THE COLOSSEUM

Titus

The greatest amphitheatre of the antiquity-The Colosseum-was built in Rome, Italy, about 1931 years ago.It is considered as an architectural and engineering wonder and remains as a standing proof of both the grandeur and the cruelty of the Roman world.The Roman Colosseum was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre which was commissioned in 72 AD by Emperor VESPASIAN. It was completed by his son, TITUS, in 80 AD, with later improvements by DOMITIAN. It was built by the Flavian emperors as a gift to the Roman citizens, in the place where the previous Emperor Nero had build his residence,the Domus Aurea. Located on marshy land between the Esquiline and Caelian Hills, it was the first permanent amphitheatre to be built in Rome. The monumental structure has fallen into ruins, but even today it is an imposing and beautiful sight.

The elliptical building is immense, measuring 188m by 156m and reaching a height of more than 48m(roughly equivalent to a 12-15 storey building).It could accommodate about 50,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances.Above the ground are four storeys, the upper storey contained seating for lower classes and women. The lowest storey was preserved for prominent citizens.Below the ground were rooms with mechanical devices and cages containing wild animals. The cages could be hoisted, enabling the animals to appear in the middle of the arena. Eighty walls radiate from the arena and support vaults for passageways, stairways and the tiers of seats. At the outer edge circumferential arcades link each level and the stairways between levels.

The Colosseum was covered with an enormous awning known as the velarium, which protected the spectators from the sun. It was attached to large poles on top of the Colosseum and anchored to the ground by large ropes. The awning was installed by a team of about 1,000 men.The construction of Colosseum utilized a careful combination of types: concrete for the foundations, travertine for the piers and arcades, tufa infill between piers for the walls of the lower two levels, and brick-faced concrete used for the upper levels and for most of the vaults.The arena was covered with a great wooden floor and canvas to make it waterproof.Over this was a layer of sand to absorb blood.The arena was surrounded by a 5m high wall to protect spectators from attacks by wild beasts.

The interior of the Colosseum

Emperors used the Colosseum to entertain the public with free games. Those games were a symbol of prestige and power and they were a way for an emperor to increase his popularity. Hundred-day games were held by Titus to mark the inauguration of the building in AD 80. During the time, about 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered. Games were held for a whole day or even several days in a row. They usually started with comical acts and displays of exotic animals and ended with fights to the death between animals and gladiators or between gladiators. These fighters were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals. Sometimes free Romans and even Emperors took part in the action.The statistics of those who met their death at the Colosseum during another festival, held in 240 AD, are staggering: 2,000 gladiators, 70 lions, 40 wild horses, 30 elephants, 30 leopards, 20 wild asses, 19 giraffes, 10 elks, 10 hyenas, 10 tigers, 1 hippopotamus and 1 rhinoceros.Gladiatorial combats were outlawed by the Christian Emperor Honorius in 407 AD because of a simple monk named Telemachus, who is the only Colosseum martyr of whom there is any evidence.The long-held belief that scores of Christians met their death here in the 1st to 3rd centuries has no evidence to support it and may only be a legend. The fights with wild beasts were banned in 523 AD. After this, the arena went out of use.In this period, the Colosseum was used as a Christian burial ground. Early Christian tombs have been found in three areas around the amphitheatre.

The southern side of the Colosseum was felled by an earthquake in 847 AD. Parts of the building-including the marble facade-were used for the construction of later monuments, including the St. Peter's Basilica.Looting of the stone continued on and off until the 18th century, when Pope Benedict XIV declared the Colosseum sanctified by the blood of early Christian martyrs and added Stations of the Cross to the arena.After this it was restored and excavated, a work that continues to the present day.It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and each Good Friday, the Pope leads a torch-lit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.The amphitheatre becomes a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, abolished in Italy in 1948.It was voted as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.