Those Who are About to Die Salute You! Quiz

Answer: Colosseum

The Colosseum was built by the Emperor Vespasian, and opened to the public by his son, the Emeror Titus, in AD 80. It was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre, but later gained the name "Colosseum" for the gigantic statue (or colossus) of the Emperor Nero, which stood nearby. It could seat around 45,000 people, with another 5,000 standing. The Circus Maximus, used for chariot races, was even bigger, seating 200,000. A basilica was a Roman public building used for transacting business and sorting out legal matters. An insula was a Roman apartment building.

Answer: Animal hunts

The word "venations" means "animal hunts", but this could often be more of an "animal show" where unusual and exotic animals were paraded for the crowds. That said, many animals died for the crowds' amusement, pitted against each other, or hunted down and killed by the "venatores".

The job of those armed with whips was to goad the animals into a rage, making the show even more exciting.

Answer: Killing by wild beasts

Hanging as a method of execution was not used by the Romans, but appears to have been invented much later by the Anglo-Saxons in England. Stoning was not a method typically employed by the Romans, but used by the ancient Hebrews (and by modern Muslims under Sharia law). Crucifixion was used by the Romans, but because victims would take hours or even days to die it wasn't so suitable for the arena.

The favoured method for the arena was the "damnatio ad bestias" - victims were tied to posts and wild beasts let into the arena to eat them alive.

This is what is meant by "thrown to the lions". Also popular was the practice of forcing condemned criminals to fight each other unarmoured with swords to the death.

Answer: A wealthy citizen, sponsor of the show

The term editor was short for "editor ludorum" meaning "the one who puts on the games". You might call him the "producer" or "promoter". The modern word "editor" meaning "one who prepares documents for publication" is derived from this. The trainer was called the "lanista". The gladiators paraded before the Emperor and saluted, proclaiming "Ave imperator, morituri te salutant!" which means "Hail, Emperor, those who are about to die salute you!"

Answer: Short straight sword

The word "gladiator" comes from the Roman short sword called a "gladius". It was carried by a number of types of gladiator including the "myrmillo", and also by Roman legionaries. "Myrmillo" means "fish-man" because of the distinctive fin-like crest on his helmet. He also carried a tall rectangular wooden shield called a "scutum". The "thrax" had a short curved sword and a smaller, square sword. The various types of gladiators were named for their gear, often based on the various traditional enemies of Rome - the "thrax" was based on the Thracians.

Answer: Trident and net

"Retiarius" meant "net-fighter". The "dimachaerus" used two short swords. The spear and leash belonged to the "velitis" ("skirmisher") - the leash allowing him to quickly recover his spear after throwing it. The "paegniarius" ("comic-fighter") had the rather less lethal job of entertaining the crowd during intervals, using whips, clubs and shields.

There were at least 16 different types of gladiators.

Answer: They turned their thumbs

The Romans used a thumb signal called "pollice verso" which means "with a turned thumb". Historians cannot agree as to whether it was "thumbs up" or "thumbs down". In any case, the final say went to the Emperor if he was present, or else to the editor - the games' sponsor. He would give the sign - a closed fist meaning death - and then the doomed gladiator was executed where he lay by his opponent. Then the crowd shouted "Habet!" ("That's got him!"). Later, slaves would take the dead gladiators to the mortuary, where their throats would be cut to make sure they were dead.

Answer: It would cure epilepsy

The Romans had a number of strange superstitions about gladiators. It was said that if a bride on her wedding day parted her hair with a spear that had belonged to a gladiator who had died in the arena, she would be blessed with good luck. If a man had a dream about a "thrax" then he was going to marry a rich woman! The earliest gladiatorial contests were associated with funerary rites.

Answer: A wooden sword

The rudis was a sign that the gladiator had received his freedom and could retire to enjoy the money he had earned over his career. Many choose not to retire but to return to combat - or to train a new generation of gladiators in the gladiator school called the "ludus".

Answer: Exits

There were 80 of these portals at the Colosseum, 76 for the use of the public, two for the emperor and two for gladiatorial processions. It is thought that the entire Colosseum could be evacuated in three minutes. And in case you were wondering, the word "vomitoria" is related to the word "vomitare" meaning to "spew forth", but the idea that the Roman vomitoria were rooms designed for vomiting is a fallacy.

Modern theatres and sports stadia sometimes have vomitoria (often abbreviated to "voms") to allow rapid egress of crowds after events.