A. Terminological and typological definition
Amphitheatrum is a latinized Greek word (ἀμφιθέατρον; amphithéatron) and literally means ‘double theatre’ or ‘theatre with two halves’; it is first mentioned in Augustan times (Vitr. De arch. 1,7,1; Str. 14,1,43; R. Gest. div. Aug. 22). In Republican times, the term spectacula, which refers to the function rather than the type of building, was used for the earliest…