The only thing more dangerous than being a charioteer was being a gladiator a trained fighter who risked his life in front of sell out crowd. The Colosseum in Rome was a massive four storey stone arena with tiered seats for 50,000 spectators. The word arena means sandy place because the floor was covered in sand to soak up all the blood.And the best seats were at the front close to action. If you were lucky you might even get splatted with gore!