=337. Interior Arrangements of the Flavian.=--Once inside, the admirable arrangements of the structure impress the visitor no less than its enormous mass. Everything converges upon the central arena; even from the topmost seats one can see all the details of the contests below. The seats are divided into three great terraces, so easily accessible by the stairways and corridors that the fifty thousand spectators can pass in and out with the minimum of confusion. The lowest tiers, made of marble and comfortably cushioned, are reserved here as elsewhere for the senators; and for the _editor_ (the giver of the contests), his fellow magistrates, the chief priests, and the Vestal Virgins, there are seats of peculiar honor directly upon the _podium_, the crest of the twelve-foot wall girding the arena;--seats which are protected alike from chance missiles and from the leap of desperate beasts by a heavy trellis-work of gilded metal. Above this podium like the billows of a frozen ocean rise the enormous tiers of masonry seats; first those for the equites, then the great mass for the paying spectators, then the space crowded with wooden benches for the slaves and least select plebeians. An open gallery runs around the entire summit of the benches and here alone, by a restriction doubtless often lamented, women are allowed to watch the contests from afar, unless they are Vestal Virgins or ladies of the Imperial family, with the special privilege of the podium. All the arches, stairways, sections, and tiers are numbered. If you have a ticket, it may read “VIth section (_cuneus_), lowest row, seat No. 18,” marked upon a round or flat piece of bone. The attendants are lynx-eyed for impostors, but legitimate visitors are quickly seated. A detachment of sailors from the fleet of Misenum shifts the enormous awnings so that the thousands[215] can sit comfortably in the shade while a full blaze of sunlight falls on the arena. By the middle of the morning the multitudes are in place; Cluentius the Prætor, with full official magnificence, is in the central box of the podium; and strong detachments of Prætorians have been quietly distributed in certain half-concealed guard inclosures near the lower railing--for gladiators _have_ been known to mutiny and desperate lions can leap very high. =338. Procession of Gladiators.=--Presently now trumpets and cymbals announce the procession which files through one of the four gates leading directly into the arena. The gladiators, some forty in number, march two and two, nearly naked save for their glistening armor; knitted foreheads, white teeth, wolfish scowls, magnificent physiques are displayed by all of them. From far up the applauding benches they can be recognized, and many favorite _retiarii_ and _Thraces_ are met with a storm of cheering.