The Colosseum was a grand amphitheatre in the heart of Rome, where sponsors would put on gladiatorial shows in order to gain popularity with the people. These shows were incredibly popular amongst the Romans, and were known for their brutality and violence. In this essay I will argue the case for a day at the colosseum being more than just a large scale execution and then present what I believe to be the more convincing argument on how a typical day at the colosseum consisted of large numbers of deaths leading to its popularity.
While a typical day at the Colosseum would most likely include death it was by no means the only thing that happened. In fact it may have been the case that the first activities in the morning even before the animal fights, were called “mock fights”. These would have been between lesser known gladiators fighting with wooden swords and therefore resulting in no death. These fights were the very first of the day and were therefore used to excite the crowd and get them ready for the gore and death throughout the day, however I believe these fights would have been popular amongst the Romans as it allowed them to start their day by watching fighting rather than thinking over whether they wanted the loser to die or not. Another point to suggest that death was not the only thing a day at the colosseum would consist of is the music, gambling and all around socialising that would go on in the stands, not to mention the specialist fights that would happen often with both teams emerging alive. The music would be played in between and while announcing battles this gave the spectators something to listen to and enjoy while they waited for more gore. Betting was encouraged at the colosseum and many people would gamble hoping to get rich this gave people something to worry about other than just death but instead who they felt would be the definite winner. In case the spectators got bored with the constant deaths that were happening, special battles would also take place in the colosseum. For example they would flood the colosseum and host naval battles that would often end with no deaths but caused huge excitement and enjoyment for the fans as they were witnessing something other than death after death. I believe that all of these activities and events that did not result in death would have been enjoyed hugely by the spectators as it allowed them to get their minds of the deaths and get truly excited about a wonderful event. Of course the loser of a gladiatorial bout would not always be killed as the sponsor if the games would have to pay compensation to the dead's family. It is said that you would have a 90% chance of surviving the battle even if you lost meaning that
