The Colosseum

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Join Dan in Rome as he unravels the dramatic story of the Colosseum and the gladiators who fought — and died — for glory. From the origins of gladiatorial combat in funerary rites to the elaborate, politically charged spectacles of the Imperial era, Dan reveals what it took to reach the top and what really happened when a fighter lost.

Beginning in 64 AD with the Great Fire of Rome, he charts the rise of a new emperor, the construction of the colossal amphitheatre, and the ingenuity and brutality of the inaugural 100 days of games in 80 AD. Along the way, expert historians join Dan to separate fact from Hollywood fiction, bringing to life the greatest show on earth.

This is part of our series 'Dan Snow's Guide to Europe' and a version of this episode was released as a mini-series in November 2024.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore

You can watch Dan's documentary on Gladiators on our History Hit documentary channel - sign up at: https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Join Dan and the team for a special LIVE recording of Dan Snow's History Hit on Friday, 12th September 2025!

To celebrate 10 years of the podcast, Dan is putting on a special show of signature storytelling, never-before-heard anecdotes from his often stranger-than-fiction career, as well as answering the burning questions you've always wanted to ask!

Get tickets here, before they sell out: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/dan-snows-history-hit/.

We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.

You can also email the podcast directly at [email protected].

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello,
0:00.5	folks, Dan Snow here.
0:01.6	I am throwing a party to celebrate 10 years of Dan Snow's history hit.
0:06.1	I'd love for you to be there.
0:07.5	Join me for a very special live recording of the podcast in London,
0:10.4	in England on the 12th of September to celebrate the 10 years.
0:14.1	You can find out more about it and get tickets with the link in the show notes.
0:17.6	Look forward to seeing you there.
0:26.0	Thank you. show notes. Look forward to seeing you there. Hi folks. I hope you're all enjoying my guide to Europe so far. We've been to Paris. We've
0:31.3	been to Edinburgh, but you can't see done all the great sites of Europe without swinging
0:35.2	into Italy and visiting the most iconic Roman
0:37.9	site of them all, the Coliseum. Now, if you're a long time listening to this podcast, then firstly,
0:43.4	thank you very much. And secondly, you remember that we were in Rome last year for the release
0:47.0	of Gladiator 2. We made a mini-series all about the true history, the real history of the
0:51.8	gladiators. We stripped away the mythology. And it was frankly so excellent
0:57.1	that I just feel I ought to broadcast it again. So I'm going to share it with you again. This time
1:00.6	we've turned it into one mega episode. So it's well worth a listen. In fact, a relisten if you're on a
1:07.2	particularly long journey. And if it's the first time, if you're new to the show, we're in for a
1:10.7	complete treat.
1:11.5	This is the story of the Coliseum of Rome.
1:15.5	Enjoy.
1:21.0	64 AD, Rome was burning.
	...

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