Syracuse Roman Amphitheater: A Roman Arena in Italy
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Italy
- Primary era
- Classical
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Classical
- Civilizations
- Roman
- Site type
- Entertainment
- Remains
- Amphitheatre
On this page10 sections
History
The Syracuse Roman Amphitheater in Italy stands in the ancient Neapolis district of Syracuse. Built during the Roman period, probably in the second century AD, it was designed for gladiatorial contests and other public spectacles. Its construction formed part of Syracuse’s redevelopment after Augustus founded a Roman colony there in 21 BC, although its precise date remains debated. The monument now belongs to the Neapolis Archaeological Park and the UNESCO World Heritage property “Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica,” recognized in 2005 for its archaeological and historical importance.
Origins and Roman development
Ancient evidence places gladiatorial spectacles at Syracuse as early as the first century AD. These entertainments may initially have taken place in the Greek theatre after it was adapted for Roman performances. The amphitheater may have been built when that venue could no longer accommodate the crowds, or its present form may represent a second-century completion of an earlier first-century project.
Other evidence has encouraged an Augustan date. Parts of the structure use opus reticulatum, a Roman wall-facing technique made from small diamond-shaped masonry blocks, while an inscription found in the southern area mentions Betilienus and dates to the first century BC. The amphitheater’s construction may therefore have begun during the rebuilding associated with Syracuse’s Roman colony and continued through later phases.
Changing uses and decline
The arena hosted gladiatorial combats and other public shows. Its central installations were later adapted, perhaps for water spectacles, although the extent and character of this change remain uncertain. In AD 399, Theodosius I ordered gladiatorial schools to close. The games ended under Emperor Honorius in AD 404, after which the amphitheater appears to have remained in use for other entertainments before it was abandoned and gradually dismantled.
Stone removal and archaeological study
During the sixteenth century, under Charles V, stone from the amphitheater was reused in the fortifications of Syracuse, especially on the island of Ortigia. This dismantling removed much of the upper structure. When Jean-Pierre Houël visited, vegetation covered the monument; he excavated at his own expense to obtain measurements and other information. Archaeological excavation began in 1839 under Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta, establishing the basis for later study of the surviving remains.
Remains
Layout and construction
The elliptical amphitheater occupies the ancient Neapolis district near the Greek theatre and the Altar of Hieron II, the Hellenistic ruler’s monumental altar. Its orientation differs from those neighboring monuments and probably follows lines established by a late Classical urban plan, reflected in a street found near the Sanctuary of Demeter in Achradina. The building measures about 140 metres from north to south and 119 metres from east to west. Its arena measures approximately 69.3 by 39.2 metres, slightly less than the arena at Verona, while the amphitheater as a whole is among the largest known Roman examples.
Much of the structure was cut directly into living rock. The north-eastern side uses the slope of the rocky outcrop that also contains the Greek theatre. Where the ground fell lower, particularly on the south-western side, limestone blocks from nearby rock quarries supported the seating structure. Almost none of the upper masonry survives, leaving the cut rock and lower construction to convey the form of the monument.
Seating and circulation
The cavea, the tiered seating area of a Roman amphitheater, was arranged in three levels separated by passageways. Radial stairways divided it into at least 26 sectors. Seating reflected social rank, with areas assigned to Roman citizens, wealthy families, and the wider population. Inscriptions on seats or parapet blocks identified allocated places and seating areas.
A high podium separated the seating from the arena. Behind it was a covered, vaulted corridor with openings for gladiators and wild animals entering the arena. The lowest seats above the podium were reserved for people of high rank, while two tribunalia, honorific seating areas for officials, occupied the western side. Two vaulted circulation passages, or ambulacra, ran around the arena beneath the seats. A third passage encircled the upper part of the monument and may have been associated with a colonnaded portico. Radial passages connected these concentric routes with the seating sectors.
Arena and underground installations
The arena contained a large rectangular central pit that was originally covered. Covered passages linked it with the southern entrance, and further passages extended westward. The pit and these underground routes held machinery used during spectacles. Some passages were later altered, possibly to support water entertainments. Around the arena ran an euripus, a trench about one metre deep and half a metre wide. Although now filled, it could hold a metal barrier between spectators and combatants. Eight entrances connected the underground area with the arena.
Entrances and surrounding features
Principal entrances stood to the north and south, with a complex staircase system leading from the upper seating to the exterior. The southern entrance was approached through a monumental square measuring roughly 60 by 50 metres. Its rear wall had a pediment and rectangular niches. Four limestone pieces of a monumental inscription survive from the amphitheater. Gentili considered that it may have crowned the southern entrance, while proposed dates place it either in the Augustan period or in the Julio-Claudian period, the imperial dynasty from Augustus through Nero.
A principal road from Achradina to Neapolis reached the amphitheater through an Augustan-period triumphal arch. Only the arch’s foundations and the first courses of its piers remain. A monumental fountain, or nymphaeum, stood between the arch and the amphitheater and was supplied by a large cistern whose location has not been identified. A separate cistern supplied the amphitheater and survives beneath the nearby church of San Nicola.
Earlier quarrying and roads
Evidence of earlier quarrying surrounds the amphitheater, particularly to the north and east. Rectangular niches cut into some quarry walls once held small clay or stone figures associated with funerary cults of the Hellenistic period, the era of Greek cultural and political influence that followed Alexander the Great and preceded the Roman conquest of the eastern Mediterranean. These features belong to the late fourth through first centuries BC, before the amphitheater was constructed.
Two parallel tracks cross the limestone surface on the eastern side of the seating from north to south. Carts made the grooves while travelling along an earlier road toward the north, preserving a physical trace of movement across the area before or alongside the later monumental complex.
