I was watching Gladiator (I know...) and one thing that really struck me was that somehow everyone watching was able to hear one man yelling about what was happening.
To me, that's pretty clearly ridiculous. But it raised the question: how did people know what was going on in the arena? Were there fliers or something telling the audience what sort of battles were to take place?
I guess that raises another question in my mind: were some gladiators more "celebrities" than others? And if so, how did those watching know who they were?
really struck me was that somehow everyone watching was able to hear one man yelling about what was happening.
To me, that's pretty clearly ridiculous.
It may not be as ridiculous as you'd think. Greek and Roman Amphitheaters were designed with clever acoustics that would allow a person standing in a specific spot (usually the center) to be heard very far away. You can observe this phenomenon with many of the amphitheatres still standing today, such as those at Epidauros, Uthina, or Lepcis Magna. A person can stand in the center of the theater, speak or sing, and be heard clearly even from the back row.
Although I'm not aware of a test done with the Colosseum proper (probably because it's missing a lot of the seating, which provided the desired sound reflection), it seems to have been built with this in mind too. An announcer standing close to the center (like the edge of the inner ring) would probably have been able to be heard well by the spectators (assuming they quieted down at the sound of the horns), especially if he had a booming voice like the guy in Gladiator.