothinus or Potheinos ( grc-gre, Ποθεινὸς; early 1st century BC – 48 or 47 BC), a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister and co ...
's martyrdoms as part of the persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
in 177 and a post in the middle of the arena commemorates this event and Pope John-Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
's visit to Lyon in 1986.
Rediscovery
A 16th century plan of Lyon indicates the survival to that date of some arches (probably substructures) and a hollow (the arena) known as "Corbeille de la Déserte". The first excavations between 1818 and 1820 revealed the perimeter of the arena before re-covering it, allowing urban expansion in the 19th century to destroy the south half of the amphitheatre remains. From 1956 serious excavations were begun, followed by 1966/67, 1971/72 and 1976/78 campaigns, leading to the exposed remains on show today. The modest remains which had survived (the supporting walls for half of the amphitheatre's superstructure) were integrated into the Jardin des Plantes and opened to visitors.See also
*List of Roman amphitheatres
The remains of at least 230 Roman amphitheatres have been found widely scattered around the area of the Roman Empire. These are large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised 360 degree seating and not to be confused with the more common t ...
References
Bibliography
*''Histoire et Archéologie de la France ancienne, Rhône Alpes''
André Pelletier, André Blanc, Pierre Broise, Jean Prieur, éditions Horvath, 1988 * ''La France gallo-romaine'', Pierre Gros, éditions Nathan, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Amphitheatre Of The Three Gauls Three Gauls Roman Lyon Buildings and structures in Lyon 1st arrondissement of Lyon Tourist attractions in Lyon Ruins in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Monuments historiques of Lyon