The Colosseum, originally referred to as the Flavian Amphitheater, is the most famous amphitheater in the world. It is also the largest monument of antiquity: this ancient "stadium" could accommodate 50 thousand spectators! And the name by which this architectural monument is now known to you and me is not at all so old: it "stuck" to the arena only in the Middle Ages and comes from the name of the nearby Colosso del Dio Sole, which is now destroyed.
The glory of the Colosseum was such that over time its name was overgrown with many anecdotes and myths, unexpected, bloodthirsty, even in places disgusting, and therefore extremely curious!
For example, the ancient Romans believed that the newlyweds had to spend their wedding night without fail with the weapons of one of the gladiators at hand. It was also believed that an epileptic was cured of his illness if he drank the blood of those who fell in the arena of the Colosseum. By the way, only in the first three months after the opening of the Colosseum, 2,000 gladiators and 9,000 animals perished in its arena! We can safely assume that both the newlyweds and the epileptics had plenty to choose from as a souvenir for memory.
It is a mistake to think that only men were gladiators. Women gladiatrices and exotic animals such as elephants, rhinos, gorillas and even giraffes fought for the amusement of the Roman public. And around 200 A. D. Emperor Septimius Sever put an end to the participation of "beautiful ladies" in bloodthirsty battles.
But this did not make the gladiator fights less spectacular: somehow a performance with the participation of tamed fur seals was presented to the viewer … the Bears.
The success of such performances was deafening! As in our days, centuries ago, near the Colosseum, posters were posted along the streets announcing the next show. Although, as historians assume, the ticket price was high, some politicians, in order to win over the common people, handed out tickets for free.
Truly, the Colosseum in ancient times was a real stadium. At the entrance, the visitors were checked the tickets and indicated the seat assigned to each. Even souvenirs made in honor of gladiators were sold, and the audience supported their favorites, unfolding colorful "banners" in the color of the costume of the fighter whom they sympathized with!
But the right to decide the fate of the defeated gladiator belonged exclusively to the emperor, and not to the public. And although we have seen many times in the movies how the emperor raised his thumb up to grant pardon, or, conversely, lowered it down to take a warrior's life, in fact, in ancient Rome they used a completely different "system of signs": an open the palm meant life, and the hand clenched into a fist was the signal for execution. By the way, if a gladiator killed his enemy without waiting for the emperor's verdict, then the lord had the right to sentence the disobedient to death.
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