By Fransje van Riel

To be published at a later date in Diversions Magazine

In the year 80 AD, during the first 100 days of the inauguration of the newly built Colosseum, over 5000 wild animals were slain in the name of entertainment. The arena, filled with thousands of excited spectators, was centre stage for the cruel and deadly fights between man and man, man and beast, and beast against beast.

A not so noble aspect of our past, perhaps. However, this figure represents merely one fifth of wild animals being killed every year here in South Africa in the name of sport-- a scary thought. An interesting journey back through time shows us where we have come from in our outlook towards mortal combat of man and animals and, hopefully with our today's morally evolving society, where we are headed.

Walking through the ruins of the ancient site, it is difficult to imagine the crowds' excitement as the emperor decided upon which fate to cast over those that fought. Gauging the spectators' mood, the infamous thumb was given the up or down, deciding upon life or death.

Today, a mere shadow constitutes the splendour of the Colosseum, once what was once considered to be the masterpiece of architecture of the "civilised" Roman Empire. Rows of seats that were once covered by marble slabs of stone are no longer there, nor are the exquisite and intricate paintings that graced the walls and passages leading up to the different levels of seats. All that is left today is the bare skeleton of the ancient structure.

The building of the Colosseum took roughly eight years, and work started under the auspices of Emperor Vespasian, his having officially declared the theatre to be his gift to the people of Rome. Vespasian chose the site to build the Colosseum there where former emperor Nero had had his private Utopia, consisting of his palace and ornamental lake, and thus reclaimed the property.

Nero's palace's entrance hall boasted a huge, colossal statue of the Emperor, hence the popular naming of the original Flavian Amphitheatre to that of the Colosseum. When the building began in 72 AD, the lake was drained to prepare the location for the magnificent architecture that was to take eight years to complete. A sewer system was devised that drained the entire lake into the Tiber river, a structure that was so ingenious that today's foundations of the Colosseum still benefit from those original works.

When in the year 80 AD the Colosseum was inaugurated, Rome heralded festivities that had never been seen before. The day of the opening was declared a public holiday and the Roman City saw a stream of national and foreign visitors. The estimated number of people that could be hosted in the arena at any given time was between 40, 000 and 80, 000.

The Colosseum's opening ceremony consisted of a parade in which gladiators, charioteers, and athletes participated as well as elephants, accompanied by their trainers. These same elephants, so revered and heralded in the opening march, were later put to fight against bears, lions and the gladiators, facing certain death. Under the jostling and jeering of the Roman populace, the extravagant procession marched upon Rome's cobbled streets, making their way to the arena.

Vespasian's son, the emperor Titus attended the inauguration and, under the hub of the spectators' titillation, the games were ordered to commence. This marked the beginning of some 300 years of torture and slaughter, marked by the approbation of the people of Rome. Finally and only when the power of Rome fell, did the games cease.

During the "games," several types of gladiators engaged in combat: Hopiomachi, huge men who fought with heavy armor, Thracians battled with lighter weapons and the Retiarii, gladiators who faced their opponents armed with just a trident and net. The crowds, delirious with their lust for blood, encouraged the gladiators by the cheering from the safe distance of their marble-clad seats as the combatants would enter the arena. Under the infamous words, "We who are about to die, salute you," the fights would commence.

When one of the gladiators was struck down, the victor looked towards his emperor who decided upon life or death for the wounded man. If the Emperor had decreed that the man should die, the stricken gladiator would then be put to death by the opponent's blows. Once condemned, no benignity was granted. Arena slaves would enter upon the stage and, with the use of special hammer-like objects, certify the gladiator's death. The unfortunate men were then dragged out of the arena by hooks and were flung in the carnaria, trenches that were established specially to rid the bodies.

Then there were the beasts. Over the decades, as the popularity of the games continued, more and more animals were required to be brought into Rome directly from Northern Africa. Hunters set out to capture and bring back lion, leopard, cheetah, rhino, elephant, and many other species for the amusement of the spectators. One can only imagine the conditions that the wild captured animals had to endure during the extremely slow pace of transportation from Africa to Rome and the lack of facilities for the caged and frightened beasts.

Northern Africa's rich wildlife was dramatically depleted of its natural resources as the Colosseum initiated an industry where the supply of wild animals was barely appropriate for the huge demand for blood.

The bestiarii, men who fought against the animals, faced a myriad of exotic species. The animals were kept underneath the stage in the passages that have been laid bare today. With special lifts, the beasts would be hoisted up and as the trapdoor was opened, the animals would appear, squinting against the daylight that they had not seen for any amount of time.

One can only presume the noise and chaos that the spectators exuded and, along with the smell of death, the animals must have been frightened and traumatised as they were brought against their worst enemy, man. The bestiarri then engaged in the man and beast combat. Unlike the gladiators, there was no chance for the animals to leave the Colosseum's stage alive. After every slaughter the arena's wooden floor, spilled with the beasts' blood, would be doused with a new, fresh coat of sand in preparation for the next game.

Eventually, thousands of men as well as beasts found their way into the carnaria. When the archaeologist Lanciani excavated these mass graves in the early nineteenth century, it was reported that the stench of death was still prevalent after seventeen centuries.

The Colosseum was center stage for the atrocities for some 300 years. In 399 AD, the emperor Honorius closed down the last school for gladiators, and the games in the Colosseum were not taking place on a regular basis anymore.

From this time on, the magnificent Roman theatre was stripped of its foundations. The marble slabs were extricated and reused for the building of other structures. For over fourteen centuries, the masterpiece of Rome was ransacked and looted, cast aside as an obsequious reminder of Rome's former glory.

It is interesting to note that, despite the infamous tales of the early Christians being thrown to the lions in the Colosseum, no historical proof whatsoever was ever derived from any of the history books. Scientists and historians now belief that this was, in fact, a fable that might have been invented for a number of reasons, not least to glamorize the early suffering of Christianity at the hands of the Romans.

In the mid 1840s the first restorations were initiated. Once the thick vegetation was cleared, the narrow underground passages and tunnels were excavated and archeologists were able to identify the Colosseum's hidden past. Between the 1930s and 1940s, the Colosseum was reconstructed under the orders of Mussolini. It became a fashionable treat to visit Rome's Colosseum and, as no entrance fee was requested, the erosion became a threat to the preservation of this ancient site.

Today, the Colosseum is one of the world's most frequented historical monuments, with people visiting from around the globe, pondering on Roman's ancient bloodbaths. It is hard to imagine that people actively concurred and indeed enjoyed the massive butchery that was inflicted on man and beast. We claim today that man has progressed and has a more ethical and morally evolved outlook towards its fellow co-inhabitants. Surely it is now time to consider laying all blood sports to rest and prove that we have matured as human beings.