Up to today, even in its ruinous state, the Colosseum still fills millions with a sense of awe and wonder. The numerous films, books, games and other modern artifacts depicting the Colosseum bear testimony to this. One can only imagine how it must have felt to behold the awesome splendour of the building during its heyday. However, it was much more than just the building that attracted the ancient peoples. There were many other reasons why they found going to the Colosseum such a compelling experience. Some of the more popular ones include being able to make demands and grant life, witnessing crime getting punished and the destruction of enemies and threats, enjoying the “gift” that has been bestowed upon the people, attending the games as a funeral tribute to well-loved rulers and public figures, celebrating an occasion, being able to gamble and getting entertained by a wide array of performances.

The ancient Roman society was highly hierarchical with the emperor being at its helm. This gave those at the lower end of the spectrum little say in almost everything. However, in the arena, the crowd was taken as a collective and wielded the power to make demands and grant life. Apuleius writes of a young man, Lucius who has to have sexual intercourse with a condemned woman at the demand of the audience (Resource Book 1, C2, p.94).

As for the right to grant life, when it came to the gladiators, the people and only the people had it. “That was not in the gift of the president of the games, magistrate or even emperor, but in the gift of society as a whole; of the Roman people, present in the amphitheatre” (Resource Book 1, C11, p.106). One can only imagine how it would have felt to be able to command such authority.

Today, the media provides the assurance that crime gets punished in a manner that is commensurate with the crime that has been committed through broadcast. In the ancient Roman society, such media was nonexistent hence the need for personal witnessing of punishments being meted out. Weidemann says that when this assurance is destroyed, the public tends to react beyond what is necessary for a particular situation (Resource Book 1, C13(a), p.110). The Colosseum, being a place of public punishment, provided this assurance and compelled many Romans to visit it for this reason.

“Another group of those executed in the arena were defeated military opponents” (Resource Book 1, C11, p.106). Watching these executions must have given Romans a real high knowing that they were part of such a mighty empire. Also, just like how people today enjoy watching the “good” defeat the “bad”, the ancient Romans enjoyed watching their “good” government reign victorious over its “bad” enemies.

“For the Romans, the struggle against nature was very real. To kill wild beasts meant to protect mankind” (Resource Book 1, C11, p.103). These killings took place in the arena on a behemoth scale. As Jennison puts it, “The animals consumed at Rome for one great festival, would amply stock all the Zoological Gardens of modern Europe” (Resource Book 1, C15, p.114). Witnessing these killings gave Romans a great sense of security and compelled them to visit the Colosseum.

Pearson mentions that the Colosseum was the gift of the emperor to the Roman people and Martial’s epigram proves it (Resource Book 1, C12, p.107). What made this gift even sweeter was that it was built over the site of Nero’s lake and palace, which caused the demolition of homes belonging to poor citizens (Resource Book 1, C1, p.92). With its building, the Colosseum came to be viewed as a symbol marking the end of Nero’s tyranny thus appealing to many Romans.

Pliny’s letter to Valerius Maximus tells us that shows were held as funeral tributes (Resource Book 1, C4, p.96). In his letter, he also mentions that a show was held at the request of the people. Such shows, very likely, attracted throngs of people as they themselves requested for them. Also, since the shows were deemed important enough to honour the passing of public figures, they compelled Romans to visit the Colosseum.

Just like today’s Mardi Gras and Gay Pride Parade, Rome’s festivities were celebrated with pomp and had huge followings. Apuleius describes such an event in a writing entitled “The Robbers’ Tale” (Resource Book 1, C3, p.95). These events were major pull factors drawing great numbers of spectators to the Colosseum.

Gambling was another major factor that compelled the ancient Romans to keep visiting the Colosseum. According to Hopkins, “The emotional glue of Roman gladiatorial shows, what drew the crowd, was not merely the spectacle and the slaughter, but also gambling”. He points out, in his writing, some graffiti that serves as evidence of the occurrence of betting within the Colosseum (Resource Book 1, C14, p.113).

Entertainment was another factor that played a huge part in compelling the ancient peoples to keep returning to the Colosseum. The entertainment was so diverse that there was bound to be something for every taste. There were plays, beast hunts or venatio, gladiatorial combats, sexual performances, humiliores or public punishments, sea battles and so on. There were even very unique and novel performances. Martial writes, “ Illustrious Fame used to sing of the lion laid low in Nemea’s spacious vale, Hercules’ work. Let ancient testimony be silent, for after your shows, Caesar, we have now seen such things done by women’s valor” (Resource Book 1, C1, p.92). The writing proves that the shows broke new ground. Then there is Coleman describing Lucius’ act of sexual intercourse, dressed as a bull, as a “shocking scene” (Resource Book 1, C16, p.117).

Off course there may be many more reasons for ancient people finding going to the Colosseum such a compelling experience. However, as far as the evidence that has been found so far goes, these are the major reasons that have been pointed out. The only sure way to unearth all the secrets of the Colosseum would be to visit it during its prime. So until a time machine is built, there can only be deductions.