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The Colosseum / Flavian Amphitheatre

The Colosseum in Rome was an amphitheater built between 70-80 AD for gladiator combat and naval reenactments. It could hold 50,000-70,000 people across its four levels of seating arranged by social class. Under the arena was a hypogeum with lifts and pulleys that brought surprises like animals and fighters to the surface. For over a century the Colosseum hosted bloody spectacles until they were ended in the 500s AD, after which the structure took on other uses like housing and a church over the next millennia. It remains a famous landmark today due to its sheer size and the history of violence enacted within its walls for the entertainment of Roman citizens.

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102 views

The Colosseum / Flavian Amphitheatre

The Colosseum in Rome was an amphitheater built between 70-80 AD for gladiator combat and naval reenactments. It could hold 50,000-70,000 people across its four levels of seating arranged by social class. Under the arena was a hypogeum with lifts and pulleys that brought surprises like animals and fighters to the surface. For over a century the Colosseum hosted bloody spectacles until they were ended in the 500s AD, after which the structure took on other uses like housing and a church over the next millennia. It remains a famous landmark today due to its sheer size and the history of violence enacted within its walls for the entertainment of Roman citizens.

Uploaded by

Amy Jones
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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By Amy Jones

The Colosseum / Flavian Amphitheatre

The Colosseum/ Flavian Amphitheatre was an arena located in the centre of Rome, although
today, it is a landmark known internationally. It was built between 70-80 AD and was
designed to be used for gladiatorial combats and reenactments of naval battles for the
entertainment of Roman citizens.

The Colosseum is shaped as an oval and is 50 m high and 188 m long. It is made out of
travertine, concrete and iron. It has 4 floors of seating and can hold 50,000-70,000 people.
Each floor had a number of arches, all numbered to allow Ancient Romans to disperse from
their seats efficiently. The seating was arranged in order of class; the emperor and senators
sitting at the lowest level, middle class and government officials sitting in the second level,
poor citizens sitting in the third and the top level was allocated to women and slaves where
they would have to stand and would not get a good view. Two thirds of the Colosseum was
under the shade of the ‘velarium’- a canopy supported by over 100 sailors and 240 poles.
Another incredible factor that made the Colosseum as famous as it is, is the hypogeum, the
maze underneath the floor to bring unexpected animals, landscapes and gladiators into the
arena. The hypogeum consisted of a variety of lifts and pulleys so that at any moment, the
spectators could be surprised and entertained by the look of shock on the victim’s face.

The Colosseum was originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre and it was not until 730 AD
that it was actually called the Colosseum. The Colosseum was named after the large statue of
Nero that was called ‘Colossus’ that stood nearby. The last recorded gladiatorial combat was
in 404 AD and the last show to include wild animals was in 523 AD. During 1084, the
Colosseum was turned into a fortress used by one of the strongest families at that time; the
Frangipane family. In 1744, the Catholic Church turned it into a Christian shrine in honour of
all of the Christians that had died there.

The Colosseum is so significant because of its sheer size and also, the events that have
happened there. For instance, after is was built, Emperor Titus opened it to the public with a
100 day opening ceremony which was advertised on coins and involved the death of 5000
wild animals on a single day. However, not all of these events were gladiatorial; in 217 AD, a
major fire melted the limestone and destroyed parts of the Colosseum. It was also damaged in
various earthquakes, one knocking down the southern façade. All of the iron was stolen by
scavengers, leaving holes in the stone. Due to these events, the Colosseum is only held
together by gravity and good design. According to scientists, if there is another earthquake
the whole Colosseum may collapse.

Each day of gladiatorial fights started with duels between the disabled, dwarfs or women and
were considered to be comical. Next were the gladiatorial combats, with different types of
gladiators fighting each other to the entertainment of the audience. After this, the Bestiarii
(the animal hunters) would hunt a wide variety of animals, some dangerous; lions and tigers;
others defenceless; ostriches or giraffes. During lunch, whilst some left to eat, they would
execute Christians. Under the reign of Emperor Domitian, bloody plays were held, where
prisoners would be forced to act a certain role that may include being killed. These plays
were called fatal charades and were mentioned in ‘The Twelve Caesars’. During the first two
years, the Colosseum was filled up with water and gladiators would reenact naval battles.

The Colosseum has survived for over 1900 years and has held many bloody battles in its
time. It's intricate structure has amazed historians and still amazes the millions of tourists that
visit it each year.

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