The Roman Colosseum is without a doubt one of the most iconic landmarks of the Ancient World. The amphitheater was created to entertain both the masses and the rich with ruthless gladiator battles is still one of the most visited spots in the world, and although its story and purpose are widely known by visitors, the Flavian Amphitheater, as it was known back then, still holds some interesting and odd secrets.
One of these secrets that it’s fair to call odd and even sort of gross for our modern minds, is that amongst the many fundings it had, urine, poor people’s urine to be precise, was one of the main ones. How? Well, we can say that Romans were quite creative to become one of the greatest empires in history, and taxing almost everything, including pee, was key during the ruling of Emperor Vespasian.
Pee Tax
Let’s go back a little bit in history. Vespasian’s predecessor was no other than the infamous Nero, the deranged emperor that allegedly set Rome on fire and the one that almost brought the Empire into bankruptcy. Nero was as crazy as creative, but he was also kind of fair with the poor. Wanting to keep funding his lavish lifestyle, Nero started levying taxes for everything; these were mainly targeted at the rich.
It’s said that Nero was so cruel to his own kind that he even forced landowners and the rich in general to give their state to the State. Well, among his many taxes, Nero imposed a tax on urine, but since, the masses protested and he didn’t want to anger his people, he decided to repeal it.
So, before we go on, you might be asking why did he come up with a tax on pee? Well, turns out Ancient Romans had many uses for urine due to its natural ammonia. Romans used pee to wash their clothes, soften leathers, clean their homes, and even whiten their teeth. Only the wealthy had access to private latrines, so the masses in the cities would have to attend public bathrooms. The owners of these latrines would collect the urine from the pots and sell it to tanners, launderers, and all sorts of fabric producers and merchants.
Having said that, let’s carry on with the story. After Nero’s death, and a turbulent conflict, Vespasian was named Emperor. He was a military man and a very pragmatic person who happened to be great with finances. Nero had left the empire in a terrible economic situation, and Vespasian knew how to fix it and bring back Rome to its glory. The answer was to tax, to be precise, his big asset became urine taxes.
Vespasian reintroduced the tax on urine in 70 CE, and it soon paid off, despite the public discontent. Like his unpopular predecessor, Vespasian aimed most of the taxes on the rich and even used to imprison them and force them to pay fines to be released. However, he knew that pee would generate great revenue and decided to carry on with his plan despite the protests of the people.
The money the empire got from pee was so big that it’s said that even his son Titus was disgusted by how much this represented their wealth. Legend has it, that Titus insulted his father saying that it was disgusting that their money was coming from urine. To give his son a lesson, Vespasian tossed a bunch of coins to Titus and asked him if they smelled bad. When his son said they didn’t he said one of his legendary phrases: “pecunia non olet,” which means that money doesn’t stink.
Was the Colosseum paid for with pee?
So was the great Colosseum paid with pee taxes? Most likely. As mentioned, Vespasian introduced the urine tax in 70 CE, and the construction of the Flavian Amphitheater started only two years later when Vespasian’s tax was already one of the most profitable incomes of the empire.
The Roman Colosseum was one of Vespasian’s most precious projects. After the disaster left by Nero, Vespasian’s goal was to bring Rome to its glory, and by doing so leave a great legacy on his own. After proving that his strict methods to recover money were effective he decided to build a massive amphitheater in the capital that would be known throughout the Ancient World. To make a statement he decided to build it where Nero had erected his iconic Golden House.
As mentioned, Vespasian started the construction of the Roman Colosseum in 72 CE. It took them only eight years to finish it and in 80 CE, it opened its doors to the public. Vespasian didn’t see his precious project completed, but Titus enjoyed the glory of opening a landmark that would become one of the most iconic in history.
So, back to the question, although it’s pretty much impossible to locate the exact source of funding the Colosseum had, seeing how the urine tax became one of the most profitable sources of money during Vespasian’s rule, it’s fair to conclude that at least a portion of it was used to finance this architectonic masterpiece.