Events in the Colosseum
There were many events at the Colosseum. Almost all of them involved death and destruction. They were well known for gladiator fights and feeding Christians to lions. There were also events not so well known events such as mock sea battles involving ships, animal circus acts, animals fighting animals and animal hunts. However, animals were a secondary part of the show. People who came to the Colosseum came to see people fight. Famous gladiators had a huge following but many gladiators were the Roman equivalent of 'canon fodder' - there to entertain and be killed. Many of these gladiators were slaves or prisoners-of-war. The deaths per 'show' was massive - near enough 50% died each show. Those gladiators who had fought well but had not won their fight could be spared by the emperor if he was present at an event - a thumbs up meant life, and a thumbs down meant death. The Roman writer Seneca wrote that for a gladiator "the only exit is death."