Colosseum

ROMAN COLOSSEUM
The Colosseum is an amphitheater in Rome. The construction of the roman Colosseum was initiated by Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed by his sons, Titus and Domitian in AD 81. It was built at the Domus Aurea which was the site of Nero's enormous palace. The Colosseum was named from a colossus statue of Nero measuring 130 feet, which once stood nearby. The statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Sol the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times by the head of succeeding emperors.

The Colosseum is capable of seating 50,000 spectators and measures 48 meters high, 188 meters long, and 156 meters wide. The wooden arena floor was 86 meters by 54 meters, and covered by sand. Its shape kept the players from retreating to a corner and allowed the spectators to be closer to the action than a circle would allow. The seating in this ancient roman Colosseum was divided into different sections. The podium was the first level of seating and was for the Roman senators. The emperor's private, cushioned, marble box was also located on this level. Above the podium was the level for the other Roman aristocrats who were not in the senate. The third level was divided into three sections. The lower part was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part was for poor citizens. A third wooden section at the very top of the building was standing room only, and was for lower class women. There were 80 entrances at ground level, 76 for ordinary spectators, two for the imperial family, and two for the gladiators.

Dio Cassius said that nine thousand wild animals were killed in the one hundred days of celebration which inaugurated the amphitheater opening. The arena floor was covered with sand, presumably to allow the blood to drain away. The Colosseum hosted huge games that included fights between animals, the killing of prisoners by animals and combats between gladiators. It has been estimated that several hundreds of thousands died in the Colosseum games. The Colosseum was in continuous use until 217, when it was damaged by fire after it was struck by lightning. It was restored in 238 and gladiatorial games continued until Christianity gradually put an end to those parts of the games which resulted in the death of humans.

Two earthquakes in 442 and 508 caused great damage to the structure of the Colosseum. The building was used until 524 mostly for staged animal hunts. In 847 and 1349 it was severely damaged by further earthquakes and was then converted into a fortress and a Christian church was erected in a small part of the Colosseum.

The Colosseum has a prominent place in many motion pictures. In 1954's Demetrius and the Gladiators Emperor Caligula sentences the Christian Demetrius to fight in the Colosseum. The Science Fiction film The Core sees the Colosseum destroyed by intense lightning strikes. The Colosseum was also destroyed by alien spacecraft in the movie Independence Day. Ridley Scott's film Gladiator saw the Colosseum re-created via computer generated imagery.