Amphitheatre

[7] Ancient Roman amphitheatres were oval or circular in plan, with seating tiers that surrounded the central performance area, like a modern open-air stadium.

[8] Roman amphitheatres were circular or oval in plan, with a central arena surrounded by perimeter seating tiers.

Temporary wooden structures functioning as amphitheaters would have been erected for the funeral games held in honour of deceased Roman magnates by their heirs, featuring fights to the death by gladiators, usually armed prisoners of war, at the funeral pyre or tomb of the deceased.

[9] Some Roman writers interpret the earliest attempts to provide permanent amphitheaters and seating for the lower classes as populist political graft, rightly blocked by the Senate as morally objectionable; too-frequent, excessively "luxurious" munera would corrode traditional Roman morals.

[10] The earliest permanent, stone and timber Roman amphitheatre with perimeter seating was built in the Campus Martius in 29 BCE.

[12] Imperial amphitheatres were built throughout the Roman Empire, especial in provincial capitals and major colonies, as an essential aspect of Romanitas.

[14] In modern english usage of the word, an amphitheatre is not only a circular, but can also be a semicircular or curved performance space, particularly one located outdoors.