All language subtitles for Colosseum.S01E02.720p.WEBRip.x264-GalaxyTV Eng

- Hail, caesar.

[dramatic music]

- Imperial majesty.

- So this is what rome
has been waiting for.

Is it working?

- It works well, caesar.

- Show me.

- Up.

♪ ♪

Up.

♪ ♪

Slowly, slowly, slowly.

♪ ♪

- It will be ready for
the games, imperial majesty.

♪ ♪

[trumpets sound]

- [vocalizes]

[cheering]

- The colosseum is
the roman empire

Distilled
to its most basic essence.

[cat growls]

- It is a symbol of conquest.

It's a symbol of dominance.

It's a symbol
of imperial power

Radiating throughout
the roman world.

- Now.

[growls]

- Any emperor had
the colosseum at his disposal

To use as a tool to reassert
his power and authority.

♪ ♪

[gladiator screams]

- The message
to the roman people

Is that life is a combat.

♪ ♪

- It was also
a judicial warning.

- [groans]

- Do not test
the power of rome.

It was a death penalty
offense.

- [groans]

♪ ♪

- If you live by the sword,

You die by the sword.

♪ ♪

- [grunts]

- It demonstrates
the power of the colosseum.

It made slaves into heroes,

Upending the power structure
of rome.

- [groans]

- The colosseum
will come to symbolize

The rise and fall of rome.

♪ ♪

- It's all there.

The blood, the glory,
the magnificence,

And the flaws that made rome

The greatest empire
that europe has ever seen.

♪ ♪

[crowd cheering]

- It's 83 a.D.,

Just three years

After the colosseum's
triumphant opening.

♪ ♪

But rome's new emperor,
domitian,

Is launching what he promises

Will be the most
astonishing games of all time.

♪ ♪

- Giving successful games
was a fundamental part

Of being a successful emperor.

His predecessors
had built the colosseum.

He wanted to do them
one better.

♪ ♪

- The third emperor
in the new dynasty,

The flavians, domitian
has a lot to live up to.

♪ ♪

- In the triad of
the flavian power structure,

You had vespasian, the dad,

The first emperor
in the family.

You had titus,
the older brother,

His partner, his ally,
his strong right arm.

And then there was domitian,
who was the spare.

♪ ♪

- Vespasian and titus

Were both outstanding generals

Who crushed rome's enemies
in britania and in judea

In what is now
the middle east.

♪ ♪

Now it's domitian's turn.

- He's got to prove himself
to the people of rome,

To the empire, that
he is worthy of the mantle.

♪ ♪

- Domitian decides
to give the roman people

What they love most,

Entertainment.

- [grunting]

- With these games,
domitian clearly thought

That he had a shot
at outdoing his brother

And winning the hearts
and minds of the roman people.

♪ ♪

- He plans a surprise,

Ordering a major renovation
to the colosseum,

Digging a vast labyrinth
beneath the arena floor.

It's called a hypogeum,

And through
its sophisticated engineering,

Animals, humans, and scenery

Will suddenly appear
before the spectators.

♪ ♪

- It's going
to add another layer

Of visual complexity
to the colosseum.

So rather than people
walking out of doors

And walking slowly into
the middle of the colosseum,

They're going to appear

Up through the floor
as if by magic.

- To engineer this complex
hypogeum beneath the arena,

Domitian relies on a skilled
master builder, haterius.

- The job of creating
a subterranean aspect

For the colosseum--
well, that was

A task
for an engineering genius.

♪ ♪

- Haterius and his team would
undoubtably have been

Under a lot of pressure
not to screw up,

To make sure that on game day,

Everything came off
according to plan.

- Especially the complex
special effects machinery

Designed to dazzle the crowd.

♪ ♪

- In order to lift huge cages

From the hypogeum
to the floor of the colosseum,

The special effects man
underneath the colosseum

Turned huge capstans
in order to make sure

That both the people,
the animals, and the scenery

Arrived instantly in the spot

That they were needed
for the show.

- [groans]

♪ ♪

[lion growls]

- Come on.
- [groans]

[growls]

- I'm trying.
Come on.

- If haterius can't make
this hypogeum work,

He could pay with his life.

♪ ♪

Haterius' connection
to the flavians

Begins over a decade ago,

Working in the family
construction business in rome.

♪ ♪

- For most of these great
building projects,

We have no idea
who actually did the work.

When it comes to the colosseum,
we're lucky

In that we do know
about one of the contractors.

There's a tomb, the tomb
of the haterius family,

And on it, it depicts
the various building projects

That they were involved in.

And one of them
is the colosseum.

♪ ♪

It's three levels,
a giant portico

With a four-horse chariot
on top of it.

The haterius family are
a family of master builders,

And they're proud
of their projects.

♪ ♪

- Now, one man will never
be able to move it.

- Can you not see, father?
Force multiplied.

With a wheel this size,
every time I add a pulley,

Even one man can lift
a greater and greater weight.

- That's why you'll be

The master builder
I could never be.

Why, you'll make
our family name great.

- The haterii
appear to be freedmen

From the slaves
of a senatorial family.

We know that
quintus haterius antoninus

Existed in rome several decades
before the family emerges,

And he had freed haterius'
father and grandfather,

So they took his name
as a sign of gratitude.

♪ ♪

Things are looking up
for haterius in a sense that

As a freedman, you've stepped
out of the bounds of slavery.

You're actually on your way up.

- For haterius, opportunity
arises when vespasian

Becomes emperor in 69 a.D.
And decides to build

A new amphitheater on the site

Of nero's controversial
golden house,

A vast home
built on public lands.

- Nero, of course,
had a terrible reputation.

He had built himself
the biggest palace

That had so far
been built by the emperors,

The golden house.

♪ ♪

- Nero's golden house
was absolutely enormous,

About 200 acres.

It's the size
of 40 manhattan blocks,

All of it in the most valuable
real estate in the roman world.

The people of rome
and the senate of rome

Were not happy
about the construction

Of the golden house

Because
what had previously been

At least semi-public space

That had been open
to other romans

Into something that was
reserved

Just for this one person.

That was deeply offensive
and deeply troubling.

♪ ♪

- Vespasian wants to show
that he's the anti-nero,

And so he's gonna build

The greatest entertainment
center that rome has ever had.

An amphitheater, the colosseum.

♪ ♪

- He wants to
completely destroy

Most of the golden house,
drain the artificial lake

That was one of the beauties
of the golden house,

And build this colosseum

Smack on that site
where the lake once was.

♪ ♪

- So the place that had
belonged to the emperor

And that was private

Will actually belong
to the entire roman people.

♪ ♪

- Vespasian's crowd-pleasing
move has another upside,

Enhancing the status
of the new flavian dynasty.

♪ ♪

- The problem
that vespasian has

Is, he has
no family background.

He's just a military man,
a general,

Who's a very successful
general,

But that's all he is.

He's got no real claim
to the throne.

♪ ♪

- Vespasian's nickname
is the muleteer

Because he traded
and made a fortune

Trading in donkeys and mules,
which gives you an idea

That he's not a glamorous
roman soldier at all.

He's no julius caesar.

- Rome was
an extremely class-conscious,

Snobby society,

So the flavians
had something to prove.

♪ ♪

- Giving rome the colosseum

Will legitimize
the new dynasty.

Now, it's up to builders
like haterius

To realize the flavians' dream
and quickly.

♪ ♪

- My father demands
a new palace.

Not just for the emperor,
but for the people.

And it must be built
without delay.

♪ ♪

- By the time vespasian
comes to the throne,

He's 60 years old.

Now, that doesn't sound old
by modern standards,

But in ancient rome,
he's an old man.

So he wants to get this
great building project done,

But he hasn't got
much time to do it.

If he's going to live
to see the conclusion of it,

He's really got to get
the builders to hurry up.

- We expect you to succeed.

- It will be done.

♪ ♪

- Well, the pressure was on,
as far as haterius

Was concerned,
to finish it on time,

But also, rome's emperors
were known

For both lavish rewards
and also harsh punishments.

♪ ♪

For haterius, the stakes
were extremely high,

And there was really
no latitude for failure.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

[indistinct speech]

♪ ♪

- By 73 a.D.,
haterius and his men

Are working around the clock
building the colosseum

To give the people of rome
a permanent amphitheater.

♪ ♪

- Before the building
of the colosseum,

The games would be held
in a variety of places.

They would have them
in the old roman forum,

Or they would just set up
temporary wooden structures,

And they would take them down
at the end of the games.

Rome finds itself
in the situation

That it has no permanent place
where it can put on the games.

And what vespasian does is,
he says,

"well, I'm going
to change that."

♪ ♪

- This was their showpiece.

The whole of rome was
fascinated by this building.

The scale of it was bigger than
anything ever built before.

♪ ♪

- The sheer scale of the
colosseum seems overwhelming

In its size, its grandeur.

♪ ♪

Beautifully engineered,

Innovative.

- In the first year
of construction,

We're told that workers,
by hand,

Dug out 220,000 tons of dirt

To create 30-foot deep
foundations.

♪ ♪

- The amount of material
that had to be moved around

To make this happen
is mind-boggling.

Stone that's coming in

Is coming from 19 miles away,
from modern-day tivoli.

3.5 million cubic feet
in six-ton blocks.

♪ ♪

Now, this travertine
faced a brick structure,

And it's a million bricks
that went into the colosseum.

♪ ♪

And on top of this,

You need clamps
to hold the stones in place,

And that amounts to 300 tons
alone of iron clamps.

♪ ♪

- But there's
one special material

That makes
the colosseum possible:

Concrete.

- Something that the romans
didn't invent, per se,

But they certainly
perfected it.

And the way they perfected
this was by mixing in

Volcanic ash, especially from
mt. Vesuvius near pompeii.

And this created
a building material

That was both
strong and flexible.

The fact the colosseum
is still standing today

Is a testament
to roman concrete.

♪ ♪

- The great advantage
of concrete is that

You don't have to build
the whole building of stone.

You can make
the core of concrete,

And then you can face
the outer layers

With marble
and more attractive stone.

So it really speeds up
production process.

- Fast building is essential
if the aging emperor vespasian

Is to open his new colosseum.

So commanding a team
of over 1,000 workers,

Haterius is one
of four master builders,

Each overseeing one section.

- We can see the intensity
and the speed

In which the colosseum
was built because

Each of the four quadrants
of the ellipse

Of the amphitheater
seems to have been built

By a different team

And in slightly different
construction techniques

And slightly different styles.

- Every builder would've been
looking at the other quadrants

And sort of seeing
how they were getting on.

And you certainly
wouldn't want to be

The builder
who was lagging behind.

♪ ♪

- To keep up,
haterius relies

On an endless supply
of manual labor, the enslaved.

♪ ♪

- No, no, no, stop.
Stop.

Whipping men does not
make them stronger or faster.

- But they're slaves, sir.

♪ ♪

- My grandfather was a slave.

My father born one.

♪ ♪

We'll get a second team.

- Back to work.

♪ ♪

- The slaves were integral to
the building of the colosseum.

They ultimately are the machine

By which the colosseum
is constructed.

Life for them
is extremely difficult.

♪ ♪

The enslaved people were

Basically treated
as human livestock.

♪ ♪

Hundreds, if not thousands,
of these enslaved persons

Will die in the construction
of the colosseum.

♪ ♪

- Within three years,
the first tier is built,

But there are
three more layers to go,

Towering to over 150 feet.

Lifting thousands
of tons of materials

To this unprecedented height

Is a monumental
engineering problem.

Haterius finds a solution
powered by the enslaved.

♪ ♪

- One thing that we know

That the haterius family
was very proud of

Because they put it in
their tomb on their relief

Is the treadwheel crane.

♪ ♪

And this is a device
that is able to lift

These heavy six-ton blocks up
to 150 feet in the air.

It's what makes
a multi-tiered construction

Like the colosseum possible.

♪ ♪

- With me.
One, two,

Three, four--come on.
One--come on.

- The treadwheel crane
was one of

The engineering marvels
of the ancient world.

- One, two, three--

- They would move the crane
to an elevated position,

And then they would lift
the stones up,

And then they would build
that section.

And then they would raise up
one small section,

Place the crane,
and then they could lift

The stones up higher.

- One, two, three--

- And at the end, the very,
very height of the colosseum,

You've just got cranes
way up high

With men running
on these hamster wheels,

Pulling stones
up to the height.

And this is how
they built the colosseum.

- Four--one, two, three, four.

One, two, three, four.

♪ ♪

[thunder rolls]

- But despite
the years of hard work,

When emperor vespasian dies
in 79 a.D.,

His bold vision to enhance
his family's prestige

Is not complete.

- It's down to his son, titus,

To take on
the reins of the project.

♪ ♪

But this is the year
that mt. Vesuvius,

The extraordinary volcano
down in the south of Italy,

Erupts, burying the towns
of pompeii and herculaneum.

[cries and screams]

And this was considered
possibly an act of irate gods

Opposed to this dynasty.

♪ ♪

- Even so, titus takes on
the enormous task

And completes the colosseum,

The pleasure palace
of the people.

[crowd cheering]

- The building
of the colosseum,

Especially the replacement
of the golden house,

Gave a huge statement
to the people of rome

And that is, like,
this is a huge palace

An extravaganza
of popular entertainment.

[crowd cheering]

This is the glory of rome,
and it's for you.

- Let the games begin.

[all chanting "caesar"]

♪ ♪

- Although there are
hundreds of amphitheaters

In the roman world
at that time,

In size and scale and scope,

The colosseum
was the ultimate.

♪ ♪

This was a magnificent
structure to behold.

[cheering]

♪ ♪

- Haterius was proud
of his accomplishment.

♪ ♪

Eight years of pressure
and deadlines complete.

Now, it's time to bask in
the glory of the achievement.

♪ ♪

But you also have to know
that in some sense,

You have secured your living,

And in haterius' case,

That could've meant
a nice middle-class existence,

Perhaps a slave or two
of his own.

A pretty nice life in the
context of rome at the time.

- But a sudden change
in the power structure

Of the roman empire is about
to upend all those plans.

[groans and screams]

[crowd cheering]

[crowd cheering]

[dramatic music]

- Just weeks after
the opening games finish,

Emperor titus dies of a fever,

Putting his ambitious
younger brother,

Domitian, on the throne.

[groans and cheering]

- Domitian and his brother,
titus, were not close at all,

So when titus fell ill

After only two years
of being emperor,

Some thought that maybe

Domitian was responsible
for his death.

♪ ♪

He certainly didn't rush
to his brother's bedside.

Instead, he awaited
his brother's death

So that he could
immediately be named emperor.

♪ ♪

- In the wake of his death,

Domitian throws games
to honor titus.

The roman people soon find out

He's very different
from his brother.

♪ ♪

- While titus had been
charming and suave,

Domitian was all harsh edges

And paranoid.

In fact, over a dozen senators
are killed by domitian,

And he is extremely unpopular.

- The more paranoid you are,
the more people you offend,

The more people you execute,

And the less
your own circle trusts you.

Then they begin
to fear you too.

♪ ♪

- No one is safe
from domitian's wrath,

As a disturbing account

By the roman writer
suetonius reveals.

♪ ♪

[all booing]

- Get him out of here.

♪ ♪

- You have something to say?

♪ ♪

- Domitian was
a tyrannical emperor.

He wasn't about even pretending

To believe in
any kind of democracy.

He created a cult
of personality around himself

And wanted no one else's input.

♪ ♪

- See?

You wish to volunteer
for the next event.

[shouts and groans]

♪ ♪

- Domitian is signaling
a break with the past.

This was
a new emperor in town.

That's the way to mark him off

As really an autocrat,
as an authoritarian ruler.

♪ ♪

A strict disciplinarian
to the point of cruelty.

[hyena growls]

Even though haterius
is freeborn,

He is exactly as vulnerable

As the lowliest
enslaved person in the empire.

♪ ♪

[hyenas growling

- [screaming]

♪ ♪

- Domitian's displays of power

Aren't confined
to the colosseum.

- All rise.

- Thanks to the writer
cassius dio,

We know domitian held
an infamous dinner party

Styled like a funeral
to terrify those present.

- When guests arrived
at the palace,

They were ushered in
to a black room,

Black couches.

Individual guests
were presented with

What looked like a tombstone
with their name on it.

♪ ♪

- This was a way for domitian
to petrify his guests

And really to show
his autocratic powers

And that it was
he who held the power

Of life and death
under his regime.

♪ ♪

- You.

♪ ♪

Come here.

♪ ♪

- Yes, caesar.

♪ ♪

- My father and brother
considered you

As a builder of great
technique and ambition.

♪ ♪

I am also ambitious.

Some ideas for the colosseum.

♪ ♪

- But this is...

This is all new.

An arched basement.

And the scenery to appear
through the floor.

I'm not sure
how it can be achieved.

- You will do it,

And when these improvements
are finished,

I'll hold the greatest games
the world has ever seen.

You have 18 months.

♪ ♪

- Can you imagine that
you've devoted seven years

To building one of the most

Spectacular structures
of any type,

But then you're called back
to do even more,

Really to engineer
the impossible?

♪ ♪

- Taking on a job
for any emperor

Is a big deal.

Taking on a job
for this emperor

Is an even bigger deal.

♪ ♪

But you can't say no
to a mafia don.

You couldn't say no
to the emperor.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- After holding a funeral
games for his brother,

Emperor domitian makes
an unpopular decision.

He closes the new colosseum to
build an underground hypogeum,

His innovation designed
to dazzle roman spectators.

Once again, haterius leads

A vast team under pressure.

- They have to dig out mud,
right down to the bedrock,

And put in a sophisticated
drainage system

So that the rains
and the waters

That are going to collect in
that area can be funneled away.

[dramatic music]

- Roman builders were diggers
par excellence.

They built a sewer system
in 600 b.C.E.

Beneath the city of rome
that was still in use

At the time of the colosseum
700 years later.

In fact,
part of that sewer system

Is still in use today.

♪ ♪

- The process of digging down
into the foundations

Of the colosseum to build
the hypogeum was arduous.

We're talking
about 20 feet down,

So undoubtably,
lots of groundwater flooding,

Lots of hardship.

And of course, high speed
digging was required,

So this was definitely
a job for slaves.

♪ ♪

- What are you doing?
Still too slow.

Keep going.

I don't care
if they're up to their necks.

Nobody stops
until that pit is dug.

♪ ♪

- Domitian is away
from the city of rome

And haterius is left behind

To make sure
the project gets finished.

But of course, he knows
that the emperor will return,

And he doesn't know
exactly when,

And he knows that when
the emperor gets back,

He's gonna want
to see progress.

♪ ♪

- Come on.
Keep going. Don't stop.

Good. Good.

♪ ♪

- As haterius struggles
to excavate the hypogeum,

Domitian is 800 miles away,

On the northeastern fringe
of the empire

In what's now germany,
attacking the chatti tribe.

- It was unprovoked
and completely unnecessary,

But he needed to show off
his military prowess.

He wanted
some military accomplishment

That he could be proud of.

♪ ♪

- He's not entirely
successful at this.

There are rumors
circulating afterward

That it was all a farce,

So domitian still has
things to prove.

He still has this insecurity,

And holding magnificent games

Is one way
of working around that.

♪ ♪

- While domitian
is away fighting,

Haterius completes phase one
of the hypogeum,

A labyrinth of structures

Underneath
the colosseum floor.

♪ ♪

- There's nothing
as complicated as this

In such a confined space
that has been done before.

The hypogeum housed
about two miles of tunnels

On two floors that
contained all of the rooms

Where the gladiators
would be kept

And the animals
that were going to be shown.

So it's almost like
an underground city.

- Julius.

- Now, an even more daunting

Engineering challenge
lies ahead,

Designing and installing
machinery

That can make animals
and scenery suddenly appear.

- Under the floor
of the colosseum,

There were elevators.
There were ramps.

There were trapdoors.
There were all sorts of things

That could enhance
the spectacle

For the crowd up above.

For the beast hunts
in particular,

The hypogeum added
an extra layer

Because instead of
having to lead the animals

In under the stands and bring
them out onto the sands,

They could just come up
straight through the floor.

♪ ♪

- When you go
to the amphitheater,

Then it's all about
the spectacle,

And the spectacle
is going to include

Some wizardry, some magic.

And it's going to be
through that hypogeum.

Everything new
is coming from below,

So it's magical,
it's spectacle,

It's intense.

♪ ♪

- In the fall of 83 a.D.,

Domitian returns from battle

To launch
his spectacular new games,

But first, he puts
his innovations

Made by haterius to the test.

♪ ♪

- Imperial majesty.

- So this is what rome
has been waiting for.

Is it working?

- It works well, caesar.

- Show me.

- Up. Up.

♪ ♪

Slowly, slowly, slowly.

♪ ♪

- Well, for domitian
to close the colosseum

Was a big commitment
and kind of a dangerous thing.

The regular provision
of spectacle

Is one of the things
that the roman populace

Looked forward to
and anticipated.

Regular provision of spectacle.

♪ ♪

The populace
had its expectations,

And now, domitian
had to fulfill them.

♪ ♪

[uneasy music]

- To secure his position
in rome,

Domitian's upcoming games
must succeed,

But there's a problem.

Haterius' machinery
isn't working.

Now, he needs
to find a solution.

- No good idea came
from an exhausted mind.

Get some sleep.

- If I don't think
of something, father,

I'll be sleeping forever
soon enough.

- I can't help you.
You left me behind years ago

With your forces
and multipliers.

[dramatic music]

What is it?

♪ ♪

- Pulleys.

The same force applied
through more pulleys.

- Pulleys in particular
are vital

For the proper functioning
of the hypogeum.

It's almost like
a underground sailing ship.

♪ ♪

Ropes and pulleys
are everywhere

Lifting enormous loads
constantly

To the floor of the arena.

♪ ♪

- Pulleys were not necessarily
a new invention.

Pulleys had been invented by
the greeks, if not before.

What the romans
did differently was,

They came up with
a variety of mechanisms

To apply greater force
to the pulleys.

- So romans don't have
power tools, obviously,

But they do have a series
of physical devices

That multiply the power

That actually produce
amazing results.

♪ ♪

- There's no pressing
a button,

And then a trapdoor
goes flying open.

It's all human effort, and it
has to be timed perfectly.

♪ ♪

All the pressure would've been
on the builder, haterius.

The whole question, though,
is could he pull it off?

♪ ♪

- The colosseum has been
closed for two years.

In 83 a.D., domitian finally
holds his long-promised games

And the arena
is not just reopened.

It's reborn.

- When it reopens,

The atmosphere
is absolutely electric.

The crowd is anxious.
It's on edge.

It's been deprived
of its entertainments.

They're ready
for something big.

♪ ♪

- Well, you could imagine what
kind of sense of anticipation

There was,
but equally, of course,

For domitian,
it just raises the stakes.

♪ ♪

If he falls short,

If his games did not live up
to his older brother's,

Then it's gonna pose
a real problem for him.

♪ ♪

- The crowd could get nasty
if they weren't excited by it,

But when you have gladiators
coming up through the floor,

When you have beasts
coming up through the floor,

Changes of scenery
coming up through the floor,

That's the kind of thing
that's going to excite

The crowd
and get them on board.

♪ ♪

- If you're a spectator
sitting in the colosseum,

All you can see is the sand.

All you can see
is one flat floor.

You have no idea
of what's going on beneath,

And only when
1 of the 36 trapdoors open

Do you have any idea
what's gonna happen next.

It's a huge surprise
that creates dramatic effect.

[elephant trumpets]

- Waiting under
the floor of the colosseum

For the festivities to begin,

It would've been kind of a
hellish and surreal experience.

[leopard growls]

You have heard
the cries of injured people.

You would've heard
the growls of wild beasts.

You would see chained criminals
who were awaiting execution.

♪ ♪

- All of this underneath
the floor of an arena

That was in use,
so you could hear

The elephants running across.
[elephant trumpets]

So you could hear the crowd

Shouting and cheering
and chanting.

♪ ♪

It must've been
an intoxicating,

But pretty horrifying
experience.

[trumpets sound]

♪ ♪

- People of rome,

Welcome, one and all,

To the greatest games
ever witnessed.

- Lines are strong.
Men are ready.

- By order of
the emperor domitian...

- Make sure when we pull,
we pull together,

And pray.

- A spectacle
unlike any seen before.

♪ ♪

- Let the games begin.

[cheering]

[all chanting "caesar"]

- Pull it. Pull it.

Pull it.

♪ ♪

[growls]

- What is going on?

♪ ♪

This can't be.

[growling]

Pull it.
Come on.

[crowd jeering]

- It was a crucible
of tension.

If haterius takes part in
the hugely successful games,

He will get the next contract
for the next building project.

He will be
the talk of the town.

If he fails, it could be
a very bad ending for him.

- More men.

Pull it.
Let's go. Come on.

Come on.
[groans]

[crowd booing]

- Come on. Come on.
There.

Now, pull.
Come on, push.

- Pull, pull.
- Go.

[growls]

[dramatic music]

[growls]

[cheering]

[all chanting "caesar"]

- The colosseum
had played host to all sorts

Of really incredible
spectacles over the years,

But this was
on a whole other level.

♪ ♪

The idea of wild beasts,
beast masters

Appearing up
through the floor--

Nobody had ever seen
anything like that.

♪ ♪

- One of the amazing things
that the poet martial describes

Was the incredible
special effects

In the colosseum
that were made possible

Because of the hypogeum.

He says, "a cliff crawled,
a wood ran forward,

A wonder to behold."

♪ ♪

- It adds surprise.

It adds drama.

[lion growls]

- Unexpected things can pop up

From the stadium floor
at any moment.

[hyena growls]

And something
that you couldn't see

Anywhere else in the empire.

♪ ♪

- It would've been way beyond

The experience
of any normal person.

♪ ♪

They could suddenly
transform the arena

From just a bare piece
of sand.

♪ ♪

[horse whinnies]

♪ ♪

- This had to be
the greatest day

They've ever had
in the colosseum.

♪ ♪

- 50,000 people
were at these games,

And the result of these games
for domitian was terrific.

Domitian is someone
who played to the crowd.

He knew that
he had to be popular,

And they help give him
a reputation

As a friend
of the roman people.

♪ ♪

- Haterius succeeds
and survives.

- We have some sense of what
happened to haterius after this

Because we have his tomb.

♪ ♪

The tomb of the haterii.

This is where he lays out
his life story.

It's where he tells us
about his involvement

In the construction
of the colosseum.

♪ ♪

This was a high point
of his life.

It was important enough
that he felt

That he should celebrate it,
even in death.

♪ ♪

- I think domitian would hold
on to the talent that he had,

And especially
if that talented person,

Like haterius, took part

In one
of domitian's great triumphs.

He was probably not going
to be on the free market.

He's probably gonna be working
for the emperor in the future.

♪ ♪

- With this vast arena
finally complete,

Haterius and
the three flavian emperors

Create one of the wonders
of the ancient world,

An enduring emblem
of the emperor's power

And rome's might.

- And it's a place
that was built in order

To provide unity to rome,

And it was an extraordinary act
of monumental pr.

♪ ♪

- It became part of
the memory palace of rome

On the ongoing story

Of the roman people
written in its architecture.

♪ ♪

- In the centuries to come,

Any emperor had the colosseum
at his disposal

To use as a tool
to reassert his power

And authority if necessary.

- Let the games begin.

[crowd cheering]

- The colosseum tells us
a lot about the romans.

It tells us about
the importance of a monument,

Of prestige, of magnificence.

It tells us
about their love of scale,

The vastness of the building,
the huge audience.

Hundreds of thousands of
people went through this place

And sat in these seats
and saw the terrible

And wonderful
and extraordinary things

That took place there.

♪ ♪

The colosseum
is instantly recognizable,

And the word itself
has come to symbolize

The roman empire
at its greatest.

♪ ♪