The Roman Amphitheatre

This is the first book to analyze the evolution of the Roman amphitheatre as an architectural form. Katherine Welch addresses the critical period in the history of this building type: its origins and dissemination under the Republic, from the third to first centuries BC; its monumentalization as an architectural form under Augustus; and its canonization as a building type with the Colosseum (AD 80). She explores the social and political contexts of each of these phases in detail. The study then shifts focus to the reception of the amphitheatre and the games in the Greek East, a part of the Empire that was, initially, deeply fractured about the new realities of Roman rule.

Katherine E. Welch is Associate Professor of Fine Arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. She is a scholar of Roman art and archaeology and has held fellowships at the American Academy in Rome and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens.

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Illustrations	p. xi
Abbreviations	p. xix
Preface	p. xxi
Introduction	p. 1
The 'Imperial' Interpretation of Arena Games	p. 5
Arena Games During the Republic	p. 11
Origins of Gladiatorial Combat	p. 11
The Osco-Samnite Hypothesis	p. 11
The Etruscan Hypothesis	p. 14
Gladiatorial Games during the Republican Period	p. 18
The Venatio and Damnatio ad Bestias in the Republican Period	p. 22
Other Forms of the Death Penalty	p. 26
The Arena and the Roman Army	p. 27
Conclusion	p. 28
Origins of Amphitheatre Architecture	p. 30
The Setting of Gladiatorial Games at Rome during the Republic: The Forum Boarium and Forum Romanum	p. 30
Evidence for Spectator Arrangements in the Forum Romanum in the Republican Period	p. 31
The Middle Republic	p. 32
The Late Republic	p. 38
The Shape and Form of the Seating Construction ("Spectacula") in the Forum Romanum	p. 43
Constructional Aspects of the Spectacula in the Forum Romanum	p. 55
Conclusion	p. 71
Stone Amphitheatres in the Republican Period	p. 72
The Amphitheatre and Sullan Colony at Pompeii	p. 74
Army Training and Gladiatorial Combat: 105 BC and After	p. 79
Geographical Distribution and Dating of Republican Amphitheatres	p. 82
The Ludi of Capua	p. 91
The Transition from Wood to Stone	p. 91
The Amphitheatre and Campus at Pompeii	p. 95
Conclusion	p. 100
The Amphitheatre Between Republic and Empire: Monumentalization of the Building Type	p. 102
Decoration of the Façades of Early-Imperial Amphitheatres: The Tuscan Order	p. 102
A Higher Order of Killing: Statilius Taurus and Rome's First Stone Amphitheatre	p. 108
Conclusion	p. 126
The Colosseum: Canonization of the Amphitheatre Building Type	p. 128
The Innovation of the Colosseum's Façade: Greek Architectural Orders and Sculptural Decoration	p. 130
Cultural Repertoire of Amphitheatre Games under the Empire: 'Fabulous' Executions	p. 145
The Colosseum and Nero's Domus Aurea	p. 147
Conclusion	p. 161
Reception of the Amphitheatre in the Greek World in the Early Imperial Period	p. 163
Athens	p. 165
Corinth	p. 178
Conclusion	p. 183
Conclusion	p. 186
Appendix Amphitheatres of Republican Date	p. 189
Architectural Characteristics of Republican Amphitheatres	p. 189
Republican Amphitheatres in Italy	p. 192
Republican Amphitheatres Outside of Italy	p. 252
Notes	p. 265
Bibliography	p. 329
Index	p. 351
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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The Roman Amphitheatre

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