It was definitely a day of reflection…
Gladiator school
We started off by the colosseum. Outside of it was where the Roman gladiators would train and live. Turns out that these gladiators were actually very well fed and famous (people even wanted to buy their sweat). Although they were never considered as part of the nobility because they were in the lower social classes, they could still have a lot of wealth and fame (think Lebron James because he came from a really poor social class and then gained a lot of wealth and fame). LeBron achieved wealth but he’s still not seen as a noble (same goes for football players).
We then crossed the street to the colosseum (which is the original, Roman amphitheater). Although it is beautiful, there’s another part to it. It embodies the greatest part of humanity and yet also the worst. It has a celebration of humanity in the worst value because it had a lot of violence. Tens of thousands of people and millions of animals died here solely for the entertainment of others.
The colosseum was built by Emperor Vespasian, who does what Augustus did back then: gets power by pretending that he has none (manipulating the people). In essence, he built what the people wanted: free games and entertainment for all. In fact, it was a direct way to please the people by giving them a blood sport for free.
And we’re still like that. Just look at all the movies we watch. We love violence and action films because we love to see people hit each other. In just over 100 days, there were over 2,000 gladiator fights and over 11,000 dead animals (they would starve them and have them battle against each other to see who would win).
Basically, the games went like this: mornings: warm up with animal fights (i.e. a pack of dogs against a tiger, exotic animals against each other, etc.); midday: public executions of people who had deserted the roman army (they would attach them to a post and put a starving tiger in the arena so people could watch; afternoon: highlight of the day with gladiator fights (didn’t lead to death because they were professionals that fought each other so it was just for entertainment).
(Remind anyone of The Hunger Games???)
In the 19th century, the colosseum turned to preservation because a pope turned it into a memorial for the Christians that they killed there (just a clever way of preserving it).
The colosseum, built in just 10 years, was like a stadium. In fact, look at the Dolphin stadium in Miami. They have different sections and numbered seats and so does the colosseum (you can actually see this today).
I am now connected to people over 2,000 years old. I’m part of that history. It’s something that I’m now connected to. I’m in their heritage. It’s not a picture in a book. I’m part of this and they’re a part of my life. To stand here and be able to experience this, to actually stand in the exact same space where Romans stood, is beyond amazing.
Anyway, next we went to the Palatine Hill. Story has it that there were a set of twins who were supposed to be killed for fear they would take over an empire. Instead, the twins – Romulus and Remus – were nurtured with she-wolf milk (I may be butchering the story a bit). They both came back and became powerful men but got into a feud over the land. In the end Romulus kills Remus and says that whoever jumps over his wall will perish. This is Rome. This is the founding of Rome.
However, Romulus was having a problem because non of the tribes that were there wanted to marry Romans, so Romulus makes a feast to show the tribes that they’re good. All Romans end up capturing the women that attended and basically take them as their wives (and rape them while the men of their tribes are away). When everyone complained, Romulus simply told them that they couldn’t blame him because they needed women for their city. Of course, several villages tried to get revenge but the Romans were prepared for them. Right when they’re about to fight one of the tribes, the women get in between them and tell them to stop, saying that these are their lives now and that they’re all one — so the tribes come together (though the tribe’s emperor mysteriously dies and Romulus stays on as the sole ruler).
And this is how, on April 21, 753 B.C., the foundation of Rome came to be. Everything was founded on the Palatine Hill and I was standing in that same space. Right in the spot where Rome was founded. The spot that has already determined so much of where we live and how we live.
At the top of this hill, all emperors and rulers of Rome stayed, which is close to the roman forum — the center of commercial and social life of Rome.
Today, I was part of that history. I walked the roads where Caesar and Augustus and other important people walked on. I stood in the same place where Caesar (after he was stabbed) was placed and cremated. I saw the buildings and marbles and I touched the same places as a 2,000 year-old civilization. I guess you could say it was a good day.
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