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the Colossus or large statue of Nero which stood near it.* It was of an oval form, and is said to have contained 87,000 spectators. Its ruins still remain. The place where the gladiators fought was called [cavea or] ARENA, because it was covered with sand or sawdust, to prevent the gladiators from sliding, and to absorb the blood; and the persons who fought Arenarii. But arena is also put for the whole amphitheatre, or the show, Juvenal. iii. 34. ; also for the seat of war, Prima belli civilis arena Italia fuit, Flor. iii. 20, 21. iv. 2. thus Lucan. vi. 63., or for one's peculiar province, Plin. Ep. vi. 12.

The part next the arena was called PODIUM [Juv. ii. 144.], where the senators sat, and the ambassadors of foreign nations; and where also was the place of the emperor (SUGGESTUS vel -um), elevated like a pulpit or tribunal, Suet. Jul. 76. Plin. Paneg. 51., and covered with a canopy like a pavilion (CUBICULUM vel papilio, Suet. Ner. 12.), likewise of the person who exhibited the games (Editoris Tribunal), and of the Vestal Virgins, Suet. Aug. 44.

The Podium projected over the wall which surrounded the arena, [like a foot put forward, whence its name]; and was raised between twelve and fifteen feet above it; secured with a breastwork or parapet (lorica) against the irruption of wild beasts. As a further defence,

the arena was surrounded with an iron rail (ferreis clathris), and a canal (euripo), Plin. viii. 7

The Equites sat in fourteen rows behind the senators. The seats (gradus vel sedilia) of both were covered with cushions (pulvillis), Juvenal. iii. 152., first used in the time of Caligula, Dio. lix. 7. The rest of the people sat behind, on the bare stone, and their seats were called POPULARIA, Suet. Claud. 25. Dom. 4. The entrances to these seats were called VOMITORIA [Sixty-four in number, in the Coliseum]; the passages (via) by which they ascended to the seats were called Scale or Scalaria; and the seats between two passages were, from their form, called Cuneus, a wedge, Juvenal. vi. 61. Suet. Aug. 44. For, like the section of a circle, this space gradually widened from the arena to the top. Hence, Cuneis innotuit res omnibus, to all the spectators, Phædr. v. 7. 35.

Sometimes a particular place was publicly granted to certain persons by way of honour, Cic. Phil. ix. 7., and the editor seems to have

It was built out of part of the materials, and on a portion of the site, of Nero's golden house.

"It measured in its longer diameter 615 English feet, and in the shorter 510 feet. The accommodations for the spectators within occupied the width of 157 feet, leaving for the longer diameter of the arena 281 feet, and for the shorter 176 feet, with 20 feet for the walls, &c. of the building. Its entire circumference measured about 1,770 feet, including a superficial area of 246,661 feet, or something more than 4 acres of land. Its extreme height was about 164 feet. The exterior elevation was composed of three stories of arcades, presenting successively the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian orders. At its dedication, 5000 wild beasts are said by Eutropius to have been sacrificed in the arena, and 9000, according to Dio.". Encycl. Metrop. art. Amphitheatre.

+ "The Latin term podium was probably the origin of our term pew, as Junius, Minshewe, and others, have long ago conjectured. They appear, in their origin and purpose, to bear a striking resemblance to each other. Both were an encroachment on the space at first appropriated to the people. Both were erected in the best situations, and both were set apart for the noble, the great, and distinguished.”—British Mag. Sept. 1834. p. 305.

DESIGNATORES

PEGMATA - SPOLIARIUM.

303

been allowed to assign a more honourable seat to any person whom he was inclined to favour, Cic. Att. ii. 1.

There were certain persons called DESIGNATORES or Dissignatores, masters of ceremonies, who assigned to every one his proper place, Plaut. Panul. prolog. 19. Cic. Att. iv. 3., as undertakers did at funerals, Horat. Epist. i. 7. 6.; and when they removed any one from his place, they were said eum excitare vel suscitare, Martial. iii. 95. v. 14. vi. 9. The Designatores are thought by some to have been the same with what were called LOCARII (quia sedes vel spectacula locabant). But these, according to others, properly were poor people, who came early and took possession of a seat, which they afterwards parted with to some rich person who came late, for hire, Martial. v. 25.*

Anciently, women were not allowed to see the gladiators, without the permission of those in whose power they were, Valer. Max. vi. 3. 12.; but afterwards this restriction was removed. Augustus assigned them a particular place in the highest seats of the amphitheatre, Suet. Aug. 44. Ovid. Amor. ii. 7. 3.

There were in the amphitheatres secret tubes, from which the spectators were besprinkled with perfumes (croco diluto aut aliis fragrantibus liquoribus), Martial. v. 26. & de Spect. 3., issuing from certain figures (SIGNA), Lucan. ix. 808.; and in rain or excessive heat there were coverings (vela vel velaria) to draw over them, Juvenal. iv. 122. For which purposes there were holes in the top of the outer wall, in which poles were fixed to support them. But when the wind did not permit these coverings to be spread, they used broad-brimmed hats or caps (causiæ vel pilei) and umbrellas, Dio. lix. 7. Martial. xiv. 27, 28.

By secret springs, certain wooden machines called PEGMATA vel -ma, were raised to a great height, to appearance spontaneously, and elevated or depressed, diminished or enlarged, at pleasure, Martial. Spect. ii. 16. viii. 33. Senec. Epist. 88. Suet. Claud. 34. Gladiators were sometimes set on them, hence called Pegmāres, Suet. Cal. 26., and boys (et pueros inde ad velaria raptos), Juvenal. iv. 122. pegmata is put by Cicero for the shelves (pro loculis) in which books were kept, Att. iv. 8.

But

Nigh to the amphitheatre was a place called SPOLIARIUM, to which those who were killed or mortally wounded were dragged by a hook (unco trahebantur), Plin. Paneg. 36. Senec. Epist. 93. Lamprid. in Commod. fin.t

The general superintendance of the building was under the direction of a villicus amphitheatri.

Of the other amphitheatres of the ancient world, it may be sufficient to remark that, while they were all more or less modelled upon the plan of the Coliseum, and subject to similar laws and arrangements, as far as the circumstances of their respective situations would admit, those of Verona, Capua, Nismes, and Autun, alone approached the amphitheatre of the capital in the style of their decorations, and the regularity of their management. That of Verona measured 506 English feet in the longer diameter, in the shorter, 405 feet; and the arena was 247 feet long, by 145 feet wide; the whole building including a circuit of 1,451 feet, and a superficial area of 204,930 feet: equal to about four fifths of the size of the Coliseum itself. Its entire height, consisting of three stories of arcades, was about 90 English feet. The amphitheatre at Nismes was 430 English feet long, by 338 wide; including an area of

304

CONTESTS OF GLADIATORS.

On the day of the exhibition, the gladiators were led along the arena in procession. Then they were matched by pairs (paria inter se componebantur, vel comparabantur), Horat. Sat. I. vii. 20., and their swords examined (explorabantur) by the exhibiter of the games,

Suet. Tit. 9.

The gladiators, as a prelude to the battle (præludentes vel proludentes), at first fought with wooden swords or the like, flourishing (ventilantes) their arms with great dexterity, Cic. de Orat. ii. 78. Senec. Ep. 117. Ovid. Art. Am. iii. 515. 589. [Juven. v. 26.] Then, upon a signal given with a trumpet (sonabant ferali clangore tuba), they laid aside these (arma lusoria, rudes vel gladios hebetes ponebant, v. abjiciebant), and assumed their proper arms (arma pugnatoria, vel decretoria, i. e. gladios acutos sumebant), Quinctilian. x. 5. 20. & Suet. Cal. 54. They adjusted themselves (se ad pugnam componebant, Gell. vii. 3.) with great care, and stood in a particular posture (in statu vel gradu stabant), Plaut. Mil. iv. 9. 12. Hence moveri, dejici, vel deturbari de statu mentis: depelli, dejici, vel demoveri gradu, &c. Cic. Off. i. 23. Att. xvi. 12. Nep. Themist. 5. Liv. vi. 32. Then they pushed at one another (petebant), and repeated the thrust (repetebant), Suet. Cal. 58. They not only pushed with the point (punctim), but also struck with the edge (casim). It was more easy to parry or avoid (cavere, propulsare, exire, effugere, excedere, eludere), direct thrusts (ictus adversos, et rectas ac simplices manus), than back or side strokes (manus vel petitiones aversas tectasque), Quinctilian. v. 13. 54. ix. 1. 20. Virg. Æn. ix. 439. Cic. Cat. i. 6. They therefore took particular care to defend their side (latus tegere); hence latere tecto abscedere, to get off safe, Ter. Heaut. iv. 2. 5. Per alterius latus peti, Cic. Vat. 5. Latus apertum vel nudum dare, to expose one's self to danger, Tibull. i. 4. 46. Some gladiators had the faculty of not winking. Two such, belonging to the emperor Claudius, were on that account invincible, Plin. xi. 37. s. 54. Senec. de Ir. ii. 4.

When any gladiator was wounded, the people exclaimed, HABET, sc. vulnus, vel hoc habet, he has got it. The gladiator lowered (submittebat) his arms as a sign of his being vanquished: but his fate depended on the pleasure of the people, who, if they wished him to be saved, pressed down their thumbs (pollicem premebant), Horat. Ep. i. 18. 66.; if to be slain, they turned up their thumbs (pollicem vertebant), Juvenal. iii. 36.† (hence laudare utroque pollice, i. e. valde, height. Other buildings of this description, as at Pola in Istria, at Pæstum in Lucania, and at Italica in Spain, enclosed one, two, and three acres of ground; and sometimes the sides of adjacent hills were seated, and adapted to the purposes in question as at Corinth, and Gortina in Candia. Vestiges of amphitheatres, on a smaller scale, are found at Alba; at Otricoli in Umbria; at Puzzuoli; at Syracuse, Agrigentum, and Catania, in Sicily; at Sandwich in Kent, and Caerleon in Monmouthshire (partly natural valleys), in Great Britain.". Encycl. Metrop.

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When a gladiator received a wound, he covered it with the broad belt which he wore, in order to conceal it from the spectators. So Persius, when lashing the iniquities of Nero, says that they were concealed by the splendour of his station (lato balteus auro):· :

"Ilia subter,

Cæcum vulnus habes; sed lato balteus auro
Prætegit."

Sat. iv. 43-45.

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+"Ruperti explains this differently: 'pollex vertebatur, h. e. dirigebatur in pectus, quo indicabatur, ni fallor, illud gladio transfigendum esse."

REWARDS GIVEN TO THE VICTORS

LUDI SCENICI.

305

Horat. Ep. i. 18. 66. Plin. 28. 2. s. 5.), and ordered him to receive the sword (ferrum recipere), which gladiators usually submitted to with amazing fortitude, Cic. Sext. 37. Tusc. ii. 17. Mil. 34. Senec. Ep. 7. 177. de Tranquil. Animi, c. 11. Const. Sap. 17. Sometimes a gladiator was rescued by the entrance of the emperor, Ovid. de Pont. ii. 8. 53., or by the will of the Editor.

The rewards given to the victors were a palm, Martial. de Spect. 32. Hence plurimarum palmarum gladiator, who had frequently conquered; Cic. Rosc. Am. 6. Alias suas palmas cognoscet, i. e. cædes, ibid. 30. Palma lemniscata, a palm crown, with ribands (lemnisci) of different colours hanging from it, ibid. 35. Festus. Sexta palma urbana etiam in Gladiatore difficilis, Cic. Phil. xi. 5.-money, Suet. Claud. 21. Juvenal. vii. ult., and a rod or wooden sword (rudis), as a sign of their being discharged from fighting; which was granted by the Editor, at the desire of the people, to an old gladiator, or even to a novice, for some uncommon act of courage. Those who received it (rude donati) were called RUDIARII, and fixed their arms in the temple of Hercules, Horat. Ep. i. 1. Ovid. Trist. iv. 8. 24. But they sometimes were afterwards induced by a great hire (ingente auctoramento) again to engage, Suet. Tib. 7. Those who were dismissed on account of age or weakness, were said delusisse, Plin. xxxvi. 27.

The spectators expressed the same eagerness by betting (sponsionibus) on the different gladiators, as in the Circus, Suet. Tit. 8. Domit. 10. Martial. ix. 68.

Till the year 693, the people used to remain all day at an exhibition of gladiators without intermission till it was finished; but then, for the first time, they were dismissed to take dinner, Dio. xxxvii. 46., which custom was afterwards observed at all the spectacles exhibited by the emperors, ibid. et Suet. Horace calls intermissions given to gladiators in the time of fighting, or a delay of the combat, DILUDIA, -orum, Ep. i. 19. 47. & Scholiast. in loc.

Shows of gladiators (cruenta spectacula) were prohibited by Constantine [A. D. 325], Cod. xi. 43.; but not entirely suppressed till the time of Honorius, Prudent. contra Symmach. ii. 11. 21.*

III. DRAMATIC ENTERTAINMENTS.

DRAMATIC entertainments, or stage plays (ludi scenici), were first introduced at Rome, on account of a pestilence, to appease the divine wrath, A. U. 391, Liv. vii. 2. Before that time there had only been the games of the Circus. They were called LUDI SCENIČI, because they were first acted in a shade (oxid, umbra), formed by the branches and leaves of trees, Ovid. de Art. Am. i. 105. Serv. in Virg. Æn. i. 164., or in a tent, (xn, tabernaculum). Hence afterwards the front of the theatre, where the actors stood, was called SCENA, and the actors SCENICI, Suet. Tib. 34. Cic. Planc. 11. Ver. iii. 79.; or, SCENICI ARTIFICES, Suet. Cæs. 84.

Stage-plays were borrowed from Etruria; whence players (ludiones) were called HISTRIONES, from a Tuscan word hister, i.e. ludio; for players also were sent for from that country, Liv. vii. 2.

Augustus forbade magistrates to give shows of gladiators above twice in one year, or of more than sixty pairs at a time.

X

306

ORIGIN OF DRAMATIC PERFORMANCES.

These Tuscans did nothing at first but dance to a flute (ad tibicinis modos), without any verse or corresponding action. They did not speak, because the Romans did not understand their language,

ibid.

The Roman youth began to imitate them at solemn festivals, especially at harvest-home, throwing out raillery against one another in unpolished verse, with gestures adapted to the sense. These verses were called VERSUS FESCENNINI, from Fescennia, or -ium, a city of Etruria, Horat. Epist. II. i. 145.

Afterwards, by frequent use, the entertainment was improved (sæpius usurpando res excitata est), and a new kind of dramatic composition was contrived, called SATYRÆ or SATURÆ, Satires; because they were filled with various matter, and written in various kinds of verse, in allusion to what was called LANX SATURA, a platter or charger filled with various kinds of fruits, which they yearly offered to the gods at their festivals, as the Primitia, or first gatherings of the season. Some derive the name from the petulance of the Satyrs.

These satires were set to music, and repeated with suitable gestures, accompanied with the flute and dancing. They had every thing that was agreeable in the Fescennine verses, without their obscenity. They contained much ridicule and smart repartee; whence those poems afterwards written to expose vice got the name of satires; as, the satires of Horace, of Juvenal, and Persius.

It was LIVIUS ANDRONICUS, the freedman of M. Livius Salinator, and the preceptor of his sons, who, giving up satires (ab saturis, i. e. saturis relictis), first ventured to write a regular play (argumento fabulam serere), A. U. 512, some say, 514; the year before Ennius was born, Cic. Brut. 18., above 160 years after the death of Sophocles and Euripides, and about fifty-two years after that of Menander, Gell. xvii. 21.

He was the actor of his own compositions, as all then were. Being obliged by the audience frequently to repeat the same part, and thus becoming hoarse (quum vocem obtudisset), he asked permission to employ a boy to sing to the flute, whilst he acted what was sung (canticum agebat), which he did with the greater animation, as he was not hindered by using his voice. Hence actors used always to have a person at hand to sing to them, and the colloquial part (diverbia) only was left them to repeat, Liv. vii. 2. It appears there was commonly a song at the end of every act, Plaut. Pseud. ii. ult.

Plays were afterwards greatly improved at Rome from the model of the Greeks, by NEVIUS, ENNIUS, PLAUTUS, CECILIUS, TERENCE, AFRANIUS, PACUVIUS, ACCIUS, &c.

After playing was gradually converted into an art (ludus in artem paulatim verterat), the Roman youth, leaving regular plays to be acted by professed players, reserved to themselves the acting of ludicrous pieces or farces, interlarded with much ribaldry and buffoonery, called EXODIA, Juvenal. iii. 175. vi. 71. Suet. Tib. 45. Domit. 10; because they were usually introduced after the play, when the players and musicians had left the stage, to remove the painful impressions of tragic scenes, Scholiast. in Juvenal. iii. 175., or FABELLE ATELLANE [resembling the satiric dramas of the Greeks], Liv. vij. 2., or, LUDI OSCI, Cic. Fam. vii. 1. LUDICRUM OSCUM, Tacit.

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