Stadium of Domitian

History

The Stadium of Domitian was dedicated in AD 86, as part of an Imperial building programme on the Campus Martius and elsewhere, following the damage or destruction of most of its buildings by fire in AD 79. It was Rome's first permanent venue for competitive athletics, erected for Domitian's celebration of the Capitoline Games. It was patterned after Greek stadia and seated approximately 30,000. The substructures and support frames were made of brick and concrete – a robust, fire-retardant and relatively cheap material – clad in marble. Stylistically, the Stadium facades would have resembled those of the Colosseum; the floor plan was typical of Greek stadia, having a similarly semi-circular end. Colini (1943) estimates the total stadium length as approximately 275 metres, and the total width as 106 metres, while later sources give the height of its outer perimeter benches as 30 m (100 ft) above ground level and its inner perimeter benches as 4.5 m (15 ft) above the arena floor. This arrangement offered a clear view of the track from most seats. The typically Greek layout gave the Stadium its Latinised Greek name, in agones (the place or site of the competitions). The flattened end was sealed by two vertically staggered entrance galleries and the perimeter was arcaded beneath the seating levels, with travertine pilasters between its cavea (enclosures). The formation of a continuous arena trackway by a raised "spina" or strip has been conjectured.

The Stadium of Domitian was the northernmost of a series of public buildings on Campus Martius at that time. To its south stood the smaller and more intimate Odeon of Domitian, used for recitals, songs and orations. The southernmost end of the Campus was dominated by the Theatre of Pompey, restored by Domitian during the same rebuilding program. …