The Roman Colosseum

Of all the historical landmarkers we visited on our trip, the Colosseum was the first, and the most impressive. (It was also the one I was most excited for!)

While we first arrived in Rome, we got on our coach bus and began to tour immediately. We didn't start with the Colosseum, but we did see it early in the morning. When seeing it for the first time, you can't help but be in awe.

This is the first view I got of the Colosseum. (I was sitting in the front seat of the bus, so you can see part of the rear-view mirror to the right of this picture.)

Here are some facts about the Colosseum:

• The construction of the Colosseum began in AD 72. It was completed in AD 80.
• It was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, and was the largest building of the era.

• The Colosseum could accommodate some 55,000 spectators who could enter the building through no less than 80 entrances.
• Above ground, there are four levels. The upper level was for lower class and women. The lowest level was reserved 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.

• The Colosseum was covered with an enormous awning known as the velarium. This protected the spectators from the sun. It as attached to large poles on the top Colosseum and anchored to the ground by large ropes.
• Emperors used the Colosseum to entertain the public with free games. Those games were a symbol of prestige and power and tehy were a way for an emperor to increase his popularity.

• 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 fights were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals. Sometimes free Romans and even Emperors took part in the action.

• Animals were brought in from every corner of the Roman empire to be put on display or fought and killed in the arena, including bears, zebras, hippos, lions, rhinoceros, hyenas, tigers, ostriches, and many other wild and exotic species.

(The above picture is of the original marble used in the construction of the Colosseum. Prior to the looting, damage from neglect, destruction, earthquakes, etc., when the Colosseum was in its prime, it was covered in the marble you see above.)
• The southern side of the Colosseum was felled by an earthquake in 847. Parts of the building - including the marble facade - were used for the construction of later monuments, including the St. Peter's Basilica.
• Another earthquake in 1826 nearly finished the job started from previous earthquakes, so engineers erected several buttresses to keep the walls from collapsing.
• By the 18th century, the Colosseum had become overgrown with so many different types of plants that botanists from all over Europe came to write about it. An excavation undertaken in 1870 unearthed a number of underground passages, but a side effect was that it uprooted most of the plant life in the building. Many inscriptions were found, including a large number which established who had reserved seating in the theater, confirming that proximity to the floor of the arena was based on social status.
• Before and during the Second World War, Mussolini held rallies in the Colosseum. After WWII, excavations were continued in the Colosseum. Archaeologists found human skeletons and the skull of a bear which had been pierced by the sword of a gladiator.
• In 2003, a stage was built in the Colosseum which covers part of the underground sections of the building.

One of the interesting facts our tour guide told us about was the "thumbs up and thumbs down" signs. Gladiators at the Colosseum who acknowledged defeat could request the fight to be stopped. The gladiator would signal his request by raising his finger, or his hand and arm. The crowd's response was taken into consideration in deciding whether to let the loser live or order the victor to kill him. With thumb up, it meant that the gladiator would live, a "thumbs turned to the side" NOT down, meant he would die.