1 00:00:01,010 --> 00:00:04,799 These days, there are no good seats at the Colosseum. 2 00:00:04,799 --> 00:00:10,230 In fact, thanks to centuries of enthusiastic pillaging, there are no seats at all. 3 00:00:10,230 --> 00:00:16,660 But when the amphitheater was whole, it had places for more than 50,000 spectators. 4 00:00:16,660 --> 00:00:22,070 During the great imperially-sponsored games, when most of Rome’s million inhabitants 5 00:00:22,070 --> 00:00:27,550 were competing for those 50,000 or so seats, your chances of getting a good place in the 6 00:00:27,550 --> 00:00:34,289 arena depended on who you were, who you know, and how creatively you exploited both. 7 00:00:34,289 --> 00:00:38,850 Like the other entries in my time traveler’s guide to ancient Rome, this video provides 8 00:00:38,850 --> 00:00:44,198 hypothetically practical advice to modern tourists with the wherewithal to visit imperial 9 00:00:44,198 --> 00:00:45,509 Rome. 10 00:00:45,509 --> 00:00:50,619 This time, we’ll explore how our hypothetical time traveler could get a seat – and, with 11 00:00:50,619 --> 00:00:54,878 a bit of maneuvering, a good seat – during the games at the Colosseum. 12 00:00:54,878 --> 00:00:58,268 First, a bit of background. 13 00:00:58,268 --> 00:01:03,030 Seating in the Colosseum, like so much else in the Roman world, was regimented by social 14 00:01:03,030 --> 00:01:04,780 class. 15 00:01:04,780 --> 00:01:10,109 The best seats, closest to the arena, were reserved for the emperor, the Vestal Virgins, 16 00:01:10,109 --> 00:01:11,250 and Senators. 17 00:01:11,250 --> 00:01:17,439 This section, known as the podium, consisted of marble terraces designed to carry the chairs 18 00:01:17,439 --> 00:01:20,250 from which the elite surveyed the world. 19 00:01:20,250 --> 00:01:25,030 Every spectator in this privileged tier was attended by at least one slave, who would 20 00:01:25,030 --> 00:01:30,359 carry their chair, shield them from the sun, and serve refreshments. 21 00:01:30,359 --> 00:01:36,230 Above the podium was the Colosseum’s equivalent of business class: tiers of wide marble seats 22 00:01:36,230 --> 00:01:40,980 where members of the Equestrian order sat in relative ease and comfort, separated from 23 00:01:40,980 --> 00:01:44,380 the masses by a high stone wall. 24 00:01:44,379 --> 00:01:47,560 The main seating section was above the Equestrians. 25 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:54,939 Here, row after row of narrow marble benches held the bulk of the audience: all male, all 26 00:01:54,939 --> 00:01:59,379 Roman citizens, all sweating in wool togas. 27 00:01:59,379 --> 00:02:05,199 These seats were divided into dozens of sections reserved for members of various guilds and 28 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:06,420 associations. 29 00:02:06,420 --> 00:02:12,120 The highest and worst seats were located along the rim of the perimeter wall, in the stifling 30 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,610 semi-darkness just below the awning that shielded the arena from sun and rain. 31 00:02:17,610 --> 00:02:23,769 In this section, slaves, women, and other low-status spectators stood shoulder to shoulder 32 00:02:23,769 --> 00:02:29,259 on tiers of rickety wooden planks, fifty meters and a world away from the senators in their 33 00:02:29,259 --> 00:02:30,899 padded seats. 34 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:36,560 Having reviewed how seating worked, we can move on to the practicalities. 35 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:42,340 Gladiators only fought in the Colosseum about a dozen times in an average year. 36 00:02:42,340 --> 00:02:47,090 Time travelers who want to see the arena in action should thus plan their visit to coincide 37 00:02:47,090 --> 00:02:52,250 with Saturnalia, when the emperors almost always put on a series of games. 38 00:02:52,250 --> 00:02:56,829 Those with an appetite for the truly spectacular should point their time machines toward 80 39 00:02:56,829 --> 00:03:02,329 AD, when Titus dedicated the Colosseum with a spectacular series of events, or toward 40 00:03:02,329 --> 00:03:08,859 107 AD, when Trajan staged games that lasted four months and featured no fewer than 5,000 41 00:03:08,859 --> 00:03:10,930 pairs of gladiators. 42 00:03:10,930 --> 00:03:13,700 Now, how to get tickets. 43 00:03:13,699 --> 00:03:17,738 The tickets used in the Colosseum were known as tesserae. 44 00:03:17,739 --> 00:03:22,289 Sometimes, tesserae were specially-made tokens of lead or ceramic. 45 00:03:22,289 --> 00:03:24,828 Often, they were just shards of pottery. 46 00:03:24,829 --> 00:03:31,269 Whatever form they took, they showed three numbers: gate, section, and row. 47 00:03:31,269 --> 00:03:35,620 On the day of the games, a spectator showed his tessera to an attendant, who directed 48 00:03:35,620 --> 00:03:38,009 him to the proper gate. 49 00:03:38,009 --> 00:03:42,959 Ushers in the stands ensured that he sat in the proper section and row. 50 00:03:42,959 --> 00:03:45,319 The games held in the Colosseum were free. 51 00:03:45,318 --> 00:03:47,908 Tesserae, however, were in limited supply. 52 00:03:47,908 --> 00:03:51,530 Unlike modern tickets, they were not sold or otherwise made available to the general 53 00:03:51,530 --> 00:03:52,530 public. 54 00:03:52,530 --> 00:03:56,318 Instead, they were given in blocks to important individuals and guilds. 55 00:03:56,318 --> 00:04:02,789 These men and organizations could then distribute them as they wished to friends and clients. 56 00:04:02,789 --> 00:04:07,709 Time travelers looking to get their hands on a tessera have a few options. 57 00:04:07,709 --> 00:04:12,609 Short of just stealing one, which would be unwise for several reasons, all these options 58 00:04:12,609 --> 00:04:16,739 begin with finding a well-connected Roman friend. 59 00:04:16,738 --> 00:04:20,479 If you’ve chosen your persona well – see the first video in this series for more advice 60 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:22,777 on that critical topic – this will not be difficult, since many members of the Roman 61 00:04:22,776 --> 00:04:24,689 elite like to associate themselves with intriguing foreigners. 62 00:04:24,689 --> 00:04:28,629 After impressing a potential patron, ideally over dinner – a topic that will be discussed 63 00:04:28,629 --> 00:04:34,600 in a future video – time travelers will usually have to do no more than gently suggest 64 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,310 that they would like to attend the coming games. 65 00:04:38,310 --> 00:04:42,740 The quality of the seat obtained through these tactics will depend on the identity of your 66 00:04:42,740 --> 00:04:46,790 patron and the nature of your chosen persona. 67 00:04:46,790 --> 00:04:52,379 Many prominent Romans had access to both guest seats in their own sections and client seats 68 00:04:52,379 --> 00:04:55,170 in the less desirable stands high above. 69 00:04:55,170 --> 00:04:59,319 You’ll only be given one of the cherished guest seats if you manage to convince your 70 00:04:59,319 --> 00:05:03,509 host that you are both fascinating and important. 71 00:05:03,509 --> 00:05:07,909 One way of achieving this would be to hint that you’re on some sort of diplomatic mission, 72 00:05:07,910 --> 00:05:12,540 since ambassadors were customarily seated with senators in the front rows. 73 00:05:12,540 --> 00:05:17,790 A less risky strategy would be to simply present yourself as a person of wealth and distinction 74 00:05:17,790 --> 00:05:22,220 in your distant native land, and hope that your patron wants to be seen with an exotic 75 00:05:22,220 --> 00:05:24,090 visitor. 76 00:05:24,089 --> 00:05:28,750 The best case scenario is a seat on the podium beside the senators. 77 00:05:28,750 --> 00:05:33,091 If you manage to pull this off, you’ll have a superb vantage point both for watching the 78 00:05:33,091 --> 00:05:38,250 action in the arena and for gawking at the emperor, whose box was located among the senatorial 79 00:05:38,250 --> 00:05:39,610 seats. 80 00:05:39,610 --> 00:05:43,680 You can also look forward to a comfortable chair, specially-prepared refreshments, and 81 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:45,870 fine wine. 82 00:05:45,870 --> 00:05:49,670 If your seat is located in the Equestrian section, you’ll still have plenty of leg 83 00:05:49,670 --> 00:05:50,670 room. 84 00:05:50,670 --> 00:05:53,400 But you’ll be sitting on hard marble, so bring a seat cushion. 85 00:05:53,399 --> 00:05:59,719 You’ll also have to bring your own food, or be ready to order it during intermissions. 86 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,560 If your host decides that you are not in fact important, and relegates you to the main seating 87 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:10,381 section with his other clients, you can count on a narrow place on a narrow bench, where 88 00:06:10,380 --> 00:06:15,969 you will be elbowed, kneed, and jostled for the duration of the games. 89 00:06:15,970 --> 00:06:20,490 If you value personal space, get ready for a very long day. 90 00:06:20,490 --> 00:06:25,530 Finally, if the only seat your host cares to give you is located in the wooden benches 91 00:06:25,529 --> 00:06:31,049 along the rim of the arena, be prepared to stand all day, and know that, unless you have 92 00:06:31,050 --> 00:06:35,920 exceptional eyesight, the action on the arena will be almost invisible. 93 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,879 If this happens to you, I’d suggest time traveling to a different era, finding a better 94 00:06:39,879 --> 00:06:41,610 patron, and trying again. 95 00:06:41,610 --> 00:06:44,759 As always, there’s more to say. 96 00:06:44,759 --> 00:06:46,480 But in the interests of time, and since I’m more than a little jet-lagged at the moment, 97 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:47,790 we’ll pause here. 98 00:06:47,790 --> 00:06:53,050 I have a whole series of exciting videos planned for the coming weeks, so stay tuned. 99 00:06:53,050 --> 00:06:58,020 In the meantime, check out my forthcoming book, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War 100 00:06:58,019 --> 00:07:02,859 Elephants, which provides prospective time travelers with a great deal of useful information 101 00:07:02,860 --> 00:07:05,970 for navigating the classical world. 102 00:07:05,970 --> 00:07:06,550 Thanks for watching.