Great Amphitheatre of Eknopolis
Located in the Forum of Naeia, The Great Amphitheatre of Eknopolis is a large public venue dedicated to gladiatorial combat and other blood sports, as well as public executions, continuing the ancient Rexan tradition of hosting gladiatorial combat in honor of Ator the Avenger. It is believed by Eknopolitan devotees of the Ouranic Church that the gods decide the victors in the various trials by combat that occur each daily - Ator judging those unworthy of life by having them fall and Maya granting her mercy through victory to those falsely accused and sentenced to the Blood Games.
Purpose / Function
The Great Amphitheatre was built to accommodate the large crowds the Church encourages to visit the games in order that the faithful might see the consquences of disobeying Ator's law. In the sands of its arena, slaves and criminals, as well as those few brave and ambitious souls who choose to become gladiators, are routinely pitted against beasts, or each other, in mortal combat.
Architecture
Designed in the classical Rexan style, the Great Amphitheatre was constructed using limestone, concrete, and volcanic rock. The arena makes up the majority of the ground level and measures 1075 feet long and 600 feet wide. The amphitheatre can accommodate up to 65,000 in its 3-tiered seating area. Built above a natural subtelian lake, the hypogeum underneath the arena contains hydraulic pumps that allow the amphitheater's engineers to flood the area to host fights with aquatic beasts or for naumachia, in which gladiators fight each other in staged naval combat.
Tourism
For many, the Great Amphitheatre is the central attraction of the city; Eknopolitans of every social class flock to the Blood Games to marvel at the spectacles of violence presented in the arena on a daily basis. Monsters and ferocious beasts are brought from all across Tel to be pitted against heroic gladiators, all the while reinforcing to the public the image of wealth and power of the Eknon Empire and its emperor. Cynics, however, might suggest that the Blood Games also serve the purpose of distracting the Eknopolitan populace from the ever-present threat of the undead hordes that lie to the west in the lands of the fallen Rexan Empire.
