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| Photo 1 |
History
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| Graph 1 (Colosseum) |
A little more information from the chart above. The misrule of Emperor Nero and excesses fueled a series of civil wars. During that time no more than 4 emperors took the throne until the 4th, Vespasian, who was the start of the Flavian Empire would rule for 10 years (A.D.69-79). They wanted to tone down the excesses of the Roman court, restore Senate authority and promote public welfare. So Vespasian returned the land that Nero had build his palace on to the people because Nero's enormous palace was seen as a little bit of a political embarrassment and Vespasian wanted to win back the roman people (Cartwright, Mark).
Titus opened the Flavian Amphitheater with the 100 days of Gladiator battles, which basically consisted of battles that ended up in all kinds of death (Colosseum). You can see below for more information on Gladiator battles! In the 100 days, the Colosseum workers had to spray perfume all over the arena to mask the smell of all the blood that was being lost, pretty intense if you ask me!
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| Graph 2 |
When killing became somewhat of a spectator sport, the Romans wanted to share it with as many people as possible. Thus, they created the biggest freestanding amphitheater in the empire. Many earlier amphitheaters had been dug into hillsides to provide for the much needed support, but the Colosseum made from stone and concrete stood like nothing they had created before (Alchin, Linda). Scroll back up and look at the photo 1. The 4 oversized stories that stood 160 ft. high, covering nearly 1/3 of a mile around and making an oval shaped footprint that covers 6 acres (Cartwight, Mark). In the picture below, the red part represents what just one acre looks like! Now multiply that by 6!
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| Photo 2 |
Each of the exterior levels of the Colosseum had 80 arches which were a Roman invention. It was constructed using columns and arches. This combination allowed for weight to be channeled down to the ground without causing any damage to the amphitheater itself. The three levels were used for different reason (appearance);
- Level one: entering and exiting
- Second and third level: support and decoration with statues of divinities and gods.
Architectural column design elements:
- Level one used Doric columns which are simple columns that have a plain square base.
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| (Cartwright, Mark) |
- Level two used ionic columns which are slightly fancier. They have a "simple carving through the mid-section of the column with a curved pinnacle" (Alchin, Linda)
- The third level had the most decorative type, using Corinthian style. They had a simple base but the top was very intricate. They were usually decorated with vines and flowers (appearance).
Photo 3
The building materials they used were a stone from the city of Tivoli, it was called travertine. 200 ox drawn wagons shuttled back and fourth everyday for 4 years. They did not use a traditional mortar to set all the arches, instead they used iron clamps! Below are the general steps for making the arches (Colosseum).
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| Graph 3 (appearance) |
The inside was not made from travertine. Instead it was made from another great Roman invention, brick and concrete. There were no less than 80 entrances, 76 of these were numbered and tickets were sold for each. Two entrances
were used for the gladiator, one of which was known as the "Porta Libitina" (the
Roman goddess of death) and was the door through which the dead were removed
from the arena. The other door was the "Porta Sanivivaria" through which victors
and those allowed to survive the contests left the arena. The final two doors
were reserved exclusively for the Emperor’s use (Cartwright, Mark).
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| Photo 4 |
Inside, encircling the arena was a wide marble terrace (podium)
protected by a wall within which were the prestigious ringside seats or boxes from
where the Emperor and other dignitaries would watch the events. Beyond this
area, marble seats were divided into zones: those for richer private citizens,
middle class citizens, slaves and foreigners and finally wooden seats and standing
room in the flat roofed colonnade on the top tier reserved for women and the
poor.
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| (Cartwright, Mark) |
More on Inside
It might be hard to
imagine what the playing field would have looked like, because all of the passage
ways that you can see in the image below that were added by Domitian. These passage ways was called the hypogeum. They were underground tunnels that held the animals and the slaves (Muller, Tom). Basically the backstage for the games where the following things took place:
- They got the animals ready
- Gladiators warmed up
- prisoners said their final prayers
- stagehands readied the scenery for the spectacles
- Workers would hoist animals into an elevator though a trap door in the arena floor (so the hunter would be surprised from where the animal came form)
Originally the playing area was covered with wood and then 9 inches of
sand (Muller, Tom).
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| Photo 5 |
You must be dying to know... what did they use this thing for?
As many of you might know, gladiator
fights were especially common. But it was used for other things too. It was designed to entertain. However,
they also demonstrated the wealth and generosity of the Emperor and provided an
opportunity for ordinary people to actually see their ruler in person. The games were always free paid for by the rich to bride the peoples favor and to keep the growing masses unemployed people off the streets (Cartwright, Mark).
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| (Cartwright, Mark) |
Blood sports and death were
the real purpose of the spectacular shows. An entire profession arose to
meet the massive entertainment requirements. For example under
Claudius there were 93 games a year (Historia). That’s a ton of people giving their life
to this sport. Spectacles often lasted
from dawn till nightfall. The games pitted all of these people and animals against each other.
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| Graph 4 |
The games were bloody, gruesome and
cruel. If a gladiator would fall to the ground, the other one would walk over
to the emperor and ask “should he live or should he die”. Sometimes they
emperor left the decision to the crowd, who would judge based on how valiantly
the man had fought. They would make the decision, thumbs up or thumbs down
(this is debated however). After a gladiator was killed, a man dressed up as
Charon, the grim reaper of Roman mythology, entered the arena and dragged the
lifeless body away (Cartwright, Mark).
Gladiators:
Since gladiators were such an important part of the functionality of the Colosseum, let's discuss them a little further. This image is just a costume of a Roman gladiator so take it with a grain of salt but it gives you an idea of what they might have looked like!
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| Photo 6 |
As the top arena in Rome, the Colosseum was the most aspiring place for all gladiators. Gladiators were
usually from the lowest classes, slaves, the poor, criminals or prisoners of
war. They battled their way up the
ranks, fighting their way to freedom or wealth and fame in the ring (Colosseum).
They mastered their technique in schools and the best gladiators were rewarded; much like professional athletes are today. he games were so popular and surviving graffiti shows that top-notch gladiators were Rome’s greatest celebrities (Alchin, Linda). To modernize, the games might seem a bit barbaric, but it suited Roman society for that time. Rome was a nation of warriors that built an empire by conquest. Consider the value of these games in placating the huge Roman populous, on an everyday basis. City slicker bureaucrats could come here and personally witness the conquest that generated their wealth. Seeing the king of beasts, the lion, being killed by a warrior reminded the masses of their triumph over nature. Plus having the thumbs up or thumbs down authority over another persons life, gave them a real sense a power. Imagine the psychological boost the people got from their emperor giving them this choice. To the right is a gladius.
They mastered their technique in schools and the best gladiators were rewarded; much like professional athletes are today. he games were so popular and surviving graffiti shows that top-notch gladiators were Rome’s greatest celebrities (Alchin, Linda). To modernize, the games might seem a bit barbaric, but it suited Roman society for that time. Rome was a nation of warriors that built an empire by conquest. Consider the value of these games in placating the huge Roman populous, on an everyday basis. City slicker bureaucrats could come here and personally witness the conquest that generated their wealth. Seeing the king of beasts, the lion, being killed by a warrior reminded the masses of their triumph over nature. Plus having the thumbs up or thumbs down authority over another persons life, gave them a real sense a power. Imagine the psychological boost the people got from their emperor giving them this choice. To the right is a gladius.
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| (Historia) |
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| Photo 7 |
The days events usually went as followed:
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| Graph 5 (Cartwright, Mark) |
The blood sports used all sorts of different weapons like swords, lances, tridents and nets while the animal hunts involved more spears and arrow killing. Hundreds, sometimes-even thousands of animals, were
butchered in a single day’s event and often brutality was deliberate in order
to achieve "crudeliter"-- the correct amount of cruelty (Historia).
*Seen as an unacceptable challenge to the authority of
Pagan Rome and the divinity of the Emperor, Christians were thrown to lions,
shot down with arrows, roasted alive and killed in a myriad of cruelly
inventive ways. This is what the Roman Christians believed at the time however, there is not great documentation on this.
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| (Colosseum) |
NOW WHAT?
The Colosseum saw some four centuries
of active use, until the struggles of the Western Roman Empire and the gradual
change in public tastes put an end to gladiatorial combats and other large
public entertainments by the 6th century A.D (Colosseum).
But the main reason for the end of the games was the military and financial crisis in the western part of the empire, together with the many invasions Italy had suffered. No one could bear the colossal expenses needed to organize the shows and this made the function of the building useless. Even by that time, the arena had suffered damaged due to natural phenomena such as lightning and earthquakes. In the centuries to come, the Colosseum was abandoned completely, and used as a quarry for numerous building projects, including the cathedrals of St. Peter and St. John Lateran, the Palazzo Venezia and defense fortifications along the Tiber River. Beginning in the 18th century, however, various popes sought to conserve the arena as a sacred Christian site, though it is in fact uncertain whether early Christian martyrs met their fate in the Colosseum, as has been speculated (Colosseum).
But the main reason for the end of the games was the military and financial crisis in the western part of the empire, together with the many invasions Italy had suffered. No one could bear the colossal expenses needed to organize the shows and this made the function of the building useless. Even by that time, the arena had suffered damaged due to natural phenomena such as lightning and earthquakes. In the centuries to come, the Colosseum was abandoned completely, and used as a quarry for numerous building projects, including the cathedrals of St. Peter and St. John Lateran, the Palazzo Venezia and defense fortifications along the Tiber River. Beginning in the 18th century, however, various popes sought to conserve the arena as a sacred Christian site, though it is in fact uncertain whether early Christian martyrs met their fate in the Colosseum, as has been speculated (Colosseum).
By the 20th century, a combination of weather, natural disasters,
neglect and vandalism had destroyed nearly two-thirds of the original
Colosseum, including all of the arena’s marble seats and its decorative
elements. Leaving it looking like the below image. Restoration efforts began in the 1990s, and have proceeded over the years,
as the Colosseum continues to be a leading attraction for tourists from all
over the world (Colosseum). I actually visited the Colosseum today, May 30th 2015, and say more restoration taking place! Quite the work in progress but an amazing testament to the abilities of the Ancient Romans.
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| Photo 8 |
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| (The Colosseum-Fun Facts for Kids) |
Please feel free to comment with any remaining questions you may have or comments!
*Please view my other page titled "The Colosseum Sources" for the sources for this page.
*Please view my other page titled "The Colosseum Sources" for the sources for this page.
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