In this episode—the second of three on gladiators and related topics—Emily and Cam talk about what happened in the Colosseum and in other Roman arenas. First, they discuss the kinds of things that people would expect to see when they went to the games, including beast shows, public executions, and gladiator matches. Then, they focus on the gladiators themselves: who were they, and what were their lives like?

Links:

• The Zliten mosaic (with pictures)
• Gladiator Graffiti near the Porta Nocera in Pompeii (scroll down toward bottom, to the section on tomb 14EN)
• Image of the tombstone of Urbicus the Secutor

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00:10 - Introduction

01:57 - The Games

• 02:14 - Funeral games and the origins and development of gladiator combat
• 06:17 - The games in the age of the Colosseum
• 08:44 - Beast shows and hunters (venatores)
• 11:22 - Public punishments and spectacular executions
• 15:00 - Gladiator combat: gladiator graffiti from Pompeii and the excitement of the matched pair
• 19:52 - Mock battles, naval and otherwise, with a digression on Certamen players and the phrase “we who are about to die salute you”
• 23:13 - Keeping score: gladiator win-loss records, referees, and the possibility of survival
• 26:22 - An underdog story: the victories of Marcus Attilius at Nola
• 28:37 - Gladiators as celebrities (and sex symbols)

31:48 - The Gladiators: who were they, and what were their lives like?

• 32:14 - Who fought as gladiators?
• 33:14 - Gladiator “schools” (ludi) and managers (lanistae)
• 37:02 - Gladiator cemeteries and what they tell us about living conditions (diet, injuries, life expectancy)
• 43:22 - Evidence from tombstones: why did free people fight as gladiators?
• 50:08 - Evidence from tombstones: the lives of enslaved gladiators

In the first of three episodes about gladiators in ancient Rome, Emily and Cam explore the world’s most iconic remnant of ancient gladiator games: the Roman Colosseum. They talk about the appearance of the building, then and now; the origins of the building as part of the emperor Vespasian’s effort to legitimize his power; and the cycles of destruction and renewal that produced the ruin that survives in Rome today.

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• https://havetogawilltravel.com

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00:10 - Introduction

• 00:23 - The Colosseum: an iconic remnant of ancient Rome and its gladiator games
• 00:57 - First impressions of the Colosseum in Rome from the exterior
• 03:31 - The Colosseum’s interior: the exhibit spaces in the upper ambulatory and the arena

05:38 - The Colosseum as it was in ancient Rome

• 05:59 - The Colosseum, or the Flavian Amphitheatre?
• 06:58 - What’s an amphitheatre? A southern Italian innovation, influenced by Greek theaters
• 09:04 - The spread of amphitheatres in ancient Italy and elsewhere
• 10:05 - The Roman Colosseum in its heyday: its appearance, its structure, and its amenities

16:08 – Why was the Colosseum built? Vespasian and the legitimacy of the Flavian dynasty

• 16:39 - Augustus and the legitimacy of imperial power
• 19:05 - The fall of Augustus’ dynasty and the rise of Vespasian
• 20:39 - Vespasian and the ideological importance of the Flavian Amphitheatre
• 22:47 - A digression on Nero and his murder of his mother, Agrippina

26:06 - The survival of the Colosseum after antiquity: cycles of destruction and renewal

• 26:46 - Fires and earthquakes and flooding, oh my!
• 27:35 Fit for plunder: the Colosseum as a source of building materials
• 28:37 - Social, political, and economic transformations: the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the decline of the Colosseum
• 30:17 - New Life in the 11th century: the palaces of the Frangipani and Annibaldi
• 31:15 - A loss of memory: did anyone remember what the Colosseum was for?
• 32:28 - Flavio Biondo and the “rediscovery” of the Colosseum
• 33:05 - The Catholic Church, the Italian government, and restoration

33:54 - Final Thoughts and a meditation by the Venerable Bede

“The Return” sticks the landing. Join Emily and Cam as they talk about how the movie adapts and builds on its source material, the Odyssey, to deliver a gripping modern interpretation of Homer’s timeless story.

The Return

• Released December 6, 2024
• Starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche
• Directed by Uberto Pasolini

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• https://havetogawilltravel.com

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00:34 - Introduction: Pasolini’s movie, “The Return”

• 00:47 - What makes a good movie adaptation of an ancient Greek epic like Homer’s Odyssey?

02:22 - A Summary of Homer’s Odyssey

• 02:52 - The Telemachy
• 04:02 - From Calypso’s island to the island of the Phaeacians
• 04:39 - Odysseus’ narration of his adventures
• 05:51 - Odysseus’ return to Ithaka

06:56 - Our review of The Return

• 07:06 - The film’s focus and nods to earlier parts of the Odyssey
• 08:50 - Familiar beats: Odysseus in disguise; Eumaeus, Argos, and Eurycleia; Penelope’s loom; the confrontation in the great hall
• 13:19 - Odysseus: a man traumatized by loss and violence
• 17:19 - Penelope: strong, clever, and determined
• 21:38 - Antinoos: a fresh take on a one-note villain
• 24:26 - Odysseus’ bow and the harsh reality of violence and revenge
• 30:44 - Resolution: Odysseus and Penlope together again, Telemachus seeks to find himself

33:08 - Final thoughts

• 33:17 - Referencing Cacoyannis: the location, the cinematography, and the soundscape
• 34:22 - Overall impressions