How did ancient writers react to the Roman games? How would you explain their different attitudes?
The provision for spectators hasn't changed much over hundreds of years, accessibility, architectural form and the spectators view, are still possibly the main consideration when a stadium is built. These provisions are met within the structure of the building, the ideas of the Roman engineer Virtuvius, that all buildings should meet three requirements 'commodity', 'firmness' and 'delight', are still used today (P 54, Block 2, 2005).
For comparison, I will be using the Colosseum in Rome and Wembley Stadium in London, both of which were used for recreation and play.
The Roman Colosseum has had a major influence on many buildings, one such structure which seems to closely resemble it, is the modern football stadia. Like the Roman Colosseum, many are built in a large oval form (p74, Block 2, 2005). One built in such away is Wembley Stadium.
Seneca
English: A 4x4 segment panorama of the Coliseum at...
Though in ruins, the Flavian Amphitheatre, now kno...The curved sections at each end, (Plates 116, 124, Illustration Book) gave the stadium the added advantage of fitting in a slightly larger crowd, as with the Colosseum, visibility was enhanced through the use of tiered seating (DVD00109).
As in Roman times we have Royal Boxes, these are central and in full view of the competitors and spectators (DVD00109) however the allocation of seating is no longer separated according to social class or gender for example, separating women and the poor from the men (www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/DarleneBishop/rome/Colosseum.html), but we do have various price scales for seating. The Colosseum had individual seating from the very beginning; we have recently added individual seating to our stadiums, following regulations introduced after a number of fatal tragedies.
A similarity in the entrance for spectators is with the use of letters and numbers over many entrances. To accommodate the spectators, Wembley...