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Ancient Rome - one of the greatest
superpowers in history,

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whose far reaching legacy continues
to shape our lives.

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For close on 1,000 years the Romans
dominated the known world.

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Theirs was an extraordinary empire
that heralded an age

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of unprecedented prosperity
and stability,

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but that also ruled through violence
and oppression.

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Rome's rise to greatness
wasn't inevitable.

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It's epic history was often decided
by single, critical moments.

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In this series, I'm exploring eight
key days that I believe helped to

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explain Rome's remarkable success.

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To understand the full significance
of these eight days,

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I'm travelling across
the Roman world.
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I am incredibly lucky to get access
to this archaeological site.

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Examining remarkable finds.

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This is a bit of prized gladiatorial
sports graffiti.

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It does remind us of just how macho
Roman society is, though.

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And investigating the complexities
of what it was to be Roman.

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SHE SCREAMS

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One of my eight days played out
here, right in the heart of Rome,

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in 80 AD.

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Let the games begin!

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When a desperate Emperor Titus

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unveiled the greatest monument in
the history of Rome - the Coliseum.

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One of these gladiators

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will die!

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The opening day of this incredible
building...

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..evidence of the callous Roman
mind-set that helped Rome stay

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master of the known world.

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Today, the Coliseum is still a
towering statement of the excess

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and might of the Roman Empire
at its height.

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But the day it opened was a huge
gamble by a new imperial dynasty,

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desperately trying to cling
on to power.

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The opening day of the Coliseum was
rammed with spectacle and violence

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and is packed with historical clues.

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I've chosen it is one of my eight
days that made Rome,

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not just because of the role it
played in securing the stability

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of a fragile new dynasty,

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but because of what it can tell us
about the Roman psyche,

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about Roman attitudes to
life and death,

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how they saw themselves and their
relationship to the world.

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For me, this building can help us to
understand what it meant

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to be Roman.

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The Romans can seem like us -
they're educated, they're literate,

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they're masters of political spin,

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their technology is a precursor to
ours and their art fills

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our museums.

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But nothing makes them feel stranger
or more alien than the slaughter

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in the arena of animals and humans
for entertainment.

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The significance of this

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blood-filled opening day would have
been

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felt most acutely by one man...

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HE RETCHES

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The Emperor, or Caesar, Titus.

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He wanted to secure the Empire not
just for himself, but for his

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dynasty, the Flavians, including his
ambitious younger brother, Domitian,

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who would succeed him.

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A touch of nerves, brother?

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Must have eaten something that
disagreed with me.

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Surely nothing would dare disagree
with you, Caesar.

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I do regret our father did not live
to see this day.

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Perhaps he had a lucky escape.

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Meaning?

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Meaning it is you, Caesar,

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that will either face the
consequences of the old man's folly

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or reap the rewards of his
remarkable vision.

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Titus and Domitian were the
beneficiaries of a bold power grab

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by their father, Vespasian.

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This day was their chance to secure
his legacy,

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kick-started when he'd seized
control of the world's

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greatest empire in 69 AD to become
Rome's ninth emperor.

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Rome had been ruled by one great
dynasty since 31 BC,

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when Augustus became its
first emperor.

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Are we not still standing?

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Marking the arrival of the
Julio-Claudians.

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But the excesses of the dynasty's
fifth emperor, Nero,

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brought the Empire into disrepute.
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What an end is this for an
emperor of Rome?

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When he died in 68 AD, the
Julio-Claudians died with him,

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leaving the Empire in chaos.

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The civil war that followed left
thousands dead.

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Out of the carnage emerged this man,
the Emperor Vespasian.

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Now, he was determined to nourish
the security of the Flavian dynasty,

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his bloodline and that of his two
sons, Titus and Domitian, and,

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at the same time, to win over the
hearts of the people of Rome.

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And his strategy?

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To build the largest arena the world
had ever seen.

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What was originally called the
Flavian Amphitheatre...

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The Coliseum.

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Unlike previous emperors, Vespasian
wasn't an elite politician,

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he was a soldier from
humble origins.

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His position was fragile.

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The Senate was full of ambitious men
itching to seize control.

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Winning over the people of Rome was
critical if he was to stay in power.

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Vespasian's master plan was to offer
ordinary Romans an alternative

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to the corruption of Nero.

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Where I'm walking now was once
actually a massive lake that stood

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right at the heart of a ridiculously
excessive palace and garden complex

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built on the orders of
the Emperor Nero.

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Now, it is no coincidence whatsoever
that this was the spot chosen by the

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Emperor Vespasian to construct his
grand new amphitheatre.

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It's really interesting Vespasian
chose that particular site to build

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the Coliseum.

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Vespasian wants to really contrast
his reign with that of Nero.

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Nero had built himself a huge
private pleasure palace,

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right in the heart of the city, and
it's really unpopular.

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What Vespasian is doing is saying,
here I am,

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I'm building a huge pleasure palace
for the people,

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where once had stood a lake that had
only been for an

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emperor's enjoyment.

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When we think of Rome, we often
think of the Coliseum.

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It does become something that really
defines the city.

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Absolutely, and it's a profound,
symbolic statement,

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that ordinary people were going to
get a lot out of having Vespasian
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in charge.

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From his years as a general,

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Vespasian knew how effective
amphitheatres were at keeping up

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the morale of soldiers right across
the Empire.

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The bloody celebration of what they
called "virtus",

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a kind of macho manliness, was
embedded in the Roman psyche.

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Vespasian was going to use this
concept to unite the people of Rome,

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by building the largest
amphitheatre ever.

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As the construction of the
Flavian Amphitheatre progressed,

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Romans must have wondered whether
Vespasian could deliver

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on his promise.

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The building would eventually become
known as the Coliseum.

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After the Colossus - a massive
statue of Nero that once

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stood nearby.

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The Coliseum had taken a decade
to build,

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but in 79 AD the
Emperor Vespasian died,

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leaving his brainchild unfinished.

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Now, a year later, on the day of the
grand opening,

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it was down to his eldest son,
Titus, to prove to the Roman people

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that all this had been worth
the wait.

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Emperor Titus was now ready to
unveil the Flavian Amphitheatre.

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Although Titus was emperor, that
didn't mean that he was secure.

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The jury was still out on whether
Rome would accept this upstart

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Flavian dynasty.

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Then, to add to his challenges, as
soon as he was in power,

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disaster struck.

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Just two months into Titus' reign,
Mount Vesuvius erupted,

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obliterating the towns of Pompeii
and Herculaneum.

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A year later, a three-day fire
ravaged Rome, followed by a plague.

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These disasters were a very
inauspicious start.

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The Romans were superstitious
in the extreme,

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and events like this were taken as a
clear sign that the gods

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were displeased.

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Now, Titus' hold on power was
already shaky and there was

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a very real possibility that it
would evaporate.

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Titus had a golden opportunity to
show a nervous public he was worthy

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of the title Caesar
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when the construction of the Flavian
Amphitheatre was finally completed.

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He announced a mind-boggling
100 days of games,

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with free entry to those lucky
enough to get a ticket.

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It would be up to the organiser, or
editor, to deliver

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a show to remember.

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Caesar.

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Is everything ready?

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Is everything ready or isn't it?

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Everything is, is, is ready, Caesar.

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Then let us begin.

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On that opening day in the early
summer of 80 AD,

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the stakes couldn't have
been higher.

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They seem happy enough.For now.

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They want blood.

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Blood, blood and more blood.

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That's what
I'm giving them, brother.

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Citizens of Rome...

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Welcome to this,

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the first of 100 days in celebration
of the glory of the Empire!

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So let the games begin!

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CHEERING

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That went better than expected.

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Domitian, do shut up.

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It never fails to impress me just
how vast this place is.

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But it's also chilling because,

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and I don't think I'm being over
fanciful here,

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if you stop for a moment you can
almost hear the crowd
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baying for blood!

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Go, go, go, go, go, go!

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The games were a chance for the
Romans to celebrate and marvel at

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the diversity of their empire
including hunters, or venatores,

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from Ethiopia.

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Behold, from Africa.

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I present a beast,

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the likes of which you will
not believe!

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GROWLING

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My eyesight, as you know,
is not the best.

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But that looks very much to me like
a herd of goats.

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GROWLING

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This first event of the day was the
venationes,
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the slaughter of wild beasts.

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A popular Roman tradition.

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As the Empire expanded, Romans were
fascinated by the exotic animals

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they encountered.

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Gathering and transporting animals
to be used in the venationes

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became an empire wide industry.

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Made possible by Rome's ability to
connect cities from as far afield as

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Scotland to Jerash, here in Jordan.

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It was such a big operation even the
Roman army got involved.

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The animals would be recorded at
busy cities like this one,

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boxed up, and then exported over the
waterways and the intercontinental

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system of roads that the Romans
constructed with such care

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and skill.
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Such was the impact of the Roman
appetite for these animals that many

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species were simply wiped out from
the Empire.

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As the author, Petronius, put it,

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"The wild beast is searched out in
the woods at great price."

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"Strange, ravening creatures freight
the fleets and the padding tiger is"

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"wheeled into a gilded palace to
drink the blood of men"

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"while the crowds applaud."

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The venationes weren't just a way of
showing Rome's dominion over the

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natural world, they were used by the
wealthy to demonstrate their power.

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This mosaic would originally have
decorated the grand villa of a

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wealthy man from North Africa,

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and it tells us how people used the
venationes to show off.

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Basically, it's a kind of
storyboard,

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so you've got four leopards pitted
against four hunters in the games

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and you can see where they've been
skewered and they're

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spurting blood.

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Now, because the animals are damaged
goods their owner is asking for

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money in recompense and the man who
put on the games, Magerius, obliges.

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Just in the middle here, you can see
somebody coming in carrying a tray

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of loot and each of those bags of
money contains 1,000 denarii.

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That is a huge amount of cash.

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Put together its around a quarter of
a million pounds in today's money

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and the writing in the middle rams
home the message.

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"This is what it is to be rich."

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"This is what it is to be powerful."
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At the Coliseum, Titus was taking
this concept to the nth degree

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in a bid to impress the people with
his wealth and potency.

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But the venationes weren't just
about showing off.

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The animal hunts that took place in
amphitheatres and stadiums right

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across the Roman Empire were a
reminder to the local population

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that the Romans ruled the world with
absolute ferocity.

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And the beast hunts back at Rome
were a way of bringing the exoticism

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of the Empire to Rome's home turf.

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It's the Romans saying,

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00:18:05,806 --> 00:18:09,274
"with might and muscle, we have
conquered the known world"

239
00:18:09,314 --> 00:18:12,381
"full of wild and wonderful things."

240
00:18:12,420 --> 00:18:14,652
"Let's bathe in our own glory."

241
00:18:18,158 --> 00:18:21,943
Titus Caesar shipped in exotic
animals from the far corners

242
00:18:21,983 --> 00:18:24,971
of the Empire for the slaughter.

243
00:18:25,010 --> 00:18:29,275
5,000 beasts, we're told, on this
first day alone.

244
00:18:30,468 --> 00:18:34,494
Is everything proceeding to your
satisfaction, Caesar?

245
00:18:34,532 --> 00:18:37,201
You had us worried there with the
goats.

246
00:18:37,242 --> 00:18:39,633
All part of the plan, Caesar.

247
00:18:39,673 --> 00:18:42,462
I don't need to remind you what's
at stake here.

248
00:18:42,502 --> 00:18:46,963
What my dear brother means to say
is, mess this up,

249
00:18:47,003 --> 00:18:50,151
and he'll have the gladiators
sharpen their swords on your skull.

250
00:18:52,103 --> 00:18:53,099
I understand.

251
00:18:55,927 --> 00:18:59,473
These games were costing a fortune.

252
00:18:59,513 --> 00:19:02,063
Not to mention the financing of
building the Coliseum

253
00:19:02,103 --> 00:19:03,139
in the first place.

254
00:19:04,732 --> 00:19:09,354
When Titus' father, Vespasian, came
to power he'd inherited an empire

255
00:19:09,394 --> 00:19:13,060
almost bankrupt from the
excesses of Nero.

256
00:19:13,099 --> 00:19:15,649
So how on earth did he pay for
all of this?

257
00:19:17,961 --> 00:19:23,140
A discovery in 2001 reveals how
proud the Flavians were

258
00:19:23,180 --> 00:19:25,888
of just how they funded
the construction.

259
00:19:27,602 --> 00:19:31,067
This inscribed stone was originally
mounted on the outside of the

260
00:19:31,107 --> 00:19:35,569
Coliseum, and the letters that you
can see tell us that these were

261
00:19:35,609 --> 00:19:39,475
carved in 400 years so after the
building was finished.

262
00:19:39,515 --> 00:19:43,339
They read that a senator called
Lampadius gave money to the

263
00:19:43,379 --> 00:19:47,802
Coliseum once it had become rundown
in order for it to be restored.

264
00:19:47,842 --> 00:19:52,822
But, then, archaeologists spotted
all these little holes.

265
00:19:52,862 --> 00:19:56,048
And realised that these were where
brass letters were originally

266
00:19:56,088 --> 00:19:57,522
fixed to the stone.

267
00:19:57,562 --> 00:20:00,631
And if you join the dots together,
this is what they say,

268
00:20:01,745 --> 00:20:06,129
"The Emperor Caesar, Vespasian
Augustus, built this new"

269
00:20:06,169 --> 00:20:09,634
"amphitheatre with the
spoils of war."

270
00:20:11,069 --> 00:20:14,495
The Romans were blatantly
advertising the fact that

271
00:20:14,534 --> 00:20:17,961
the Coliseum had been built with
foreign plunder.

272
00:20:19,116 --> 00:20:20,153
Dirty money.

273
00:20:22,901 --> 00:20:26,646
And much of that money came from one
city in particular.

274
00:20:30,472 --> 00:20:34,017
Just a stone's throw from the
Coliseum is this spectacular

275
00:20:34,057 --> 00:20:37,403
victory arch, the Arch of Titus.

276
00:20:37,444 --> 00:20:41,188
When Vespasian became emperor, his
son, Titus, was in Judea,

277
00:20:41,229 --> 00:20:45,572
crushing a Jewish revolt
with absolute ferocity

278
00:20:45,612 --> 00:20:47,404
and laying siege to Jerusalem.
279
00:20:50,113 --> 00:20:53,938
The sack of Jerusalem has gone down
in history as one of the horror

280
00:20:53,978 --> 00:20:56,209
stories of humanity.

281
00:20:56,249 --> 00:20:58,680
Both for the scale of the slaughter,

282
00:20:58,719 --> 00:21:01,030
and the destruction of the
sacred temple.

283
00:21:02,902 --> 00:21:06,966
There's Titus, being crowned by the
goddess of victory,

284
00:21:07,006 --> 00:21:10,392
and over here is his train,
fat with the loot.

285
00:21:10,432 --> 00:21:12,664
Including the treasured menorah,

286
00:21:12,704 --> 00:21:16,607
a sacred candelabrum with seven arms
that was said to have been carried

287
00:21:16,648 --> 00:21:21,428
by Moses from Egypt to end up in
its resting place in the temple

288
00:21:21,468 --> 00:21:22,584
at Jerusalem.

289
00:21:23,899 --> 00:21:28,879
The Arch of Titus tells us something
unsettling about the Roman psyche.

290
00:21:28,919 --> 00:21:32,862
That the Flavians were thrilled by
the fact that they could use the

291
00:21:32,903 --> 00:21:36,768
proceeds of a Jewish blood bath to
fund the building

292
00:21:36,807 --> 00:21:38,282
of a giant stadium.

293
00:21:39,357 --> 00:21:43,222
For the Romans, theirs was the only
civilisation that mattered.

294
00:21:45,414 --> 00:21:48,202
Now, on this opening day,

295
00:21:48,241 --> 00:21:53,302
the crowd would decide if Titus had
spent his Jewish loot well enough

296
00:21:53,341 --> 00:21:55,693
to save his troubled reign.

297
00:22:04,697 --> 00:22:09,438
Emperor Titus's grand opening of the
Coliseum might have been a chance

298
00:22:09,478 --> 00:22:11,747
for him to shore up the
Flavian dynasty.

299
00:22:13,222 --> 00:22:17,565
But one aspect of the games reveals
something far deeper about Rome's

300
00:22:17,606 --> 00:22:20,234
attitudes to crime and punishment,

301
00:22:20,274 --> 00:22:24,896
and how it dealt with those who
dared to transgress the rules

302
00:22:24,935 --> 00:22:26,370
of Roman society.

303
00:22:27,924 --> 00:22:33,820
At midday, the arena was turned into
a place of public execution.

304
00:22:35,254 --> 00:22:37,605
We all know that in some parts of
the world,

305
00:22:37,646 --> 00:22:40,513
and in the dark recesses
of the internet,

306
00:22:40,554 --> 00:22:43,741
executions can draw thousands
of viewers.

307
00:22:44,776 --> 00:22:48,761
But what the Romans did here was
elaborately repulsive.

308
00:22:49,838 --> 00:22:54,578
They turned their public executions
into a kind of snuff theatre.

309
00:22:57,048 --> 00:23:01,510
They'd take a well-known Greek myth,
part of their shared heritage,

310
00:23:01,550 --> 00:23:04,019
and give it a macabre spin.

311
00:23:05,135 --> 00:23:08,722
The crowd could share the dubious
delight of watching these

312
00:23:08,762 --> 00:23:10,435
sinister spectacles.

313
00:23:13,742 --> 00:23:15,773
What sort of a beast is that?

314
00:23:15,813 --> 00:23:19,160
This, my lord, is
Actaeon The Hunter.

315
00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:23,422
Who, on seeing Diana bathing, was
overcome with lust,

316
00:23:23,462 --> 00:23:27,368
and as a punishment, transformed
into a stag.

317
00:23:30,953 --> 00:23:35,934
This merchant here defiled the young
daughter of his labour.

318
00:23:39,439 --> 00:23:40,436
And so the hunter...

319
00:23:42,827 --> 00:23:43,822
..becomes the hunted.

320
00:23:45,774 --> 00:23:49,400
CHEERING

321
00:24:21,472 --> 00:24:24,620
I know that we shouldn't judge
ancient societies from a

322
00:24:24,659 --> 00:24:26,372
21st-century point of view,

323
00:24:26,412 --> 00:24:31,352
but I have to say, I am very
troubled by the degree of cruelty

324
00:24:31,392 --> 00:24:33,743
that you find in the Coliseum.

325
00:24:33,784 --> 00:24:38,444
It has to be said that most
societies show some propensity

326
00:24:38,484 --> 00:24:41,830
to enjoy violence. I mean, if you
look at Hollywood movies now,

327
00:24:41,870 --> 00:24:45,497
or some computer games, they are
pretty violent,

328
00:24:45,537 --> 00:24:47,728
albeit at one removed.

329
00:24:47,768 --> 00:24:50,476
And so, partly, I think Romans do
just show this, kind of,

330
00:24:50,516 --> 00:24:54,620
almost instinctive human interest
in violence.

331
00:24:54,661 --> 00:24:57,488
But I think there's much more to it
than that.

332
00:24:57,528 --> 00:25:01,512
What they are trying to do is,
really, show that Rome has power

333
00:25:01,552 --> 00:25:05,855
of life and death over
transgressors, outsiders,

334
00:25:05,895 --> 00:25:07,927
people who it has conquered.

335
00:25:07,966 --> 00:25:12,868
And, in a way, that kind of violent
execution is a way of the Romans

336
00:25:12,907 --> 00:25:16,930
coming together, as a group,
celebrating their Romanness,

337
00:25:16,970 --> 00:25:18,724
and celebrating law and order.

338
00:25:21,910 --> 00:25:25,537
At the Coliseum, it wasn't just
about entertainment.

339
00:25:25,577 --> 00:25:29,680
Titus was selling this law and order
like never before.

340
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,545
The very seating was designed to
show the audience exactly where they

341
00:25:33,585 --> 00:25:35,378
belonged in Rome's pecking order.
342
00:25:36,813 --> 00:25:38,247
Starting with the emperor himself,

343
00:25:38,287 --> 00:25:42,429
the seating plan was an incarnation
of Roman society.

344
00:25:42,469 --> 00:25:45,457
The Emperor Titus and his family,
including his younger brother,

345
00:25:45,498 --> 00:25:48,486
Domitian, would have sat in the
Imperial box,

346
00:25:48,525 --> 00:25:50,079
which was probably over there.

347
00:25:51,713 --> 00:25:56,414
Then, radiating up, the influential
senators and patricians

348
00:25:56,453 --> 00:25:58,964
on the first level,

349
00:25:59,004 --> 00:26:01,393
the equites, or knights,
on the second.

350
00:26:05,579 --> 00:26:10,239
Up here, separated from the more
important, high status citizens,

351
00:26:10,279 --> 00:26:13,545
were the plebs, the ordinary people.

352
00:26:13,585 --> 00:26:16,733
The very poorest had the rubbish
seats right at the back.

353
00:26:18,765 --> 00:26:20,637
But it didn't stop there.

354
00:26:20,677 --> 00:26:25,260
Above the plebs were the women, rich
and poor alike.
355
00:26:25,300 --> 00:26:27,650
Rome was a patriarchal society,

356
00:26:27,690 --> 00:26:31,475
and women were expected to stay at
home and manage the household.

357
00:26:31,514 --> 00:26:34,343
Their attendance at the games was
somewhat frowned upon.

358
00:26:35,419 --> 00:26:39,881
The perfect Roman woman demonstrated
modesty and chastity,

359
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,826
very different to the values prized
in the ideal Roman man,

360
00:26:43,865 --> 00:26:47,332
a kind of heroic manliness.

361
00:26:47,372 --> 00:26:52,789
And the main event on that day was a
uniquely Roman celebration

362
00:26:52,830 --> 00:26:55,100
of that manliness.

363
00:26:55,140 --> 00:26:59,642
At the Coliseum, the success of the
opening day would be decided by the

364
00:26:59,682 --> 00:27:01,514
people's favourite.

365
00:27:01,555 --> 00:27:05,499
The highlight of the games,
the gladiators.

366
00:27:11,795 --> 00:27:14,902
Get this animal to his cell and out
of the way.

367
00:27:16,893 --> 00:27:20,280
No way to speak to a champion,
hmm, Priscus?

368
00:27:25,220 --> 00:27:28,926
Thanks to the celebrated poet,
Martial, who witnessed the games,

369
00:27:28,966 --> 00:27:32,312
we know that the two gladiators who
fought one another were called

370
00:27:32,352 --> 00:27:34,743
Verus and Priscus.

371
00:27:34,782 --> 00:27:38,248
Now, these two would have been well
known to the crowd,

372
00:27:38,288 --> 00:27:40,241
celebrities in their own right.

373
00:27:40,281 --> 00:27:43,867
A bit like when Muhammad Ali met
Joe Frazier in Manila.

374
00:27:48,449 --> 00:27:49,484
Priscus?

375
00:27:49,524 --> 00:27:51,396
Yes, Caesar?

376
00:27:51,435 --> 00:27:52,750
You are to fight Verus.

377
00:27:54,584 --> 00:27:55,581
Are you ready to die?

378
00:27:56,815 --> 00:27:57,810
Yes, Caesar.

379
00:27:58,926 --> 00:28:00,879
Are you afraid to die?No, Caesar.

380
00:28:03,708 --> 00:28:05,340
I make you an offer,
381
00:28:05,380 --> 00:28:07,931
one which will motivate you to fight
well, and hard.

382
00:28:09,165 --> 00:28:12,831
To the one of you that kills the
other, I shall grant freedom.

383
00:28:16,696 --> 00:28:18,966
Now, you give me a fight worthy of
my clemency.

384
00:28:20,839 --> 00:28:22,233
May the gods show you their favour.

385
00:28:25,461 --> 00:28:27,772
Although the fight between two
champions would have been

386
00:28:27,812 --> 00:28:31,836
a big draw, there was another key
reason to attend this spectacular

387
00:28:31,876 --> 00:28:33,589
first day of the games.

388
00:28:36,777 --> 00:28:41,039
At the Coliseum, there was also the
rare chance for the crowd to let

389
00:28:41,078 --> 00:28:43,311
their emperor know what they
thought of him.

390
00:28:44,345 --> 00:28:47,813
Something they'd been deprived of
for over 100 years,

391
00:28:47,852 --> 00:28:50,481
since the demise of the Republic
under Augustus.

392
00:28:51,915 --> 00:28:57,693
Here, they could cheer and applaud,
or howl, or just stay quiet.

393
00:28:58,689 --> 00:29:00,642
A kind of oral opinion poll.

394
00:29:02,434 --> 00:29:05,461
To be met by silence, rather
than adulation,

395
00:29:05,501 --> 00:29:07,972
was a body blow for the ambitious.

396
00:29:10,282 --> 00:29:14,705
Titus was taking a big gamble by
addressing the crowd directly.

397
00:29:16,139 --> 00:29:20,641
Citizens, is this not the greatest
spectacle in the history

398
00:29:20,681 --> 00:29:21,677
of the Empire?

399
00:29:25,940 --> 00:29:30,162
The acclamation by the crowd was
essential to secure his leadership.

400
00:29:31,997 --> 00:29:35,979
And he was counting on the next act
to win him instant popularity.

401
00:29:38,569 --> 00:29:39,846
Gladiators!

402
00:29:39,884 --> 00:29:43,391
CHEERING

403
00:29:45,860 --> 00:29:46,857
At last.

404
00:29:49,845 --> 00:29:52,555
They cheer louder for you than for
the new emperor.

405
00:30:08,450 --> 00:30:14,228
CHANTING AND CHEERING

406
00:30:25,981 --> 00:30:27,496
HE SCREAMS

407
00:30:27,536 --> 00:30:29,845
CHEERING

408
00:30:29,885 --> 00:30:32,675
We seem to be obsessed with
gladiators in the modern world,

409
00:30:32,715 --> 00:30:34,468
and we think that the Romans
were too.

410
00:30:34,507 --> 00:30:36,340
There is this idea of virtue,

411
00:30:36,379 --> 00:30:40,045
and that a good gladiator can
encapsulate that.

412
00:30:40,085 --> 00:30:43,113
Yes, and what's also remarkable is
that most of these gladiators

413
00:30:43,153 --> 00:30:46,818
are slaves, or they're prisoners of
war, they're the lowest of the low

414
00:30:46,859 --> 00:30:48,292
in Roman society.

415
00:30:48,332 --> 00:30:52,436
And yet, here they are, giving
displays of Roman courage,

416
00:30:52,476 --> 00:30:53,911
and virtus,

417
00:30:53,951 --> 00:30:59,528
which is a sort of combination of
bravery, courage, and excellence.

418
00:30:59,567 --> 00:31:04,228
And it's what they think has won
them the Empire in the first place.

419
00:31:04,269 --> 00:31:05,544
I guess that's very important,

420
00:31:05,584 --> 00:31:08,810
it's not pure bloodlust, which is
how we think of it.

421
00:31:08,850 --> 00:31:11,959
Absolutely. And of course, by the
time of the Emperor Titus,

422
00:31:11,998 --> 00:31:15,544
hardly any Romans had actually ever
seen a battlefield,

423
00:31:15,584 --> 00:31:19,768
but they want to see a version of
those traditional values

424
00:31:19,807 --> 00:31:21,320
in a modern setting.

425
00:31:28,771 --> 00:31:33,551
These men need no introduction.

426
00:31:36,102 --> 00:31:38,732
But he's going to give them one
anyway.

427
00:31:38,771 --> 00:31:40,843
My money's on the big one.

428
00:31:40,883 --> 00:31:42,237
I just hope it's not over too soon.

429
00:31:42,277 --> 00:31:43,671
On my left...

430
00:31:44,948 --> 00:31:49,170
The brigand of brutality.

431
00:31:49,209 --> 00:31:57,139
The rough, the tough,
the vicious Verus!

432
00:31:57,178 --> 00:32:02,277
CHEERING

433
00:32:02,317 --> 00:32:05,904
On my right,

434
00:32:05,944 --> 00:32:10,047
the quick, the slippery,

435
00:32:10,087 --> 00:32:14,031
pretty boy Priscus!

436
00:32:14,070 --> 00:32:17,777
CHEERING

437
00:32:17,817 --> 00:32:20,645
CHANTING

438
00:32:22,318 --> 00:32:30,008
By order of the Emperor, one of
these gladiators...

439
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,708
..will die!

440
00:32:34,748 --> 00:32:38,812
CHEERING

441
00:32:38,851 --> 00:32:41,283
Let the fight commence!

442
00:32:43,195 --> 00:32:47,577
Titus was hoping that the grand
finale of his opening day

443
00:32:47,618 --> 00:32:50,128
would go down in history.

444
00:32:54,430 --> 00:32:57,618
We can get a sense of what
gladiatorial combat meant to the

445
00:32:57,658 --> 00:33:02,917
spectators at the Coliseum that
opening day here in Aphrodisias.

446
00:33:02,957 --> 00:33:03,993
Modern-day Turkey.

447
00:33:05,745 --> 00:33:09,928
Ongoing excavations are revealing
how passionate ordinary Romans

448
00:33:09,969 --> 00:33:13,395
across the Empire were about this
brutal sport.

449
00:33:16,184 --> 00:33:18,853
Tucked away by the city walls
is a clue,

450
00:33:18,892 --> 00:33:24,709
left for us by one of its citizens,
close on 2,000 years ago.

451
00:33:24,749 --> 00:33:27,857
There's a very special stone in here
I'd like you to see.

452
00:33:27,897 --> 00:33:30,448
Gosh, you're going to have to decode
this for me, cos I'm not sure

453
00:33:30,487 --> 00:33:31,482
what I'm looking at.

454
00:33:31,522 --> 00:33:34,471
This is a bit of prized
sports graffiti.

455
00:33:34,511 --> 00:33:39,809
A slab, face up in the wall, it
has been decorated by a modest

456
00:33:39,849 --> 00:33:43,157
artist, with his favourite stars
from the arena.

457
00:33:43,196 --> 00:33:47,061
The one we can see most clearly is
this one in the middle,

458
00:33:47,101 --> 00:33:50,606
and you can see him holding a long
trident which goes out like that.

459
00:33:50,647 --> 00:33:52,838
Oh, yes, there are the three
prongs, yeah.

460
00:33:52,877 --> 00:33:57,738
And that's the identifying weapon of
the retiarius, the net man.Yes.

461
00:33:57,778 --> 00:34:02,200
Who fights against the pursuer,
he's a heavily armed gladiator,

462
00:34:02,241 --> 00:34:04,352
with a big fish bowl helmet,

463
00:34:04,392 --> 00:34:07,301
and a short sword, like a Roman
soldier.

464
00:34:07,341 --> 00:34:10,169
Very different kinds of fighters,
but equally matched.

465
00:34:10,208 --> 00:34:13,875
And it was always an exciting
contest to see which one would win.

466
00:34:13,914 --> 00:34:16,185
And would something like this be
viewed as vandalism,

467
00:34:16,225 --> 00:34:18,416
the fact that somebody scratched
this into the marble?

468
00:34:18,456 --> 00:34:19,771
No, it seems to be a perfectly

469
00:34:19,810 --> 00:34:22,003
acceptable celebration of a shared
activity.

470
00:34:22,043 --> 00:34:23,515
They're tiny little
things,

471
00:34:23,555 --> 00:34:25,706
but they're brilliant on lots of
levels, aren't they?

472
00:34:25,747 --> 00:34:27,699
Because this is just ordinary
people, you know,

473
00:34:27,739 --> 00:34:30,528
telling us what they think, and who
they like,

474
00:34:30,567 --> 00:34:32,360
recording that in the stone.

475
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:36,463
But it does also remind us just how
macho Roman society is though.

476
00:34:36,504 --> 00:34:41,286
Yeah, yeah. Your average citizen
values courage and fighting skill

477
00:34:41,325 --> 00:34:42,481
above all else.

478
00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:47,381
It's a very macho culture, in which
these people are absolute stars.

479
00:34:50,607 --> 00:34:55,708
The graffiti here shows us just how
embedded gladiatorial combat was

480
00:34:55,748 --> 00:34:57,739
in the Roman psyche.

481
00:34:57,779 --> 00:35:00,329
And that's what Titus was banking
on with the Coliseum,

482
00:35:00,369 --> 00:35:05,588
this grand temple to testosterone,
and it's brilliant opening day,
483
00:35:05,628 --> 00:35:08,457
ending with a climax of a
gladiatorial fight.

484
00:35:46,386 --> 00:35:50,290
The poet Martial writes that Verus
and Priscus were evenly matched.

485
00:35:53,518 --> 00:35:55,907
And that both fought with equal
determination.

486
00:35:57,940 --> 00:36:00,928
Neither of them would show the sign
of surrender.

487
00:36:00,968 --> 00:36:02,561
The raising of a single finger.

488
00:36:07,899 --> 00:36:10,490
Why doesn't one of them just yield?

489
00:36:10,529 --> 00:36:12,881
Because to yield is to die.

490
00:36:12,921 --> 00:36:13,917
Idiot.

491
00:36:29,773 --> 00:36:33,001
Both of them yielded at the
same time.

492
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:34,514
You're as blind as Tiresias.

493
00:36:34,554 --> 00:36:35,551
No, look.

494
00:36:38,936 --> 00:36:40,888
A dilemma.

495
00:36:40,928 --> 00:36:42,044
I suppose both must die.

496
00:36:44,514 --> 00:36:47,901
Remarkably, thanks to
Martial's poetry,

497
00:36:47,940 --> 00:36:51,048
we know that on the opening day of
the Coliseum,

498
00:36:51,088 --> 00:36:53,360
almost 2,000 years ago,

499
00:36:53,399 --> 00:36:58,141
the gladiator fight between Priscus
and Verus ended in a draw.

500
00:36:58,181 --> 00:36:59,176
What are you...

501
00:37:01,646 --> 00:37:04,555
The crowd have been deprived of
their moment to watch death

502
00:37:04,595 --> 00:37:06,149
in action.

503
00:37:06,189 --> 00:37:09,096
Titus would have to think quickly
to pacify them,

504
00:37:09,136 --> 00:37:12,165
or he'd have a riot on his hands.

505
00:37:12,205 --> 00:37:13,638
He said they wanted blood.

506
00:37:22,483 --> 00:37:26,985
Titus's inaugural games had reached
their climax with a spectacular

507
00:37:27,025 --> 00:37:28,897
gladiatorial battle.

508
00:37:28,937 --> 00:37:31,010
Get them up on their feet,
get them both up!

509
00:37:33,759 --> 00:37:37,664
But, as the fight ended in an
unprecedented stalemate,

510
00:37:37,704 --> 00:37:40,412
Titus had a critical decision
to make.

511
00:37:40,451 --> 00:37:43,242
The success of the day hinged on the
crowd's reaction.

512
00:37:47,184 --> 00:37:51,249
Gladiators, you fought bravely
and well.

513
00:37:52,802 --> 00:37:53,798
By decree...

514
00:37:56,189 --> 00:37:57,544
..one of you should go free...

515
00:37:59,296 --> 00:38:00,651
..and one of you should die.

516
00:38:14,675 --> 00:38:17,545
But I have noted your courage, and
your commitment,

517
00:38:17,584 --> 00:38:20,692
and decided to present you both
with these wooden staffs.

518
00:38:28,102 --> 00:38:29,417
Both shall go free!

519
00:38:34,716 --> 00:38:35,911
Caesar decrees...

520
00:38:39,258 --> 00:38:42,605
Both shall go free!

521
00:38:54,079 --> 00:38:55,673
Both shall go free!

522
00:39:09,298 --> 00:39:13,482
We know that Titus's act of mercy
caused a sensation.

523
00:39:16,550 --> 00:39:17,944
The Roman poet, Martial,

524
00:39:17,983 --> 00:39:21,171
who was an eyewitness to the games
wrote this in celebration.

525
00:39:22,167 --> 00:39:26,430
"This has happened under no glorious
leader but you, Caesar."

526
00:39:26,470 --> 00:39:28,820
"Two fought, and both won."

527
00:39:33,005 --> 00:39:35,992
Now, I'm sure like any sensible
Roman artist,

528
00:39:36,032 --> 00:39:38,422
Martial was just buttering
up the emperor.

529
00:39:38,463 --> 00:39:39,538
But even so,

530
00:39:39,577 --> 00:39:41,451
PR like this told the world that the

531
00:39:41,491 --> 00:39:43,800
inaugural games had been a great
success.

532
00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:47,945
Something that brought the
Roman people together.

533
00:39:47,985 --> 00:39:51,531
As Martial also wrote,
rather over excitedly,

534
00:39:51,570 --> 00:39:54,916
"Rome has been restored to
her true glory."

535
00:39:54,956 --> 00:39:59,857
"And under you, Caesar, the delights
that belonged to a master,"

536
00:39:59,896 --> 00:40:02,407
"now belong to the people."

537
00:40:06,391 --> 00:40:11,889
Titus's 100 days of inaugural games
were a huge success,

538
00:40:11,929 --> 00:40:15,554
and cemented his position in the
eyes of the people.

539
00:40:15,594 --> 00:40:16,869
His future looked secure.

540
00:40:19,857 --> 00:40:23,084
But Titus didn't get to enjoy the
rewards of his and his father's

541
00:40:23,124 --> 00:40:24,439
achievement for long.

542
00:40:26,032 --> 00:40:30,574
Around 18 months after the opening
day, he died from a sudden illness.

543
00:40:32,248 --> 00:40:34,998
Titus's brother, Domitian, succeeded
him as Emperor.

544
00:40:37,348 --> 00:40:42,567
Crucially, unlike Titus, Domitian
failed to win over the crowd,

545
00:40:42,607 --> 00:40:45,157
and in 96 AD, he was assassinated.

546
00:40:46,711 --> 00:40:50,973
His death marked the end of the
second of Rome's imperial dynasties.

547
00:40:51,013 --> 00:40:52,289
The Flavians.
548
00:40:57,468 --> 00:40:59,977
The Coliseum, though, lived on.

549
00:41:00,018 --> 00:41:04,401
The building would flourish as Rome
grew to its greatest extent,

550
00:41:04,441 --> 00:41:05,875
within a generation,

551
00:41:05,914 --> 00:41:10,894
the men who met here ruled over 21%
of the world's population.

552
00:41:12,010 --> 00:41:13,604
A fifth of the globe.

553
00:41:15,118 --> 00:41:16,830
For another 500 years,

554
00:41:16,871 --> 00:41:20,257
it remained a place where rulers
sought to win the adoration of their

555
00:41:20,297 --> 00:41:24,879
subjects, and where the people came
to celebrate the ideals

556
00:41:24,918 --> 00:41:26,991
of a glorious past.

557
00:41:31,054 --> 00:41:34,401
Despite the ravages of two
millennia, including a number

558
00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:40,417
of earthquakes, the Coliseum is
still a breathtaking sight.

559
00:41:40,457 --> 00:41:45,079
And I think it is possible to
imagine the awe and wonder of those

560
00:41:45,118 --> 00:41:49,182
ancient Romans on the first day of
the games, in Titus's reign.
561
00:41:50,298 --> 00:41:57,350
But I can't come here and not have a
sickening sense of the fear and the

562
00:41:57,389 --> 00:42:03,246
shame, and the excruciating pain
that must have been felt by the

563
00:42:03,285 --> 00:42:04,919
Coliseum's victims.

564
00:42:07,070 --> 00:42:11,493
The Coliseum gives us a fascinating
insight into the Roman psyche,

565
00:42:11,533 --> 00:42:13,684
so different from our own.

566
00:42:13,723 --> 00:42:18,306
For them, death wasn't something to
be feared, but to be faced,

567
00:42:18,346 --> 00:42:20,895
and faced bravely.

568
00:42:20,935 --> 00:42:25,597
And Romans from all classes were
united in a celebration of virtus,

569
00:42:25,637 --> 00:42:28,226
a belief that they were a
people, better,

570
00:42:28,266 --> 00:42:31,813
stronger and more powerful than any
other on Earth.

571
00:42:33,287 --> 00:42:36,354
The Coliseum remains an
extraordinary testament to Rome's

572
00:42:36,394 --> 00:42:41,493
reach and ambition, and its thirst
for blood and glory.

573
00:42:47,948 --> 00:42:49,422
Next time...

574
00:42:49,462 --> 00:42:53,286
The day that Rome's first Christian
emperor, Constantine,

575
00:42:53,326 --> 00:42:55,916
makes peace with his violent past...

576
00:42:55,956 --> 00:42:57,549
Can I really be forgiven?

577
00:43:00,259 --> 00:43:02,808
..and founds the new Rome.

578
00:43:02,849 --> 00:43:06,554
The city that will endure for a
thousand years.

579
00:43:06,593 --> 00:43:09,144
Now, I receive divine light.

580
00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:37,551
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