Rome marks birth of emperor who built the ColosseumHis name is immortalised in modern Italian as the word for a publicurinal, but tomorrow that humiliation will be forgotten as Rome setsabout throwing a massive party for the Emperor Vespasian’s 2,000thbirthday. Naturally enough, the celebratory bash – which takes the formof a 10-month exhibition – is focused on the building for which he ismost famous, the Colosseum.
By far the largest amphitheatrethe ancient Romans built, it is capable of holding at least 50,000 andperhaps as many as 70,000 screaming plebs. When it was inaugurated, inthe reign of Vespasian’s son and heir Titus, 5,000 wild animals wereput to the sword over 100 days for the amusement of the punters, anddespite the halt called by Constantine, the emperor who converted toChristianity, bloody gladiatorial combat remained standard fare untilit was banned early in the fifth century.
Look at the surviving marble busts of Vespasian and the centuriesfall away. You can see his descendants in any Roman street. He wasburly and thick-set with a bald, bull-like head, steely eyes and atense, frowning mouth, teeth clenched in determination. One of hiscontemporaries remarked that he looked as if he was sitting on thelavatory, and having a hard time of it. Above all it is a common face.There was nothing aristocratic about this emperor. He was Roman socialmobility incarnate.
His full name was Titus Flavius SabinusVespasianus and after his death, like all deceased emperors, he wasworshipped as a god. He started out his life in an altogether differentkey, born the grandson of a centurion and the son of a tax collector inthe rustic district of Sabina, north of Rome. He had only a mediocreeducation; in later life they made fun of him for his poor grasp ofLatin. But you can read Vespasian’s ticket to glory in his simple,powerful face: he became a first-rate soldier, and beloved of the menhe commanded.