BE GLAD YOU’RE NOT FIGHTING

THE AMPHITHEATRE IN NIMES IS A BEAUTIFUL REMINDER OF THE HORRORS OF ROME’S EXCESS WHEN IT CAME TO ENTERTAINING THE MASSES

We should blame Russell Crowe. Haven’t we always believed fighting to the death was how it happened in the arenas of ancient times? Two muscled men in deadly combat until one of them had the other on the ground ready for the fatal blow before turning to the emperor to give either a thumb up or down?

But not so, according to information at the Roman arena in Nimes in the South of France. Gladiators were highly trained, valuable to their owners, and most of them were spared.

When the fighting spirit had gone out of one of the competing gladiators, he would put down his weapon, bend on one knee in front of his opponent and hope to be spared. Almost always the two of them walked out of the arena together, saved from death, ready to fight another day.

We learnt this on a tour of the Nimes arena, the 2000-year-old amphitheatre built by the genius of Roman engineers.

Its oval shape is in perfect symmetry at 133m long and 101m wide. It could seat 24,000 spectators in its heyday and while the arena is not the biggest of all those the Romans built, it is the most preserved and is the main attraction in Nimes, an ancient city brimming with Roman history.

While sparing the lives of valuable gladiators was the go in ancient Roman days, other lesser people, especially Christians, were not so fortunate. It is difficult to comprehend the extent of diabolical cruelty that took place in the arena 2000 years ago, even more difficult to understand why the masses were so enthralled by such sickening cruelty.

On event days, people poured into the arena via well-designed passages called vomitoriums that ensured no bottlenecks, although fights did break out among the spectators for the best seats, even though thanks to Roman mastermind engineering everyone had unrestricted views of the entire arena. Only dignitaries had reserved seats at the front.

There was great lead-up to the main gladiator events, mostly involving wild beasts, donkeys and boars, chained together and sent into the arena to tear each other apart. The crowds loved it. The arena floor was sand to soak up the blood.

Then came the executions of petty thieves. They were dragged into the arena to the cheers and howls of the crowds and put to death in unspeakable ways. The dignitaries in the front rows were bored by this lowly spectacle and went outside for refreshments until the main gladiator event.

It is spine-chilling to sit in one of the hard seats of the arena today and listen to this information. It is almost impossible to imagine such barbarity and why it so entertained the people.

Listening to the commentary is not easy stuff, but it is gripping, made less nauseating by the sight of a large stage ready for entertainers to perform in modern ways more to our liking. The arena is now a venue for summer concerts with big-name entertainers (Sting, Norah Jones, Lenny Kravitz) hitting the stage every week. Bull games (not fights) are also performed here.

After a few hours of stomach-turning information at the arena, a visit to the Square House – a Roman temple to rival Rome’s Pantheon – provides a peaceful contrast, and then a walk to the spectacular Cathedral of Notre Dame calms all the senses.

Incongruously, all over the city, bronze medallions of crocodiles with palm trees glint on footpaths. A full-size crocodile/palm tree sculpture in the Place du Marche is puzzling, but it is a reminder that Nimes was much loved by Roman officers who had conquered Egypt. The palm tree a symbol for victory. The crocodile for Egypt.

Nimes is a graceful city with relaxing public spaces, green parks, cooling canals, wide boulevards and remains many claim are better than those found in Italy.