Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

86 AMPHITHEATRUM. AMPHITHEATRUM.
This structmue, like all the other existing am- The stone used in.the building is a species of
phitheatres, is of an elliptical form. It covers travertine: some of the blocks are as much as five
nearly six acres of ground. The plan divides it- feet high, and eight or ten feet long; and it is
self naturally into two concentric ellipses, of which remarkable, that all those which form the exterior
the inner constituted the arena or space for the have inscribed upon them small numbers or signs,
combats, while the ring between this and the outer which evidently indicate the place of each in the
circumference was occupied by the seats for the building, and which prove how great was the
spectators. The lengths of the major and minor care taken to adapt every single stone to the form
axes of these ellipses are, respectively, 287 feet by of the whole edifice. In some parts of the interior
180, and 620 feet by 513. The width of the large masses of brickwork and tufa are seen: and
space appropriated to spectators is, therefore, 1G66 in the upper part there are fragments of other
feet all round the building. The ratio of the buildings worked in; but this, no doubt, happened
diameters of the external ellipse is nearly that in some of the various repairs.
of 6 to 5, which becomes exactly the proportion, There are coins extant, bearing on the reverse a
if we take in the substructions of the foundation. view of the amphitheatre, so arranged as to show
Of course, the ratio of the diameters of the arena is not only the outside, but a portion of the interior
different, on account of the diminished size: it is, also. It is from them that we learn the fact, that
in fact, nearly as 8 to 5. The minor axis of the the outer arches of the second and third stories
arena is here, and generally, about one-third of were decorated with statues in their openings, unthat of the outer ellipse. The material used was less, indeed, the figures shown in the arches are
stone, in large blocks, fastened together, where meant for rude representations of the people passnecessary, by metal clamps. The exterior was ing through the outer colonnade. These coins
faced with marble and adorned with statues. also show, on the highest story, in the alternate
The external elevation requires little description. spaces between the pilasters, circles against the
It is divided into four stories, corresponding to the wall, corresponding to the windows in the other
tiers of corridors by which access was gained to alternate spaces; they are, perhaps, the clypea
the seats at different levels. These corridors are mentioned by the old author cited above, that is,
connected with the external air by eighty arched ornamental metal shields, hung there to decorate
openings in each of the three lower stories. To the building. There are several coins of Titus
the piers which divide these arches are attached and Domitian of this type (Eckhel, Doctr. Num.
three-quarter columns, that is, columns one-fourth VTet. vol. vi. pp. 357-359, 375). There are similar
of whose circumference appears to be buried in coins of Gordian, which are, however, very inferior
the wall behind them. Thus, each of the three in execution to those of Titus and Domitian.
lower stories presents a continuous facade of eighty (Eckhel, vol. vii. p. 271.) The coins of Titus
columns backed by piers, with eighty open arches and Domitian also show a range of three stories of
between them, and with an entablature continued columns by the side of the amphitheatre, which
unbroken round the whole building. The width of (though the matter is doubtful) is supposed to rethe arches is as nearly as possible the same present a colonnade which ran from the palace of
throughout the building, namely, ] 4 feet 6 inches, Titus on the Esquiline to the amphitheatre, to
except at the extremities of the diameters of the which it gave access at the northern extremity of
ellipse, where they are two feet wider. Each tier its minor axis, as shown on the plan. At the other
is of a different order of architecture, the lowest extremity of this axis was the entrance from the
being a plain Roman Doric, or perhaps rather Palatine.
Tuscan, the next Ionic, and the third Corinthian. The eighty arches of the lower story (except
The columns of the second and third stories are the four at the extremities of the axes) formed the
placed on pedestals; those of the lowest story entrances for the spectators, and gave admission
are raised from the ground by a few steps. The to a corridor, running uninterruptedly round the
highest tier is of quite a different character, as it building, behind which again is another precisely
merely consists of a wall, without corridors, against similar corridor. (See the plan and section.) The
which, instead of columns, are placed pilasters of space behind the second corridor is divided by
the Corinthian order; and the wall between them eighty walls, radiating inwards from the inner piers
is pierced with windows, in the alternate interco- of the second corridor; which support the struclumniations only, and therefore, of course, forty in ture, and between -which are partly staircases leadnumber. The whole is crowned with a bold en- ing to the upper stories, and partly passages leadtablature, which is pierced with holes above the ing into a third corridor, which, like the first and
brackets which supported the feet of the masts second, runs round the whole building. Beupon which the velariuem or awning was extended: yond this corridor the radiating walls are again
and above the entablature is a small attic. The total continued, the spaces between them being occuheight of that part of the building which remains pied, as before, partly by staircases leading on the
entire, namely, about three-eighths of the whole one side to the podiZmrn, and on the other to the
circumference, is 157 feet: the stories are respec- lower range of seats (nsaenianmmn), and partly hy
tively about 30, 38, 38, and 44 feet high. The passages leading to a fourth continuous corridor
massiveness of the crowning entablature, the height much lower and smaller than the others, which
of the upper story, and the great surface of blank was divided from the arena by a massive wall
wall in its intercolumniations, combine to give the (called podium), the top of which formed the place
elevation a somewhat heavy appearance; while assigned to the spectators of the highest rank.
the projecting cornices of each story, intercepting From this fourth corridor there are several enthe view from below, take off very much from the trances to the arena; and it is most probable that
apparent height of the building. Indeed, it would the whole of the corridor was subservient to the
be a waste of words to attempt to specify all the arrangements of the arena. (See the lower rightarchitectural defects of the composition. hamd quarter of the plan, and the section.) On