THE SPIRIT OF THE COLISEUM I

Many years ago I received a word concerning the addiction to sports. It was called The Spirit of the Coliseum. What I heard was a comparison of sports to the coliseum games the Romans played in the early coliseums. “The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige and were immensely popular. Another major attraction 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, elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, aurochs (large wild bulls), wisents (bison), Barbary lions, panthers, leopards, bears, Caspian Tigers, crocodiles, and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. These events could be huge in scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days. During lunch intervals, executions ad bestias (humans killed by wild animals) 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. Acrobats and magicians would also perform, usually during the intervals.” (Wikipedia)

The Roman Coliseum could seat approximately 65 to 87,000 people. The seating was tiered with special boxes and seating for the political and wealthy patrons. ‘Over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheater.’
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“You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over to councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them.” Jesus