The Roman Colosseum

I visited Rome on the eve of christmas and it was a delight to watch the beautiful old city: A food for eyes. There is a monument on every square and corner of the city. It shows how much efforts have been taken to preserve the Roman History.

One of the 7 wonders in world is the Roman Colosseum. Immediately it reminds us about the hollywood flick, Gladiator and Russel Crowe. Though the movie is a fiction work and nothing to do with the actual history, the movie depicts the true version of the killing amphitheatre, the Colosseum.

The Emperor, Vespasian in the 1st Century of AD, in 72, started the construction of Colosseum in order to create the entertainment centre for his subjects. The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. In 80 the 4th floor was constructed and eventually inaugurated by his son Emperor Titus with 100 days of public events including the bloody gladiator fights. It is said that 9000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheatre. The building was remodelled furhter under Vespasian's younger son Domitian, who constructed Hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added gallery to the top of the colosseum to increase the seating capacity.

As for those who have seen the Gladiator, the even is shown to have occured during 180 AD. Here is the digitally created picture in the movie "Gladiator".

During the 3rd Century in 217 AD, The Colloseum of Rome was restored after being heavily damaged by a lightning-caused fire, which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320.

During the 404 to 435 the gladiatorial fights were outlawed by the Emperor Honorius. Animal hunts continued until at least 523.

During this period (476 to 1453 AD) the Colloseum of Rome deteriorates due to 2 severe earthquakes one in 443 and another in 1349, when the outer south side of the colosseum collapsed. The tumbled stones from the site were used to build palaces and churches including the St. Peter's Basilica. In 19th Century the popes championed the restoration of Colossesum of Rome, preserveing it for future generations. This is the insightful of Colosseum History.

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society.

Little remains now the Original Oval Arena floor.

Hypogeum (Underground tunnels) are clearly visible.

Accounts of the inaugural games held by Titus in AD 80 describe it being filled with water for the display of Sea Battle, although there is a debate on how the arena could have been water proofed, nor there would have been space for warships to move.

Visitors wonder to see the place of deaths, the place where gladiators fought till death, the place where, on the thumbs down of emperor and crowd the fighters were slained, the place where battles were enacted, animals hunted, the first ever place to host the reality show of martyrdom and barbarian killings. It is said that the stadium used to be planted with bushes and the animlas from Africa would be introduced to populate the scene and killed for the delight of crowd.

The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena and feel the Roman History.