[00:01] These days, there are no good seats at the
Colosseum.
[00:04] In fact, thanks to centuries of enthusiastic
pillaging, there are no seats at all.
[00:10] But when the amphitheater was whole, it had
places for more than 50,000 spectators.
[00:16] During the great imperially-sponsored games,
when most of Rome’s million inhabitants
[00:22] were competing for those 50,000 or so seats,
your chances of getting a good place in the
[00:27] arena depended on who you were, who you know,
and how creatively you exploited both.
[00:34] Like the other entries in my time traveler’s
guide to ancient Rome, this video provides
[00:38] hypothetically practical advice to modern
tourists with the wherewithal to visit imperial
[00:44] Rome.
[00:45] This time, we’ll explore how our hypothetical
time traveler could get a seat – and, with
[00:50] a bit of maneuvering, a good seat – during
the games at the Colosseum.
[00:54] First, a bit of background.
[00:58] Seating in the Colosseum, like so much else
in the Roman world, was regimented by social
[01:03] class.
[01:04] The best seats, closest to the arena, were
reserved for the emperor, the Vestal Virgins,
[01:10] and Senators.
[01:11] This section, known as the podium, consisted
of marble terraces designed to carry the chairs
[01:17] from which the elite surveyed the world.
[01:20] Every spectator in this privileged tier was
attended by at least one slave, who would
[01:25] carry their chair, shield them from the sun,
and serve refreshments.
[01:30] Above the podium was the Colosseum’s equivalent
of business class: tiers of wide marble seats
[01:36] where members of the Equestrian order sat
in relative ease and comfort, separated from
[01:40] the masses by a high stone wall.
[01:44] The main seating section was above the Equestrians.
[01:47] Here, row after row of narrow marble benches
held the bulk of the audience: all male, all
[01:54] Roman citizens, all sweating in wool togas.
[01:59] These seats were divided into dozens of sections
reserved for members of various guilds and
[02:05] associations.
[02:06] The highest and worst seats were located along
the rim of the perimeter wall, in the stifling
[02:12] semi-darkness just below the awning that shielded
the arena from sun and rain.
[02:17] In this section, slaves, women, and other
low-status spectators stood shoulder to shoulder
[02:23] on tiers of rickety wooden planks, fifty meters
and a world away from the senators in their
[02:29] padded seats.
[02:30] Having reviewed how seating worked, we can
move on to the practicalities.
[02:36] Gladiators only fought in the Colosseum about
a dozen times in an average year.
[02:42] Time travelers who want to see the arena in
action should thus plan their visit to coincide
[02:47] with Saturnalia, when the emperors almost
always put on a series of games.
[02:52] Those with an appetite for the truly spectacular
should point their time machines toward 80
[02:56] AD, when Titus dedicated the Colosseum with
a spectacular series of events, or toward
[03:02] 107 AD, when Trajan staged games that lasted
four months and featured no fewer than 5,000
[03:08] pairs of gladiators.
[03:10] Now, how to get tickets.
[03:13] The tickets used in the Colosseum were known
as tesserae.
[03:17] Sometimes, tesserae were specially-made tokens
of lead or ceramic.
[03:22] Often, they were just shards of pottery.
[03:24] Whatever form they took, they showed three
numbers: gate, section, and row.
[03:31] On the day of the games, a spectator showed
his tessera to an attendant, who directed
[03:35] him to the proper gate.
[03:38] Ushers in the stands ensured that he sat in
the proper section and row.
[03:42] The games held in the Colosseum were free.
[03:45] Tesserae, however, were in limited supply.
[03:47] Unlike modern tickets, they were not sold
or otherwise made available to the general
[03:51] public.
[03:52] Instead, they were given in blocks to important
individuals and guilds.
[03:56] These men and organizations could then distribute
them as they wished to friends and clients.
[04:02] Time travelers looking to get their hands
on a tessera have a few options.
[04:07] Short of just stealing one, which would be
unwise for several reasons, all these options
[04:12] begin with finding a well-connected Roman
friend.
[04:16] If you’ve chosen your persona well – see
the first video in this series for more advice
[04:20] on that critical topic – this will not be
difficult, since many members of the Roman
[04:22] elite like to associate themselves with intriguing
foreigners.
[04:24] After impressing a potential patron, ideally
over dinner – a topic that will be discussed
[04:28] in a future video – time travelers will
usually have to do no more than gently suggest
[04:34] that they would like to attend the coming
games.
[04:38] The quality of the seat obtained through these
tactics will depend on the identity of your
[04:42] patron and the nature of your chosen persona.
[04:46] Many prominent Romans had access to both guest
seats in their own sections and client seats
[04:52] in the less desirable stands high above.
[04:55] You’ll only be given one of the cherished
guest seats if you manage to convince your
[04:59] host that you are both fascinating and important.
[05:03] One way of achieving this would be to hint
that you’re on some sort of diplomatic mission,
[05:07] since ambassadors were customarily seated
with senators in the front rows.
[05:12] A less risky strategy would be to simply present
yourself as a person of wealth and distinction
[05:17] in your distant native land, and hope that
your patron wants to be seen with an exotic
[05:22] visitor.
[05:24] The best case scenario is a seat on the podium
beside the senators.
[05:28] If you manage to pull this off, you’ll have
a superb vantage point both for watching the
[05:33] action in the arena and for gawking at the
emperor, whose box was located among the senatorial
[05:38] seats.
[05:39] You can also look forward to a comfortable
chair, specially-prepared refreshments, and
[05:43] fine wine.
[05:45] If your seat is located in the Equestrian
section, you’ll still have plenty of leg
[05:49] room.
[05:50] But you’ll be sitting on hard marble, so
bring a seat cushion.
[05:53] You’ll also have to bring your own food,
or be ready to order it during intermissions.
[05:59] If your host decides that you are not in fact
important, and relegates you to the main seating
[06:04] section with his other clients, you can count
on a narrow place on a narrow bench, where
[06:10] you will be elbowed, kneed, and jostled for
the duration of the games.
[06:15] If you value personal space, get ready for
a very long day.
[06:20] Finally, if the only seat your host cares
to give you is located in the wooden benches
[06:25] along the rim of the arena, be prepared to
stand all day, and know that, unless you have
[06:31] exceptional eyesight, the action on the arena
will be almost invisible.
[06:35] If this happens to you, I’d suggest time
traveling to a different era, finding a better
[06:39] patron, and trying again.
[06:41] As always, there’s more to say.
[06:44] But in the interests of time, and since I’m
more than a little jet-lagged at the moment,
[06:46] we’ll pause here.
[06:47] I have a whole series of exciting videos planned
for the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
[06:53] In the meantime, check out my forthcoming
book, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War
[06:58] Elephants, which provides prospective time
travelers with a great deal of useful information
[07:02] for navigating the classical world.
[07:05] Thanks for watching.