QUARANTINE BLOG # 274

December 29, 2020

The Coliseum is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world today. Completed in AD 80, the Coliseum could hold an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators.  

The Coliseum’s huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly.  The amphitheater was ringed by eighty entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators.  Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase.

Section LII (52)

Spectators accessed their seats via vomitoria,  passageways that opened into a tier of seats.  The name vomitoria derived from the Latin word for “a rapid discharge,” from which English derives the word “vomit.”

The arena itself was 272 feet by 157 feet.  It comprised a wooden floor covered by sand, covering an elaborate underground structure called the hypogeum (literally meaning “underground”).  The hypogeum consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began.  Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath. 

Inside the Coliseum, showing the hypogeum (center and front)

The Coliseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events.  One type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio.  This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, ostriches,  panthers, leopards, Barbary lions, Caspian tigers, and Siberian bears.  Oh my!  Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings.  Emperor Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in 107 AD with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days. 

Pollice verso – Thumbs down

During lunch intervals, executions ad bestias would be staged.  Those condemned to death would be sent into the arena, naked and unarmed, to face the beasts of death which would literally tear them to pieces.  Other performances would also take place by acrobats and magicians, typically during the intervals.  The Coliseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year entering to view the interior arena.

👉  Let me introduce you to one of my favorite comic strips, and the chances are good you may never have heard of 9 Chickweed Lane, by Brooke McEldowney.  I have never seen it in a newspaper, and follow it only because it is syndicated by United Feature Syndicate and available at GoComics.com, a site to which I subscribe.

There are 31 recurring characters in the strip – I won’t introduce you to all of them, just my favorites: Edda and Amos.

Edda van Hoesen – Independent and intelligent with a heroic fantasy life as Superlative Girl, she is a talented, attractive ballet dancer and a skilled piano recitalist. She married her longtime sweetheart Amos on September 11, 2017.

Amos van Hoesen – A geeky, talented classical cellist and Edda’s husband. Best friends since childhood that blossomed into love, he graduated from the same Catholic high school as she and went on to study at Juilliard. They have since become parents to twin daughters Polly and Lolly.

Edda has been leaving Amos speechless since they were children.  More tomorrow.

👉  The ashes of the late James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott on the original Star Trek television series, have been aboard the International Space Station for 12 years.   Doohan died in 2005 at the age of 85, and his family wanted to fulfill his wish of getting on the ISS.

Richard Garriott – one of the first private citizens to travel on the space station – smuggled some of Doohan’s ashes into the space station’s Columbus module.  Garriott says he took a laminated picture of Doohan and some of his ashes and put it under the floor of the Columbus.  According to the Times of London, Doohan’s ashes have traveled some 1.7 billion miles across space, and have orbited the Earth more than 70,000 times.  Years after his death, Scotty is still boldly going ... well, you know the rest.

👉  Today’s close, “The Simple Secret to a Great New Year,” is by Jeff Schreve.

The simple secret is this: To experience a great year, just do what Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things [the things you and I worry about] shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).  If you will seek Him first, He promises to meet all your needs.

    1.  It means that you spend time with Him each day, praying and reading His Word, asking Him for direction, guidance, help and insight ... confessing your sins when you blow it, and seeking His grace to help in your time of need.

    2.  It means you put His agenda above your agenda.  You pray, “Not my will, but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42).  You live your life to please Jesus, not to please yourself.

    3.  It means you obey Him and do what He says in the power He supplies.  You don’t let your fleshly desires control you; you let Jesus control you.

    4.  It means you invest your time, talent and resources in the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of self.

    5.  It means you recognize that He is everything, and in Christ “are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge”( Colossians 2:3).  The true treasures of life – love, joy, peace, fulfillment, true success – are only found in Jesus ... so you spend your time seeking Him.

Don’t wait for the ball to drop in Times Square before seeking first the kingdom of God.  Start now!  Put Jesus first every day you are blessed to live... and He will bless your life abundantly in return.

One of my favorite Scriptures says, “For those who honor Me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30).  If you want God to honor you, honor Him in all you do.  The best is yet to be ... and the ball is in your court.

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