Roman Gladiator

Roman Gladiator

he Colosseum could hold 50,000 people. The patrician class sat in the lower tier while the common people sat in the upper tiers. Gladiators fought either animals or each other in elaborate games. Gladiators became famous and were followed much like sports teams today. Roman sailors were employed to extend tarps to protect the crowds from the sun and rain. Roman scribes claim the arena was filled with water to stage naval battle. A network of passages ran under the arena to provide access to animal cages. Ramps and elevators lifted the animals up to the arena floor. Over a half million people and over a million animals died in the games over the course of 450 years. Over the years the Colosseum has decayed from earthquakes,erosion and citizens taking stones for new buildings. What can we learn about roman society from the Colosseum?  Gladiators became famous and were followed much like sports teams today.