WEBVTT 00:00:18.520 --> 00:00:22.520 In the name of the one true god. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:25.400 In the name of the one true god. 00:00:25.520 --> 00:00:27.640 In the name of the one true god. 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:37.640 What is he doing? 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:43.480 Stop him! 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:02.040 The colosseum is the roman empire 00:01:02.120 --> 00:01:04.120 Distilled to its most basic essence. 00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:10.280 It is a symbol of conquest. 00:01:10.360 --> 00:01:11.480 It is a symbol of dominance. 00:01:12.920 --> 00:01:14.200 It's a symbol of imperial power 00:01:14.320 --> 00:01:16.680 Radiating throughout the roman world. 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:20.840 Now. 00:01:22.600 --> 00:01:25.560 Any emperor had the colosseum at his disposal 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:29.640 To use as a tool to reassert his power and authority. 00:01:31.320 --> 00:01:33.160 The message to the roman people 00:01:33.240 --> 00:01:35.920 Is that life is a combat. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.440 It was also a judicial warning. 00:01:41.720 --> 00:01:44.280 Do not test the power of rome. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:47.640 It was a death penalty offense. 00:01:51.240 --> 00:01:52.880 If you live by the sword... 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.400 You die by the sword. 00:01:58.200 --> 00:02:01.720 It demonstrates the power of the colosseum. 00:02:01.800 --> 00:02:05.560 It made slaves into heroes 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:08.040 Upending the power structure of rome. 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:11.600 The colosseum would come to symbolize 00:02:11.720 --> 00:02:14.840 The rise and fall of rome. 00:02:17.480 --> 00:02:18.440 It's all there, 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:19.880 The blood, the glory, the magnificence, 00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:25.160 And the flaws that made rome 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:28.280 The greatest empire that europe has ever seen. 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:44.360 401 a.D. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:47.080 It's now more than 300 years since the inaugural games 00:02:47.160 --> 00:02:50.840 Were held at the colosseum. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:53.800 Both rome and the arena have changed. 00:03:04.480 --> 00:03:05.520 At this point, the colosseum would have been 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:07.320 A somewhat sad reminder 00:03:07.440 --> 00:03:10.200 Of a more glorious earlier age. 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:12.440 In a way, this is a reflection of what was happening 00:03:12.480 --> 00:03:14.120 In rome's empire itself. 00:03:14.160 --> 00:03:16.200 This is now a new era of roman history. 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:17.560 Rome is no longer what it was. 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:18.800 Rome is in decline. 00:03:19.920 --> 00:03:22.280 The empire was beset on all sides 00:03:22.520 --> 00:03:25.160 By barbarian invaders who sensed rome's weakness. 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:26.800 There were saxons in the north. 00:03:26.880 --> 00:03:29.560 There were goths along the danube frontier, 00:03:29.640 --> 00:03:32.360 Franks along the rhine, persians in the east. 00:03:32.440 --> 00:03:34.960 Rome was under threat. 00:03:37.640 --> 00:03:39.680 The once invincible roman army 00:03:39.760 --> 00:03:41.640 Struggles to hold back the tide 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:43.800 Of enemies on multiple fronts. 00:03:43.880 --> 00:03:49.480 In 395 a.D., the empire itself is split into halves, 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:51.000 Neither centered in rome. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.440 It was simply too big for any one person to handle. 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:56.560 So each half of the roman empire is ruled 00:03:56.640 --> 00:03:58.080 By one of the sons of theodosius, 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.240 The last man to rule a united roman empire. 00:04:01.320 --> 00:04:04.360 The 16-year-old arcadius rules from constantinople 00:04:04.600 --> 00:04:06.440 In the east, and the 15-year-old honorius 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:08.280 Rules from milan in the west. 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.280 They are very young. 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:12.200 They're very inexperienced. 00:04:12.440 --> 00:04:14.280 And they're clearly not up to the job. 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:17.160 Neither of them ever visits rome. 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:19.240 This means that the city that is the 00:04:19.320 --> 00:04:21.800 Ideological and spiritual heart of the empire 00:04:22.040 --> 00:04:23.560 Is something of a backwater. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:27.400 But one man wants to revive rome 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:31.240 By holding the most lavish games seen in the colosseum 00:04:31.320 --> 00:04:33.800 For many years. 00:04:33.880 --> 00:04:37.320 His name is symmachus. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:43.320 This is all for you. 00:04:43.400 --> 00:04:44.840 You're amazing, father. 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:51.000 This is a man who was highly literate, 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:53.920 Who produced a lot of writing over his lifetime, 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.120 And so we have a good record of who he was. 00:04:56.240 --> 00:04:58.360 Through the letters that have survived, 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.400 Which have been collated by his son memmius, 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:02.840 Who was devoted to his father, 00:05:02.960 --> 00:05:06.200 We get a real window into the life of this man 00:05:06.320 --> 00:05:08.600 Who was desperately trying to preserve ancient rome. 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:10.040 Symmachus is a leader of the senate. 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:13.080 And in the absence of the emperor in rome, 00:05:13.200 --> 00:05:14.920 He's one of the most powerful people in the city. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:18.360 Symmachus in many ways is a throwback, 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:20.280 Someone who is bound by tradition. 00:05:20.400 --> 00:05:22.360 He wants to maintain the old order 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:24.680 And the reverence for the old gods. 00:05:24.760 --> 00:05:26.600 But there's a new god on the rise. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:33.480 By the end of the 4th century c.E., 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.240 We think possibly as many as 50% of the population 00:05:37.320 --> 00:05:39.560 Had become christian. 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:42.280 Even both roman emperors are now christian. 00:05:42.520 --> 00:05:44.280 For symmachus and his supporters, 00:05:44.400 --> 00:05:46.680 Hosting games in the arena provides 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:48.880 The perfect opportunity to push back 00:05:48.960 --> 00:05:50.760 At this new religion. 00:05:50.840 --> 00:05:52.680 Symmachus and people like him 00:05:52.760 --> 00:05:54.280 Would have seen the colosseum 00:05:54.320 --> 00:05:56.960 And the games within them as absolutely essential 00:05:57.080 --> 00:06:00.840 To roman life, to the greatness of rome as a city. 00:06:05.880 --> 00:06:08.280 For symmachus, religion was transaction. 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:11.080 So when you refuse to hold games that honored the gods 00:06:11.200 --> 00:06:13.320 And bad things happened to the roman empire, 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:15.960 It was easy for traditionalists like symmachus to say, 00:06:16.080 --> 00:06:19.240 "if we want rome to be successful again, 00:06:19.320 --> 00:06:21.600 Then we need to return to these old ways." 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:25.160 But curbing the influence of christianity gets harder 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:28.680 As many powerful roman senators convert. 00:06:28.760 --> 00:06:30.920 Christians were not only occupying the throne, 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.200 But an increasing number of high-level aristocrats, 00:06:33.280 --> 00:06:35.520 Including roman senators, 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:37.560 Were being drawn in its train. 00:06:37.640 --> 00:06:40.760 And soon symmachus will face a threat 00:06:40.880 --> 00:06:45.240 From a far more unpredictable christian power. 00:06:51.080 --> 00:06:54.080 We must accept the world as it is, olybrius. 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:56.000 Then take your own advice. 00:06:56.080 --> 00:06:57.760 Act like a good christian. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.200 Say you're one of us. 00:06:59.280 --> 00:07:02.080 Nobody cares if you actually believe it or not. 00:07:03.520 --> 00:07:05.680 I know you have high hopes for your son, 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:07.040 But what chance does he have with christians 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:09.520 On the imperial throne and packing the senate? 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:13.720 What you believe in your heart is your business. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:18.160 So I should follow your example? 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:22.960 It's the best solution for everybody. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:24.960 The number of christians is growing, 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:27.840 And the number of people who are able to kind of hold out 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:29.600 Are shrinking daily. 00:07:29.720 --> 00:07:32.360 However, he resists that, because he seems to be 00:07:32.440 --> 00:07:35.160 Genuinely committed to the gods of the past. 00:07:35.240 --> 00:07:38.520 The commitment becomes more dangerous as christians grow 00:07:38.760 --> 00:07:41.640 More stridently anti-pagan. 00:07:41.760 --> 00:07:42.880 We moved from a situation 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:44.880 In which the christians had been persecuted 00:07:44.960 --> 00:07:46.480 Towards a situation in which 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:48.440 The christian emperors moved with greater 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:52.840 And greater certainty and strength against paganism. 00:07:52.960 --> 00:07:54.920 Under the emperor theodosius 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:57.640 There's a whole set of anti-pagan legislation 00:08:07.440 --> 00:08:10.440 Soon christian fanatics go to destructive extremes. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:18.400 Pagan monuments, 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:20.160 Which were now regarded as idolatrous. 00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:23.120 Statues, for example, of gods, 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:25.440 Or men who were regarded as gods, 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:27.240 Were being taken down, were being disfigured, 00:08:27.280 --> 00:08:28.480 Were being dismantled. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:32.240 The city of rome is filled with statues. 00:08:32.360 --> 00:08:35.520 They decorate the entire front of the colosseum. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:39.280 And to christians these statues present a huge affront, 00:08:39.400 --> 00:08:41.960 Because they violate two of the commandments, 00:08:42.040 --> 00:08:44.480 Thou shalt make no graven images, 00:08:44.560 --> 00:08:46.960 And thou shalt have no gods aside from me. 00:08:48.560 --> 00:08:50.800 The destruction of those statues was a way 00:08:50.880 --> 00:08:53.120 Of remaking the landscape of the city itself 00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:55.000 To reflect their beliefs. 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:57.160 The colosseum, as much as we think of it 00:08:57.200 --> 00:08:59.360 As a space for entertainment, was also to some extent 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:00.920 A religious space. 00:09:03.400 --> 00:09:04.800 For the christians I think this is 00:09:04.880 --> 00:09:06.000 A very high-stakes battle. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:08.280 They're acting like fanatics at this point. 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:09.560 They're really extremists, 00:09:09.680 --> 00:09:11.440 And they get sort of this mania 00:09:11.560 --> 00:09:13.840 For tearing down statues. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:20.080 Don't! Don't! Stop! 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.320 Stop! 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:23.680 Stop! 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.920 For somebody like symmachus, watching a christian mob 00:09:34.160 --> 00:09:36.160 Destroy a statue, 00:09:36.400 --> 00:09:37.760 That was a tremendous affront, 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.280 And it was deeply offensive to this traditionalist worldview. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:47.040 As tensions continue to rise, 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:50.080 Symmachus can no longer sit idly by. 00:09:50.160 --> 00:09:51.480 No! 00:09:53.880 --> 00:09:57.840 Symmachus fights to protect rome's pagan monuments 00:09:57.920 --> 00:10:00.160 From fanatical christians. 00:10:00.400 --> 00:10:03.040 No! 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:06.560 Back! Go on! Get back! 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:12.160 These christians were coming from the lower social classes, 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:13.560 And they're thinking that finally 00:10:13.640 --> 00:10:15.320 They have their moment. 00:10:23.680 --> 00:10:26.240 It would have been horrifying for figures 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:27.920 Such as symmachus to see this, 00:10:28.040 --> 00:10:30.400 Because he had seen, in fact, 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:32.960 The roman state religion as the guarantor 00:10:33.040 --> 00:10:34.800 Of rome's security and safety. 00:10:36.400 --> 00:10:38.600 But more than statues are at risk. 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:40.720 The colosseum sits empty and unused 00:10:40.800 --> 00:10:43.920 For about 90% of the year. 00:10:44.040 --> 00:10:45.360 It's a shell of what it had been. 00:10:48.160 --> 00:10:50.480 What are we doing in this old place? 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:53.520 - We should leave. - This old place 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.720 Was once the beating heart of rome. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.200 If we are to restore the city we love, 00:11:03.280 --> 00:11:04.800 It has to be here. 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:12.800 In 399 a.D. He finds the perfect opportunity. 00:11:12.880 --> 00:11:15.200 Symmachus' son memmius is appointed 00:11:15.280 --> 00:11:18.720 To the praetorship, a highly prestigious post 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:20.240 Within the city of rome. 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.720 Holding celebratory games at the colosseum 00:11:22.800 --> 00:11:26.720 Is now a privilege held by rome's senators, 00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:30.080 But few are rich enough to afford them. 00:11:30.160 --> 00:11:32.960 Symmachus is an incredibly wealthy person, 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:34.760 Wealthy in a way that's difficult 00:11:34.880 --> 00:11:35.920 For us to understand. 00:11:36.040 --> 00:11:39.600 He owns agricultural estates in sicily and north africa. 00:11:39.680 --> 00:11:42.560 He owns villas in Italy around the bay of naples. 00:11:42.640 --> 00:11:44.880 Symmachus' estimated annual income 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:47.360 Was 288,000 gold solidi. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:53.520 That's about 1.5 tons of gold per year. 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:56.960 But this is his chance. 00:11:57.040 --> 00:12:00.480 No expense will be spared here to celebrate 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:01.920 His son and his heir. 00:12:02.160 --> 00:12:05.920 Symmachus has a year to get everything ready 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:08.440 For the games, but he faces obstacles 00:12:08.560 --> 00:12:10.280 Unlike anyone before him. 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.400 He needs to get three things in place, 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:13.760 The venue, the human performers, 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:18.080 And the wild beasts necessary to make this a success. 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:20.400 But unlike the heyday of the colosseum, 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:22.720 He'll find each of these increasingly more difficult 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:24.720 To come by. 00:12:26.400 --> 00:12:28.960 We are talking about a huge logistical undertaking. 00:12:29.040 --> 00:12:31.600 The infrastructure that supported the games 00:12:31.680 --> 00:12:33.960 In centuries past has mostly crumbled 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:36.240 By the time symmachus is trying to put his games on. 00:12:36.360 --> 00:12:39.040 We're talking about much greater difficulty 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:41.280 In acquiring the kinds of entertainments 00:12:41.520 --> 00:12:43.280 That are going to keep the people of rome 00:12:43.400 --> 00:12:44.560 On the edges of their seats. 00:12:44.640 --> 00:12:47.520 Those are much harder to get in 400 a.D. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.600 Than they were at commodus' time two centuries earlier. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:54.880 Even more challenging, in 399 a.D., 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:56.560 Western emperor honorius 00:12:56.640 --> 00:12:59.440 Shutters all gladiator training schools. 00:12:59.560 --> 00:13:01.040 The closing of the gladiatorial schools 00:13:01.160 --> 00:13:03.200 Had long been an ambition 00:13:03.280 --> 00:13:04.480 Of christian bishops 00:13:04.560 --> 00:13:06.240 Throughout the western mediterranean, 00:13:11.560 --> 00:13:13.320 He's half barbarian. 00:13:13.400 --> 00:13:16.520 His father was a vandal cavalry officer, 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:18.680 But he's also extremely well-connected. 00:13:18.760 --> 00:13:20.840 He's married to the emperor's niece, 00:13:20.880 --> 00:13:25.000 And as such he is absolutely at the heart of court life, 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:27.720 To such an extent that he is made guardian 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:29.960 Of the young emperor honorius. 00:13:30.040 --> 00:13:32.240 Stilicho, he's also extraordinarily successful 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:33.520 On the battlefield 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:35.400 And recognized as a br brilliant illiant general. 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:37.920 And he is literally the man in charge of holding 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:39.400 The western empire together. 00:13:46.280 --> 00:13:49.400 Symmachus' friendship with him 00:13:49.640 --> 00:13:51.480 Is a doorway through which symmachus 00:13:51.560 --> 00:13:53.240 Can ask all sorts of things. 00:14:04.040 --> 00:14:06.920 Still have your fighting touch, I see. 00:14:07.040 --> 00:14:09.560 If you don't keep your hand in, you lose it. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:16.040 But you're not here to scout me for your games. 00:14:22.280 --> 00:14:24.040 The emperor, in his wisdom, 00:14:24.160 --> 00:14:27.880 Or someone close to him, 00:14:27.960 --> 00:14:30.560 Has closed all the gladiatorial schools. 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:32.520 Any strong man I can lay my hands on 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:34.040 I'll be taking north with me. 00:14:34.280 --> 00:14:38.520 You know I wouldn't ask for your fighting men, stilicho. 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:41.480 But prisoners? 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:45.320 With our resources stretched, we're not taking many lately. 00:14:50.040 --> 00:14:51.320 I'll see what I can do. 00:14:51.400 --> 00:14:54.080 Thank you, my old friend. 00:14:54.160 --> 00:14:57.480 We know this because we have the letters that symmachus 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:00.680 Wrote to stilicho in which he puts in requests to have 00:15:00.800 --> 00:15:02.600 Prisoners of war sent to him to fight and die 00:15:02.680 --> 00:15:04.320 For the entertainment of the crowd. 00:15:04.400 --> 00:15:06.680 Essentially, symmachus was pulling every string 00:15:06.760 --> 00:15:08.040 That he had available to him 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.080 In order to pull these games off. 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:13.800 Stilicho soon marches his forces north 00:15:13.920 --> 00:15:15.400 To confront a visigothic army 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:18.120 Under the warlord alaric that is pressing the border 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:20.040 Of the italian homeland. 00:15:20.160 --> 00:15:25.160 Meanwhile, in rome, another enemy arrives, famine. 00:15:27.320 --> 00:15:30.680 The resources of the roman empire are stretched 00:15:30.920 --> 00:15:32.960 Defending the borders against hordes 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:33.880 Of marauding barbarians. 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:36.440 Any disruption to the food supply 00:15:36.680 --> 00:15:39.080 Was a huge threat to the very survival of the city of rome. 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.800 You were talking about potentially tens of thousands 00:15:41.880 --> 00:15:43.160 Of people who could starve to death. 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:46.680 With war raging throughout the mediterranean 00:15:46.920 --> 00:15:50.760 Famines in the city of rome are now a fact of life. 00:15:50.880 --> 00:15:52.920 And when people starve, obviously they get angry. 00:15:53.000 --> 00:15:53.960 They get upset. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:56.680 They're looking for people to blame. 00:15:58.400 --> 00:16:00.600 Symmachus' immense investment 00:16:00.680 --> 00:16:03.400 In putting on the great games at a time when the empire 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:04.920 Was under pressure from all sides 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:07.200 And hunger stalked the land, 00:16:07.240 --> 00:16:09.040 It seems like an odd sort of set of priorities 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:13.800 To spend your money for that rather than feeding the romans. 00:16:15.680 --> 00:16:17.480 There's nothing like the absence of food 00:16:17.760 --> 00:16:20.000 To highlight the inequalities between the haves 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:22.040 And the have-nots. 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:24.280 And things start to shift and become 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:25.800 Very much like a tinderbox. 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:31.880 Symmachus is at one point singled out 00:16:31.960 --> 00:16:33.160 By the mob in the city. 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:35.560 This is because he's a prominent citizen, 00:16:35.680 --> 00:16:38.680 But it's also probably because he remains a pagan 00:16:38.920 --> 00:16:41.680 In an increasingly christian city. 00:16:43.400 --> 00:16:46.280 For symmachus, it's starting to feel ugly. 00:16:47.680 --> 00:16:49.640 With his standing under threat, 00:16:49.760 --> 00:16:51.880 Symmachus must remind rome's citizens 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.640 That he's on their side before it's too late. 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:07.720 Despite the unrest in rome, 00:17:07.840 --> 00:17:10.200 On the front line general stilicho 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:12.600 Is working to find suitable captives 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:16.200 To fight for symmachus in the arena. 00:17:22.760 --> 00:17:25.000 Sword. 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.440 Prisoners of war belonged to the general 00:17:30.520 --> 00:17:32.360 Who had ultimately captured them. 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:34.600 Sometimes they were executed on the spot. 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:36.360 Often they were sold as slaves. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:39.400 Rise. 00:18:09.320 --> 00:18:12.440 But sometimes prisoners of war could be sent back 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:14.720 To rome to fight and die in the colosseum. 00:18:14.840 --> 00:18:16.800 Good. 00:18:16.840 --> 00:18:19.480 You can fight. 00:18:22.600 --> 00:18:23.800 Rise. 00:18:24.040 --> 00:18:26.840 We know from the letters that symmachus manages 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:29.080 To procure a group of saxon prisoners of war 00:18:29.320 --> 00:18:32.040 To serve as the gladiators at his games. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:34.240 Rise. 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:38.520 Saxons are renowned fighters, and he thinks, 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:40.040 "ooh, this is fantastic. 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:42.920 "we'll bring them in, and they can be 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:45.000 My elite fighting force." 00:18:45.080 --> 00:18:47.680 Send the ones I selected back to rome. 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:50.680 Make sure senator symmachus receives them. 00:18:50.760 --> 00:18:54.360 He has great hopes for these warriors. 00:18:54.440 --> 00:18:59.400 Execute the rest. 00:18:59.480 --> 00:19:01.640 In addition to gladiators, 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:04.840 Symmachus also needs animals for the beast hunts, 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:07.320 But sourcing them is going to be a challenge. 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:10.280 They're running out of wild animals. 00:19:10.360 --> 00:19:11.960 The habitats have disappeared. 00:19:12.040 --> 00:19:14.040 They've been hunted to near extinction. 00:19:14.120 --> 00:19:16.680 And they've become incredibly costly. 00:19:16.760 --> 00:19:19.320 For example, we know that a single lion could cost 00:19:19.400 --> 00:19:21.560 Up to 600,000 sesterces, 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:23.560 Which is well north of a million dollars 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:24.840 In today's terms. 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:28.120 Even though symmachus is a very rich man, 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:30.920 We're talking astronomical sums. 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:33.400 He writes to his contacts requesting wolfhounds 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:37.120 From britain, bears from the balkans, 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:39.000 Crocodiles from the nile, horses from Spain, 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:44.120 And from africa, antelopes, gazelles, leopards, and lions. 00:19:44.360 --> 00:19:47.560 It's pretty clear from symmachus' letters 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:49.880 That he's trying to leverage the resources-- 00:19:50.120 --> 00:19:53.560 Such as they existed-- of the entire empire. 00:19:53.800 --> 00:19:56.520 He writes to all kinds of influential people, 00:19:56.600 --> 00:19:59.160 Statesmen, local governors, 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:01.960 And if they don't answer, he just keeps on writing. 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:05.800 To help close the deal, 00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:11.320 Symmachus showers his fellow senators with gifts. 00:20:11.560 --> 00:20:13.800 People living at that echelon of roman society 00:20:13.880 --> 00:20:17.800 Were expected to be very generous with their wealth. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:21.000 They were expected to make gifts, to make donations. 00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:22.680 It was part of the job. 00:20:22.760 --> 00:20:24.880 Gifts never went awry in trying to convince people 00:20:25.360 --> 00:20:28.280 To do the thing that symmachus wanted them to do. 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:30.240 So we have to imagine him pulling on 00:20:30.520 --> 00:20:32.440 All of these strings of his network, 00:20:32.520 --> 00:20:35.160 Asking for favors, cajoling, bribing, 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:39.160 Sending gifts trying to get people to provide the things 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:40.960 That he needs to put these games on. 00:20:41.520 --> 00:20:44.120 Symmachus has to spend a fortune. 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:46.800 They are figures that are absolutely 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:49.360 Shocking to contemporaries that he'd spend 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:50.840 This much money for the games. 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:56.600 He may have spent something like a ton of gold, 00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:58.440 Perhaps in today's dollars 00:20:58.560 --> 00:21:01.560 $40 million to throw a party. 00:21:01.800 --> 00:21:05.800 It's enough to feed 20,000 families for a year. 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:07.680 For symmachus this is an all-or-nothing gamble. 00:21:07.760 --> 00:21:10.120 Even for someone as wealthy as him 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:13.160 It was going to be an enormous chunk of change. 00:21:13.280 --> 00:21:17.400 Symmachus had seen in the last really 25 years 00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:19.880 His political influence waning. 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:24.760 And he felt that his own personal power and influence 00:21:24.840 --> 00:21:27.800 Was slipping away, and so this was a very, 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:30.040 Very big gamble on his part. 00:21:30.120 --> 00:21:32.920 He was going to use these games not just to remind the romans 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.560 Of their own past but also to assert 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:38.040 His own personal family preeminence. 00:21:38.120 --> 00:21:40.280 So symmachus really needs these games 00:21:40.520 --> 00:21:42.240 To succeed, especially if he wants to have 00:21:42.280 --> 00:21:44.840 A political future in rome. 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:55.240 Do you really believe it will work? 00:21:55.320 --> 00:22:02.360 My son, a great set of games will revive this whole city 00:22:02.600 --> 00:22:06.760 And bring the family who presented them immortality. 00:22:06.840 --> 00:22:08.840 Even if it works, 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.440 Is it worth losing our family's fortune? 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:25.560 The final task is restoring the colosseum itself. 00:22:25.800 --> 00:22:28.760 An earthquake and a fire in the 3rd century 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:32.840 Followed by decades of neglect have all taken their toll. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.760 It was also, as a result of the movement of the emperors 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:39.080 From the city of rome to northern Italy, 00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:41.360 No longer the object of the kind of wealth 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:43.240 And patronage that the emperors were capable 00:22:43.360 --> 00:22:44.520 Of bringing to bear upon it. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:48.920 It was becoming derelict and certainly underused. 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:51.080 Rome at this period is almost completely 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:55.400 Unrecognizable from the way that it was in its heyday. 00:22:55.520 --> 00:22:56.640 They simply don't have the money 00:22:56.680 --> 00:22:59.400 To replace the civic infrastructure, 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:00.760 And it's a pretty dark time. 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:03.400 A lot of things have been torn away. 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:05.680 A lot of the stones and rocks have been carried away 00:23:05.800 --> 00:23:07.640 To build buildings elsewhere. 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:10.760 So he has to do a lot of renovations of the colosseum 00:23:10.840 --> 00:23:13.400 Before he can even hope to stage any games there, 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:14.920 And it's a massive undertaking. 00:23:15.040 --> 00:23:16.360 It's a huge building. 00:23:18.120 --> 00:23:21.160 For symmachus, the colosseum is still a powerful symbol. 00:23:21.280 --> 00:23:24.760 So keeping the colosseum intact was an important way 00:23:24.840 --> 00:23:26.280 For symmachus and the other patricians 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:28.080 To maintain the image of rome. 00:23:29.640 --> 00:23:30.640 We have a problem. 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:43.240 Now just weeks from the first day of his games, 00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:47.440 Symmachus faces a devastating setback. 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:56.280 They say they wouldn't eat on the journey here. 00:23:59.840 --> 00:24:04.120 Egyptian crocodiles starved to death. 00:24:11.520 --> 00:24:13.640 And the bears? 00:24:13.760 --> 00:24:16.360 The 300 bears? 00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:19.000 We have three, all cubs. 00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:25.400 There's an entire infrastructure necessary 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:27.200 To put on these games, procure these animals, 00:24:27.280 --> 00:24:28.920 Transport them to rome, 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:30.360 Keep them alive 00:24:30.440 --> 00:24:32.760 Under the stresses of the fourth and fifth century 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:35.160 Have just fallen away. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.800 But somehow symmachus procures enough wild animals 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:43.400 To proceed with his games. 00:24:43.520 --> 00:24:48.840 The captured saxon prisoners of war also finally arrive. 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:51.160 Well, symmachus looking at these saxon warriors 00:24:51.400 --> 00:24:55.480 Is thinking, "these are perfect colosseum fodder for my games." 00:24:55.720 --> 00:24:58.040 They're like wild beasts. They're like objects. 00:24:58.120 --> 00:24:59.960 These are all of the building blocks 00:25:00.040 --> 00:25:03.200 That he requires for a dramatic games in the arena. 00:25:06.440 --> 00:25:11.880 But the prisoners refuse to act as symmachus expects. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:15.560 What's going on here? 00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:17.240 On your feet now. 00:25:17.320 --> 00:25:20.200 I said on your feet. 00:25:24.600 --> 00:25:26.840 Fight. 00:25:30.600 --> 00:25:31.960 Fight! 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:44.040 Why are they not fighting? 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:47.880 Maybe they don't see the point. 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:49.160 Symmachus needs these saxons, 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:51.560 People with this fearsome reputation, 00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.200 Prisoners of war, 00:25:53.280 --> 00:25:55.520 Who could meet his demand for people to fight 00:25:55.560 --> 00:25:57.320 And die for the entertainment of the crowd. 00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:01.320 If you all fight for me, 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:05.480 I promise you will all be rewarded... 00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:13.480 Handsomely. 00:26:13.560 --> 00:26:14.360 Come up. 00:26:27.280 --> 00:26:29.240 Despite challenges, the day symmachus 00:26:29.320 --> 00:26:31.720 Has yearned for approaches. 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:42.920 But not everyone in rome is excited. 00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:50.520 The radical christians really wanted to eradicate 00:26:50.600 --> 00:26:56.600 And do away with the gladiatorial games, 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.160 Not only because those things were full of religion 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:01.480 That they didn't agree with, but also because 00:27:01.600 --> 00:27:03.480 They were a glorification of violence. 00:27:03.560 --> 00:27:07.640 These men have long felt that blood sport, 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:08.920 That death for entertainment 00:27:09.160 --> 00:27:11.400 Was a blight on the religious health 00:27:11.480 --> 00:27:15.160 Of the people and an affront to christian values. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:19.880 But the games also remained popular with the people, 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:21.320 With everyday christians 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:23.320 Sometimes attending church 00:27:23.560 --> 00:27:25.960 Before going to the games in the afternoon. 00:27:36.840 --> 00:27:38.760 For symmachus, the day of the opening of the games 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:40.120 Is the culmination of everything 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:43.560 That he's worked for for a really long time. 00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:47.000 This is for him his attempt to turn back the clock, 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:51.880 To honor the gods in the way that he's capable of doing, 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:55.640 And return some of rome's previous prosperity too. 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:12.200 People of rome, 00:28:12.320 --> 00:28:16.680 It is my honor to introduce our greatest prefect of rome, 00:28:16.800 --> 00:28:19.000 Symmachus memmius! 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:42.680 All this is for you. 00:28:42.920 --> 00:28:44.360 You're amazing, father. 00:28:57.240 --> 00:29:01.320 On opening day, when symmachus looked around, 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:04.040 There was more than a bit of excitement. 00:29:04.160 --> 00:29:07.560 In some respects the colosseum would have looked like 00:29:07.640 --> 00:29:08.760 The rome of old. 00:29:10.280 --> 00:29:12.320 I can imagine him sitting there 00:29:12.360 --> 00:29:16.360 With a sense of pride at what he had accomplished, 00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:18.840 But inside nagging at him, always aware 00:29:19.080 --> 00:29:20.840 At his consciousness is, 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:23.160 This is a world that is coming to an end. 00:29:29.800 --> 00:29:33.400 Those fears soon prove justified. 00:29:56.840 --> 00:30:00.440 Things go very wrong with the saxon fighters. 00:30:06.360 --> 00:30:09.960 Symmachus' games are finally underway. 00:30:19.840 --> 00:30:23.400 But as they proceed, his prized saxon warriors decide 00:30:23.520 --> 00:30:26.120 To choose their own fate. 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:33.960 These saxon fighters, nobody's really watching them, 00:30:34.040 --> 00:30:36.840 And they take advantage of this moment. 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:44.280 Rather than submit to the indignity and terror 00:30:44.360 --> 00:30:46.680 Of fighting in gladiatorial games, 00:30:46.760 --> 00:30:48.520 These saxons kill each other. 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:04.280 Symmachus is absolutely furious. 00:31:04.520 --> 00:31:06.520 He's lost his elite fighting force. 00:31:11.080 --> 00:31:13.840 Symmachus had nothing but contempt for the saxons, 00:31:13.880 --> 00:31:16.320 Called them, "this bunch of slaves more worthless 00:31:16.360 --> 00:31:19.440 Than spartacus," which is, from the perspective 00:31:19.480 --> 00:31:20.720 Of an elite roman, about the most 00:31:20.800 --> 00:31:22.360 Damning thing you can say. 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:29.560 So this moment is really kind of emblematic of where we are 00:31:29.800 --> 00:31:30.960 At this point in the empire. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:38.120 It's nothing. 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:40.280 If you can't even force prisoners of war 00:31:40.520 --> 00:31:41.920 To fight and die for you anymore, 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:43.680 Then what is the roman empire? 00:31:43.760 --> 00:31:45.720 This is something they've been doing for centuries. 00:31:45.800 --> 00:31:47.560 To not be able to force this group 00:31:47.640 --> 00:31:50.280 To fight and die in the arena says a lot about how far 00:31:50.360 --> 00:31:52.280 Roman power had fallen. 00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:58.680 Despite this loss of the saxons the games do not stop. 00:31:58.760 --> 00:32:01.160 Even christian senators attend. 00:32:01.240 --> 00:32:04.760 The simple idea of staging games 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.520 Was an unsettling one to christian senators, 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:10.240 But it wasn't necessarily something that they absolutely 00:32:10.280 --> 00:32:14.600 Thought could not happen. 00:32:16.120 --> 00:32:18.280 There's no question that christian senators 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:20.200 Would have attended symmachus' games, 00:32:20.320 --> 00:32:22.280 Because more than anything else, 00:32:22.360 --> 00:32:24.680 This is a huge social event for rome's elite. 00:32:24.800 --> 00:32:26.400 And even though some members of rome's elite 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:29.400 Remained pagan, others had converted 00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:31.360 To christianity, what tied them together 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:33.200 Far more than faith was the fact that they were 00:32:33.280 --> 00:32:34.760 Members of rome's elite. 00:32:34.840 --> 00:32:39.080 But then there's a second unwelcome surprise. 00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:43.640 His name is telemachus, a fanatical monk 00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:47.560 Fiercely opposed to rome's old ways. 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:49.600 He is an eastern ascetic monk, 00:32:49.640 --> 00:32:52.960 Someone who has renounced all worldly pleasure 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:54.680 In his search for christian god. 00:32:54.920 --> 00:32:56.360 He comes to rome from the east, 00:32:56.440 --> 00:32:59.360 And because of that looks with terrible eyes 00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:02.280 Upon the things that were happening in the colosseum. 00:33:02.400 --> 00:33:04.920 He's a man who wants to see that world view 00:33:05.080 --> 00:33:06.040 Come to an end. 00:33:12.680 --> 00:33:15.960 He's the exact opposite of a roman pleasure-seeker. 00:33:16.040 --> 00:33:18.200 In the name of the one true god. 00:33:18.280 --> 00:33:21.000 He was on a collision course 00:33:21.080 --> 00:33:24.280 With the powers that be in rome, 00:33:24.360 --> 00:33:26.920 And his beliefs are at complete odds 00:33:27.040 --> 00:33:28.920 With pagan beliefs. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:31.640 In the name of the one true god. 00:33:40.200 --> 00:33:41.880 What is he doing? 00:33:42.120 --> 00:33:43.640 As far as he's concerned, 00:33:43.880 --> 00:33:45.880 What's happening in the amphitheater 00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:47.000 Had to be stopped. 00:33:51.520 --> 00:33:52.680 Stop him! 00:34:01.880 --> 00:34:03.600 He wants to end these games. 00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:07.600 In the name of our true god, stop, stop. 00:34:08.840 --> 00:34:10.920 This is against god's teachings. 00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:17.960 Take him from here now! 00:34:18.080 --> 00:34:21.640 - Leave. - Leave now, or face his wrath. 00:34:21.720 --> 00:34:23.600 What telemachus did was unprecedented 00:34:23.840 --> 00:34:25.640 And was shocking. 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:29.000 It really was the first time in close to 600 years 00:34:29.120 --> 00:34:31.080 That anyone had tried to stop a gladiatorial fight. 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:47.960 At any event where there's going to be bloodshed, 00:34:48.200 --> 00:34:51.560 The crowd has an expectation of violence. 00:34:51.680 --> 00:34:52.520 The bloodshed pulled the crowd in 00:34:52.600 --> 00:34:54.440 And kind of enraptured them. 00:34:54.560 --> 00:34:56.360 The people of rome were always capable 00:34:56.480 --> 00:34:58.920 Of exploding into violence. 00:34:59.040 --> 00:35:01.480 The crowd became so outraged 00:35:01.560 --> 00:35:03.640 At having its entertainment interrupted 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:06.520 That they threw stones at telemachus. 00:35:06.760 --> 00:35:11.000 Our lord, the one true god protects me. 00:35:21.320 --> 00:35:24.160 After years of preparation, 00:35:24.200 --> 00:35:26.360 Symmachus faces disaster. 00:35:26.600 --> 00:35:29.640 His lavish games are disrupted by a christian, 00:35:29.720 --> 00:35:32.120 Who is then stoned to death. 00:35:35.720 --> 00:35:39.480 So to have a christian monk come in and disrupt the game, 00:35:39.560 --> 00:35:42.440 It's like stepping right into the cultural fault line 00:35:42.520 --> 00:35:44.760 That's dividing people right at the heart of rome. 00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:48.680 The traditional values of rome, then it's a complete failure. 00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:50.040 Roman society had moved on. 00:35:50.120 --> 00:35:53.160 Word of telemachus' death in the colosseum 00:35:53.280 --> 00:35:56.200 Reaches the emperor in milan. 00:35:56.320 --> 00:35:59.880 Horrified by the violence, he orders 00:35:59.960 --> 00:36:05.400 A total ban on gladiatorial combat throughout the empire. 00:36:05.640 --> 00:36:07.320 Things were never going to be the same. 00:36:07.400 --> 00:36:09.400 Nobody was ever going to spend the amount of money 00:36:09.480 --> 00:36:10.600 That symmachus did. 00:36:10.720 --> 00:36:12.520 Nobody was ever going to go back in time 00:36:12.600 --> 00:36:15.880 And make rome the center of the universe again. 00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:35.400 Crushed by the failure of his games, 00:36:35.520 --> 00:36:37.840 Symmachus retires to his villa... 00:36:39.080 --> 00:36:42.680 And in the winter of 402 a.D. Falls ill. 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:47.160 Father, you should rest. 00:36:47.400 --> 00:36:50.360 Memmius, I'm fine. 00:36:50.440 --> 00:36:53.480 Get on with your work, my son. 00:36:53.560 --> 00:36:54.520 This is my legacy. 00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:57.800 Symmachus is the last of his kind, 00:36:57.840 --> 00:36:59.520 The last of his breed. 00:36:59.640 --> 00:37:01.720 He's a little bit of a tragic figure for those of us 00:37:01.800 --> 00:37:04.520 Who have some sympathies for the glory that was rome. 00:37:23.040 --> 00:37:26.520 Symmachus died less than a year after his games. 00:37:26.600 --> 00:37:28.600 His last letter is to stilicho and complains 00:37:28.720 --> 00:37:31.200 That he has not recovered from an illness. 00:37:31.240 --> 00:37:33.080 Perhaps he died a broken man. 00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:37.000 The battles that he fights over the course of his life 00:37:37.120 --> 00:37:40.120 On behalf of rome's pagan past symbolize 00:37:40.200 --> 00:37:42.840 The turning of the guard, the changing of an era. 00:37:42.920 --> 00:37:46.840 Soon after, the borders of rome's western empire 00:37:46.920 --> 00:37:49.400 Collapse, and in 408 a.D. 00:37:49.640 --> 00:37:52.920 Stilicho is beheaded on emperor honorius' orders 00:37:53.000 --> 00:37:55.160 During a bloody purge of the army. 00:37:55.240 --> 00:38:00.360 Two years later, rome itself is sacked by visigothic armies 00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:03.400 Commanded by his nemesis, alaric. 00:38:16.680 --> 00:38:19.080 Finally, in 476, 00:38:19.160 --> 00:38:22.680 The last western roman emperor is deposed. 00:38:22.920 --> 00:38:24.520 A century after symmachus' games, 00:38:24.600 --> 00:38:26.400 The city of rome would have shrunk 00:38:26.440 --> 00:38:27.800 To a tenth of its former size. 00:38:28.040 --> 00:38:31.800 Maybe 100,000 people living there instead of a million. 00:38:32.040 --> 00:38:34.520 The city would have been filled with crumbling buildings, 00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:37.120 With weeds growing in the streets. 00:38:37.200 --> 00:38:39.720 It was a shell of its former self. 00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:41.720 You can't have a colosseum without an empire 00:38:41.800 --> 00:38:44.520 To sustain it, to bring in the wealth, 00:38:44.640 --> 00:38:47.720 And the network of supplies to make it work. 00:38:47.800 --> 00:38:50.080 When all those things are gone there's no real rationale 00:38:50.160 --> 00:38:51.880 For the colosseum. 00:38:51.960 --> 00:38:55.720 The great christian scholar the venerable bede said, 00:38:55.840 --> 00:38:59.960 "as long as the colosseum stands, rome shall stand. 00:39:00.200 --> 00:39:03.960 "when the colosseum falls, rome will fall. 00:39:04.040 --> 00:39:07.320 And when rome falls, the whole world will fall." 00:39:07.560 --> 00:39:10.360 The colosseum is abandoned. 00:39:10.440 --> 00:39:14.600 It becomes a ruin, and later on it becomes a quarry. 00:39:14.680 --> 00:39:17.160 In the medieval period, when they're trying to build 00:39:17.240 --> 00:39:19.720 A christian rome, they take its stone 00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:23.480 And use it for buildings such as st. Peter's in the vatican. 00:39:23.720 --> 00:39:26.680 It's ironic that this place which had always been 00:39:26.760 --> 00:39:29.640 So anti-christian should end up at the heart 00:39:29.720 --> 00:39:31.280 Of the christian faith. 00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:34.880 To come face-to-face with the colosseum today 00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:38.520 Is to confront some of our most complex emotions 00:39:38.760 --> 00:39:40.440 About ancient empire. 00:39:40.520 --> 00:39:43.960 On the one hand, it is in fact exquisitely beautiful. 00:39:44.200 --> 00:39:46.840 But then you remember what they did there. 00:39:53.600 --> 00:39:55.560 Built on the backs of slaves, 00:39:55.640 --> 00:39:56.920 It represents the blood lust, 00:39:57.160 --> 00:40:00.200 The decadence, the violence, the glory, and depravity 00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:02.680 Of the roman empire. 00:40:04.360 --> 00:40:08.360 The colosseum is the place where romans became romans. 00:40:08.440 --> 00:40:10.840 When they saw foreign prisoners of war, 00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:12.680 When they saw criminals executed, 00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:14.120 When they saw exotic beasts, 00:40:14.200 --> 00:40:17.080 When they saw gladiators fighting on their behalf, 00:40:17.320 --> 00:40:20.280 It defined them as a people 00:40:20.520 --> 00:40:22.360 In terms of blood and violence and power. 00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:24.600 All of these things were at the heart 00:40:24.680 --> 00:40:26.840 Of how the roman empire was built 00:40:26.920 --> 00:40:28.040 And how it sustained itself. 00:40:28.160 --> 00:40:31.320 The colosseum tells us a lot about the romans. 00:40:31.400 --> 00:40:35.080 It tells us about the importance of a monument 00:40:35.160 --> 00:40:37.400 Of prestige, of magnificence. 00:40:37.480 --> 00:40:40.800 It tells us about their love of scale, the vision. 00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:43.320 And all of these things are represented 00:40:43.400 --> 00:40:46.240 In this magnificent building that still stands today.