The Palatine Hill and Coliseum

I wake up early to see the ancient centers for Roman government and entertainment, Palatine Hill and the Coliseum. Ruins on Palatine Hill are spotty, but the place is nevertheless impressive for its significance in Roman history. The babies Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, are fabled to have been discovered on the side of the hill. Thus the hill was considered the sacred starting point and center of Rome. Although the brothers' existence is probably apocryphal, recent archaeological digs suggest the earliest Roman huts are on the Palatine.

During the Republic many rich and powerful Romans have lived on Palatine Hill. But Caesar Augustus made it a magnificent home for the imperial family, with giant palaces overlooking the city. It is particularly amazing to see the remains of the House of Augustus and the House of Livia, and to imagine them eating sumptuous dinners, entertaining politicians, and maybe even scheming at each others' demise.

Next I walk down the via Sacra to the Coliseum. The interior is incredible; archaeologists believe that almost 60,000 people could fit into the stands to watch the bloody games. The entertainment was typically execution of condemned criminals in the morning, simulated hunting during lunch, and, finally, gladiator battles in the afternoon. Entire species of animals almost became extinct from the lunchtime animal massacres. Gladiator battles were, by far, the most popular event. The Gladiators were sometimes famous and revered professional fighting men, similar to modern boxers, or they were lowly slaves. Slaves almost always died in the Coliseum, although just two survived to be given their freedom, signified by the emperor awarding a wooden sword.



Archaeologists hypothesize that at least one million people, most of them slaves, have died within the Coliseum. Each year the Pope says mass there in memory of Christians executed by Rome. This is probably the wrong place because Christians would only be allowed to die in the Coliseum if they were also incidentally slaves. Roman law stated that Christians and similar enemies of the state must be executed outside the sacred city walls.

The name Coliseum is actually a term from the Middle Ages, derived from a massive statue of emperor Nero. Christians falsely attributed the name Coliseum to the nearby amphitheater after the statue was destroyed several centuries ago. Ancient Romans called it the Flavian Amphitheater after the Caesar who initiated its construction.