Amphitheatrum Pompeianum
About
Built c. 70 BCE at private expense by local magistrates Gaius Quinctius Valgus and Marcus Porcius shortly after Pompeii became a Roman colony (80 BCE); it is the oldest known permanent stone amphitheatre in the Roman world, predating the Colosseum by roughly 150 years, and held about 20,000 spectators. Buried by the eruption of 79 CE. Destroyed in the 79 CE eruption of Vesuvius, 38 years before this map's snapshot — included as it's an essential part of the story.
What happened here
Doors open early and the programme runs all day. Morning is animal hunts, staged with scenery hauled up through trapdoors from the corridors below. Midday is executions, and it is the hour when the seats thin out and people go for lunch. The afternoon is the gladiators, matched by type and record like boxers, refereed, and stopped when a man raises a finger. Most fights are not to the death — a trained fighter is expensive — but a decision can go the other way and the crowd is consulted. Seating is strictly by rank: officials at the front, women at the top. Awnings are worked by sailors detailed for the job. Sand is spread thick and replaced between shows, and the whole building smells of it.
In ancient writing
- Tacitus, Annals 14.17
A gladiatorial show in 59 CE turns into a riot between Pompeians and Nucerians; the Senate bans public gatherings at Pompeii for ten years.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphitheatre_of_Pompeii
- https://latitude.to/articles-by-country/it/italy/12872/amphitheatre-of-pompeii (coordinates 40.7513, 14.4950)
- Tacitus, Annales 14.17 (the 59 CE riot between Pompeian and Nucerian spectators at this amphitheatre)
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →