[Wikipedia] Inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre

[Faraaz Damji]

   The inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre were held in 80 AD, on
   the orders of the Roman Emperor Titus, to celebrate the completion of
   the Colosseum, then known as the Flavian Amphitheatre.  Vespasian began
   construction of the amphitheatre around 70 AD, and it was completed by
   Titus soon after Vespasian's death in 79 AD.  After Titus' reign began
   with months of disasters, including the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, a
   fire in Rome, and an outbreak of plague, he inaugurated the building
   with lavish games which lasted for more than a hundred days, perhaps
   partially in an attempt to appease the Roman public and the gods.
   Little documentary evidence of the nature of the games remains.  They
   appear to have followed the standard format of the Roman games: animal
   entertainments in the morning session, followed by the executions of
   criminals around midday, with the afternoon session reserved for
   gladiatorial combats and recreations of famous battles.  Only three
   contemporary or near-contemporary accounts of the games survive.  The
   works of Suetonius and Cassius Dio focus on major events, while
   Martial provides some fragments of information on individual
   entertainments and the only detailed record of a gladiatorial combat
   in the arena to survive to the present day: the fight between Verus
   and Priscus.

Read the rest of this article:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inaugural_games_of_the_Flavian_Amphitheatre


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