\paperw3990 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \li105 \f1 \fs22 THE AMPHITHEATER - Like many of Pompeii's buildings, the \b \cf1 \ATXht1 amphitheater\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 had been
damaged in the earthquake of 62, and at the time of the eruption had only just been reopened, to the joy of the Pompeians who were as fond of circus games as all the Romans of the time. Pompeii's amphitheater is the oldest to have survived and stands in
the middle of a vast square. Its tiers of seating were supported by the city walls on one side and by heaps of the earth excavated to form the \b \cf1 \ATXht3 cavea\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 or auditorium on the other. The spectacles staged there were great hunt
s of animals (venationes) and above all gladiatorial combats (ludi gladiatorii. The latter were in fact of Campanian origin and consisted essentially of duels to the death, with different and contrasting weapons, between pairs of trained contestants.
