An ancient sports arena in Rome

Evan Reinheimer/Getty Images

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Secrets of an Ancient Arena

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

The year is 80 A.D. An excited crowd of nearly 50,000 people pack into a new amphitheater in ancient Rome. Suddenly, two men carrying swords and wearing armor rise up from beneath the arena. The main event has begun at what will become one of the world’s most famous buildings—the Colosseum.

At the time, the Romans controlled much of modern-day Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. Amphitheaters were common in the Roman Empire. But the Colosseum stood out from the rest.

“It is the largest, most important Roman amphitheater ever built,” says historian Steven Tuck.

The Colosseum was like today’s sports stadiums, and gladiator matches were the biggest attraction. Underneath the arena was a series of hidden passageways called hypogea, where gladiators prepared for battle. In June, these underground tunnels were opened to the public for the first time.

Take a look inside the most famous sports arena in history.

Still Standing

The Colosseum was built over a span of about eight years nearly 2,000 years ago. Experts consider it one of the most remarkable examples of Roman architecture. Arches and columns supported the weight of the arena, which was made of marble, stone, and concrete.

Over the centuries, more than two-thirds of the Colosseum crumbled. The remains, including the hypogea, were renovated. Typically, more than 5 million people visit Rome, Italy, each year to see the ruins.

 Evan Reinheimer/Getty Images 

Stars of the Show

Gladiators were the superstar athletes of the Roman Empire. Most were enslaved men or prisoners. But some citizens volunteered to fight in the hopes of becoming a celebrity.

“You could become rich and famous,” Tuck says. “If you worked hard, if you succeeded, you could improve your life.”

Most gladiators fought only a few times a year, like today’s professional boxers. Tuck says most gladiators didn’t die in battle. But when one was too injured to continue fighting during a match, the emperor could choose to have him killed.

Illustration by Jeff Mangiat 

Backstage Pass

There was a lot going on under the arena.

“The underground tunnels are the equivalent of the backstage of a theater,” Tuck explains.

Sets and costumes were kept down there. In hidden rooms, gladiators prepared to fight. In other areas, doctors treated gladiators’ bloody wounds.

Lions, tigers, and elephants were also kept in the hypogea. Gladiators didn’t fight them, but other people did. Animals were raised up in elevators pulled by ropes. The creatures would burst into the arena from trapdoors, surprising the crowd.

Illustration by Jeff Mangiat 

Illustrations by Jeff Mangiat

SEATING
Seating was based on class. “The higher your status, the closer you were to the good floor seats,” Tuck says. The emperor sat in a special box near the floor. Women, enslaved people, and the poor sat at the highest level.


OTHER EVENTS
Gladiator fights weren’t the arena’s only shows. Other popular events were reenactments of naval battles. During these shows, the arena floor was flooded, and ships were brought in. 

  1. Based on the article, what was the Roman Empire? 
  2. Name four things you might have seen if you went into the hypogea of the Colosseum in 80 A.D. 
  3. What is status? What does the article suggest about the status of women in ancient Rome? 
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