Gladiators and tigers and bears

A friend and I explored the Roman Amphitheater in Trier one afternoon. That's him in the picture above. I can't recall his name, but he was a cook in the hospital chow hall.

The amphitheater dates back to the 1st century A.D. Until the end of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, it was home to man-vs.-man, man-vs.-animal, and animal-vs.-animal combat -- to the death.

It wasn't easy to find information about this or any of Trier's other Roman ruins. The tourist office, such as it was, had visibility issues. If you wanted to visit a site then, you were pretty much on your own -- none of today's maps or brochures, information panels or signs, or tour-guides waving furled umbrellas. But we found out what we could, picked up some take-out lunch at the local Schnellimbiss (sort of a snack bar), and spent three or four hours at the amphitheater.

We explored the entire structure, from the uppermost level down to the arena and into the vast basement beneath, where gladiators, criminals, and exotic animals were stashed before combat. Seated above would have been as many as 25,000 bloodthirsty spectators.

After examining everything there was to see, we sat and thought about where we were. Right there, at that spot, had been real-life barbarity we could hardly imagine. And it was viewed as entertainment.