Haataja 1

Zachary Haataja

Mrs. Currie

Language Arts

15 Nov. 2016

Roman Games vs. Modern Sports

Today we enjoy the entertainment of modern sports. We cheer as our team scores the

winning goal and when our defense gets the big sack. But are we all that different from the blood

thirsty Romans who stood as captive audiences to the bloodshed of gladiators. Is there really a

big difference between the stadiums we flock to and the famous Colosseum? Honestly, are the

sports we love even different to the great Roman entertainment? There were many activities that

went on in the Colosseum; I feel that modern sports venues are extremely similar to the ancient

games of Rome.

First and foremost lets look at how similar the buildings, housing the events, are from

then and now. To compare to my ancient source, the Colosseum, I have chosen Ford Field. Ford

Field is the home stadium of the NFL pro football team, the Detroit Lions. There have been some

improvements over the years to the Colosseum design. Before we can compare the two let me

give you a brief history of the Colosseum.

Begun in the 70s AD by Vespasian, the Colosseum was built as a political move to

separate him from the dictator Nero. Symbolically built on top of Neros Golden House, the

Colosseum became a landmark synonymous with Rome (Laurence 54). Vespasian died before

he was able to see his project finished, but his son Titus finished the great stadium in the year 80.

Due to the family name of these two emperors the Colosseum was also known as the Flavian
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Amphitheatre (Connolly 192). The whole design of the stadium is a great example of how the

Romans improved upon the Greek theatre (Spampinato).

The Colosseum was a circular stadium that had 80 total entrances. 76 of these were

public and were easily accessed by spectators around the entire stadium. 4 of the entrances were

private; reserved for high ranking government official, the emperor, and the competitors

themselves (Connolly 194). Holding an impressive 50,000, the Colosseum was a truly massive

structure for its time.

Divided into 4 main tiers of seating for the different classes of ancient Rome, the

Colosseum had a wide plain of people it catered to. The first tier known as the podium was the

best position and was for the most important Romans. The second was 14 rows of marble seats

reserved for the Roman knights called Equites. The third tier was split into 2 sections the better

for the wealthy plebeians and the lesser for the poorer plebeians, commoners. The fourth tier was

the additional wooden seats added later on for the use of common women. If one was unable to

grab a seat there was plenty of standing room at the top and in the aisles (Alchin).

Today though we have made improvements. Ford Field can seat 65,000 people, and it is a

relatively small stadium compared to other American stadiums (Ford Field). Similar to the

Colosseum, Ford Field is multifunctional and has hosted other sports such as basketball and

hockey.

Other features such as the Hypogeum, the underground passages used to prepare for the

next event made the Colosseum truly unique, and the basis for stadiums to come.

Similarly, the activities of ancient Rome mirror those of modern American culture. Today

we enjoy the scheming factors of football and other modern while in the days of old gladiatorial
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games won all the attention. Taking a closer look, I have noticed the closely resembling features

of both pastimes.

The glorious games of Rome didnt begin as sole entertainment for the citizens of the

empire, but began as funeral games for high ranking officials. The reason for the celebrated

bloodshed grew from the common belief of the time that blood helped people stay close to the

dead (Connolly 190). The first recorded gladiatorial show in Rome took place in 264 B.C., at

the funeral of Marcus Iunius Brutus Pera: 3 gladiator pairs fought to the death states Connolly

(190).

As the games became the highlight of funerals, many politicians began putting on these

events to gain popularity among the people. Growing in demand among the masses, the games

evolved over the years from the funeral ceremonies to full-fledged entertainment for the masses

(Connolly 190). Another aspect of the games that changed over the years was the people

competing. Originally the competitors were always slaves or prisoners-of-war, as the games

developed men would sometimes be sold into or volunteer for a career of competing in the

games, dubbing the term gladiator.

With the building of the Colosseum in A.D. 80, rose the demand for higher quality fights

between gladiators. Thus, ludi were created. The ludi were gladiator training schools throughout

Rome. Gladiators werent just thrown into the Colosseum anymore they were trained in basic

skills to keep the people entertained (Connolly 208).

Other parts of the games included beast hunts by venatores, the naval battle reenactments

until the creation of the Hypogeum, and the intricate classification of gladiators by their

equipment (Connolly 212-215).

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The sports of today are similar to the games of old. I feel that sports are a direct ancestor

of the gladiatorial games. Similar to how the games grew, most modern sports such as football

began in one place and grew in popularity until the whole nation followed them.

Football is a prime example of how we are still bloodthirsty Romans. We pit 22 men

against each other, and basically say go ahead throw each other on the ground and make it look

good while you are at it. Similar to how the Romans trained their gladiators do we not recruit

kids to play football in high school and college so ultimately they can perform to the highest

level for us in the NFL. MMA, boxing, and other fighting sports are the remnant left behind by

the games of old.

The activities between now and then are extremely alike the only difference is we have

laws today against killing others in affect.

Lastly lets look at the audiences watching these sports today versus in the past. The

roaring die-hard fans of our football teams and the bloodthirsty masses crying for the kill or

mercy.

Looking at the similarities of the people watching then and now, I see that both in the past

and present people are infected by the crowd mentality. Laurence writes that the whole

atmosphere of the stadium is infectious. The enthusiasm of the crowds converted many to the

entertainments of Rome (54). In the same way when one goes to a football game even if they

werent into sports they would begin to root for one team or the other. Also, engrained into the

human mind is something about finding joy in watching people getting hurt. Its strange looking

at it out of context, but whenever our team makes a big tackle we stand up and cheer. Sounds

similar to people standing up and screaming for the kill. Lastly, similar to how many teams have

statues honoring past coaches, players, and achievements, there were murals inside the
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Colosseum and as one looked upon the massive stadium they would see the Colossus near it. The

Colossus was a statue built by Nero and was a patriotic statue of Rome (Lawrence 54). The ideal

that those of higher social stance getting better seats is prevalent both today and then. The past

showed more of this social preference, whereas today one of lesser social status could end up

with better seats if they were willing to spend more money.

Though there are differences. The gladiatorial games were state or privately sponsored

and were free admission. Meant to bend the people to the governments will, the games were

very numbing to the peoples sense of security. Unlike today where sports are purely

commercial, a key factor in the capitalistic society of America. Wallace tells in his novel about

how all the people walking to the stadium are in sort of a trance (46). Its this numb mentality of

being a shell of a person that weve lost in todays society, which is a good thing. People show

spirit today when going to see their team play.

Many aspects of the audience of events are the same today as they were in the distant

past, but we as a race have grown more personable and less desiring of gore.

Ultimately today we are further along than we were 2,000 years ago. Between the

evolvement of our stadiums, games, and culture in general, we have become more sophisticated.

Desiring entertainment, humankind will always be drawn to rough and violent competition. It is

something in our nature. Still there were many activities that went on in the Colosseum; I fell

that modern sports and venues are extremely similar to the ancient games of Rome.
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Works Cited

Alchin, Linda. Seating at the Colosseum. Seating at the Colosseum, 5 Mar. 2015,

www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/colosseum/seating-at-the-colosseum.htm.

Connolly, Peter, and Hazel Dodge. The Colosseum The Ancient City: Life in classical Athens

and Rome, Oxford. University Press, Oxford, 1998, pp.190-270.

Ford Field. Stadiums of Pro Football Your Ticket to Every NFL Football Stadium,

www.stadiumsofprofootball.com/stadiums/ford-field/.

Laurence, Ray. From the Colosseum to the Circus Maximus. Ancient Rome as It Was:

Exploring the City of Rome in AD 300, Lyons Press, Guilford, CT, 2011, pp. 5455.

Spampinato, Angelo. Stadium History. World Stadiums.

www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/architecture/historic_stadiums.shtml.

Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur. Excursions in Literature for Christian Schools, Edited by Donna L.

Hess, Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC, 1985.