Rome Coliseum

Also known as Flavian Amphitheater, the Rome Coliseum is one of the highly impressive buildings in the history of Roman Empire. Despite the fact that it does not match up to its earlier standards, it is still one of the most beautiful sights and it is imposing as well. It was founded by Emperor Vespasian and the construction was started in AD72 and completed in AD 80 after the Emperors death. It was constructed in site of am artificial lake making it part of the huge Nero Park which was also inclusive of Golden House known as the Domus Aurea and the Colossus statue. Nero’s giant statue is known for giving the building its current name.

About the Building
It measures 188 m x 156 m and reaches a height of 48 meters which is 159 ft. With eighty entrances, it can accommodate 55,000 spectators and above ground, it has 4 storeys and an upper storey which accommodates women and the lower classes. However, the lowest storey was set aside for prominent citizens and below ground there are rooms with cages and some cages and mechanical devices used to contain wild animals. These cages could be hoisted to enable the animals to step out into the arena.

Velarium
The Rome Coliseum is covered by a huge awning that is known by the name Velarium and it is meant to protect spectators from harsh elements such as the sun. This was attached to a large pole and anchored to the ground using large ground ropes. For the awning to be installed, a group of more 100 men was needed.

Games and Circuses
Emperors were known to use the coliseum to entertain guest with free games and circuses. This was for the purposes showing prestige and power and they were also seen as an ideal way for the emperor to increase his popularity. In essence, games were help for more than day and the games kick started with comical act, display of exotic animals fighting to the death and fights between gladiators, others between gladiators and the animals. Though in most cases these were carried out by slaves, there are instances when free Romans also took part in the games.

During the inauguration of the coliseum in AD80, Titus Vespasian’s successor 9,000 wild animals got slaughtered.

Ruins
In 847, an earthquake felled the southern part of the Rome Coliseum. There are part of the building however that were used for constructing monuments later on and these include St Peter’s Basilica.

In the entire Roman Empire, the Rome Coliseum in Italy is one of the most impressive buildings. Originally, it was known as the Flavian Amphitheater and was the largest building during its time. The name Coliseum was later derived from a Roman word, which means gigantic. However, it has fallen into ruins today though it remains to be an amazing structure and site which attracts many tourists across the world.

The Rome Coliseum was used by the emperors of that time as an entertainment spot, which offered free games to the public. The free games were a way through which the emperors displayed their prestige and power to enhance their popularity. The games went on for a day or several days and began with comical acts and a show of exotic animals. The events were then brought down with massive fights, which ended in death. The fights occurred between gladiators and animal or the gladiators themselves. The gladiators as the fighters were called were enslaved people, those who had been condemned or war prisoners. However, at times free Romans and also the emperors took part in the fights. The only emperor who ever took part in the fights and killed most people but was never killed was called Commodus. He is claimed to have rigged all his matches hence the tag Malicious emperor which is depicted in the Academy Award winning movie, The Gladiator.

The Rome Coliseum was also significant by the audience segregation that it displayed. Those who attended the events were seated in the Coliseum according to their social class, rank and gender. The emperor had his own special ‘court side’ chamber while senators were seated along the ringside seats. The rich and well connected were given the best seats after the senator with commoners and women relegated to the seats behind and on the upper tiers.

The emperors and the managers of the Rome Coliseum imported a variety of wild beasts from as far as India and Africa including fierce lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, tigers and leopards. These wild beasts were kept in cages from where they were then released to attack any of the gladiators who were at the time present in the Rome Coliseum arena.

One may be wondering that with all these insights and so much more that went on inside the Rome Coliseum, it does not appear anywhere in the list of the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World. The list of the Ancient Seven Wonders of the World was penned down in the 3rd Century BC, which is approximately 200 years before the existence of the Rome Coliseum. That is the reason why it did not feature in the list; however, it could have made the entry had it been built by that time.