midnight
Therefore he built amphitheatres in which men were butchered , to the exquisite delight of vast audiences . Therefore , also , without the excuse of any conscientious motive , however insufficient or unsatisfactory , he persecuted the weak because they were weak and their sufferings would give pleasure to the strong or to those who chanced to be the majority of the moment . The season being hot it was arranged that the great games in honour of the safety of Cæsar , should open each day at dawn and come to an end an hour before noon . Therefore from midnight onwards crowds of spectators poured into the amphitheatre , which , although it would seat over twenty thousand , was not large enough to contain them all . An hour before the dawn the place was full , and already late comers were turned back from its gates . The only empty spaces were those reserved for the king , his royal guests , the rulers of the city , with other distinguished personages , and for the Christian company of old men , women and children destined to the lions , who , it was arranged , were to sit in full view of the audience until the time came for them to take their share in the spectacle . When Rachel joined the other captives she found that a long rough table had been set beneath the arcades , and on it at intervals , pieces of bread and cups and vases containing wine of the country that had been purchased at a great price from the guards .