The Colosseum was mostly composed of concrete with a travertine or marble coating on the outside. Some of the blocks of concrete weighed over tons. There were sockets for wooden beams at the top of the Colosseum to support an awning. Sailors of the imperial fleet, who often did not have any other work to do, were stationed nearby so that they could move the awning to shield spectators from the sun.
The main floor of the Colosseum was composed of wooden blocks covered with sand. The wooden blocks could be removed to reveal an extensive underground area lit by flares. This 2-floor maze of corridors had human powered elevators that would bring wild beasts up through trap doors in the arena floor. The Flavian Amphitheatre was very much meant for the masses. The size was impressive to behold and admission was free.
Free food was also given out which helped to appease the unemployed. Gladiators were the mainstay of Colosseum entertainment. There were also wild animal hunts, battles between charioteers, and warm up plays with midgets pretending to fight lions.
In the interim between matches, the upper classes would often go out for lunch. Executions were held to entertain the poorer classes and women remaining in the stadium. The Romans were fascinated with death. There have been many explanations for gladiatorial tradition. One is that it came from a tradition of human sacrifice to the gods. Another is that it came from a military tradition of allowing captured criminals to fight to the death rather than be executed.
Gladiators were usually impressed war criminals and a few were glory seekers. Gladiators usually only fought one-on-one, refereed matches. A typical day would have gladiators fighting at the very end. The bloodbath has been exaggerated; there would usually only be a few deaths a day. Gladiators wore visors and helmets to make themselves appear as more aggressive and impersonal monsters. The dead were taken out through the Arch of Libitana, named after the goddess of death.
There were many different types of gladiators. One of the most popular was the Retiarius, who only had a small shoulder shield, net, and trident. Spectators loved to watch him fight more heavily armoured gladiators as he was always the underdog. Telemachus, a Christian monk, was stoned to death by spectators when he tried to separate two fighting gladiators.
This led to an imperial decree in abolishing gladiatorial combat though animal hunts and other brutal forms of entertainment would continue for many decades. When the Colosseum was used as a quarry, so much material was carted away that a special road was set up specifically for that purpose.
The function of the Colosseum later changed to a grazing ground, a fortress for an Italian baron, and later as a theatre for Passion plays when it was taken over by the church. It was used as a symbol of the triumph of Christianity over pagan traditions and preserved because of the martyrs that died inside. Restorations and excavations began again in the s and continue to this day. Changes in Function : Taken from the-colosseum. Observe the receding hairline and the wrinkled, shaven face.
Vespasian was the first major emperor after Nero, the infamous emperor whose reign was characterized by excessive grandeur. The extravagance of the Golden House sat in the center of a acre park, centered by a large artificial lake that Nero had built and a ft tall gilded bronze statue of Nero himself.
Unlike Nero, Vespasian was the son of a plebeian. He rose to power through the military and was leading a campaign in Egypt when he received the call to become emperor. He was described as a plain man with a good sense of humor. Vespasian even appeared on building sites carrying a basket of masonry to encourage builders.
He restored many of the buildings that had been damaged by the neglect of his predecessors. The bust of Vespasian shows an older man with a receding hairline. He looks wise and deep in thought; there is no sign of immaturity or instability in his face. The location of the Colosseum was strategically chosen. Emperors used the Colosseum to entertain the public with free games. Tens of thousands of Romans would be seated in sections assigned to their class — the lower tiers were reserved for the upper class so they could see more action.
Purpose 1: To provide a permanent purpose-built arena in the centre of Ancient Rome for staging various forms of entertainment for the Ancient Romans — a gift to Roman Citizens. Purpose 2: To create a massive, breath-taking structure conveying the wealth, might and power of Rome. The Colosseum saw some four centuries of active use, until the struggles of the Western Roman Empire and the gradual change in public tastes put an end to gladiatorial combats and other large public entertainments by the 6th century A.
Even by that time, the arena had suffered damaged due to natural phenomena such as …. Emperor Titus ordered the new Colosseum to be flooded, then used special flat-bottomed ships during the battle to accommodate for the shallow water. The event replicated the battle between Athens and Syracuse and there was even an artificial island made in the middle of the arena, where the sailors landed to fight. Emperor Titus ordered the amphitheater to be flooded and had special flat-bottomed ships designed to accommodate for the shallow water.
In ancient Rome prisons would often be used as areas to hold prisoners until they faced punishment. Prisoners would be treated horribly, although during the later parts of the history of the empire Christian charity could help improve the lives of prisoners somewhat. Prisons would be filthy, underground, and hot. Traditionally, gladiators were selected slaves or conquered people. Typically chosen for their strong physiques, they would be hand selected and trained into gladiators.
However, as the gladiator games gained steam, many gladiators were free working class men who willingly signed up. Hollywood movies and television shows often depict gladiatorial bouts as a bloody free-for-all, but most fights operated under fairly strict rules and regulations. Contests were typically single combat between two men of similar size and experience. A gladiator might expect to fight in two or three munera annually, and an unknown number would have died in their first match.
As the popularity of games had been rising some gladiatorial schools had been found. The spectators witnessed to the punishment of the criminals, too.
This was a proof that the charges for criminals proclaimed by the government were fulfilled. As the convicts were killing each other or they were killed by animals, the public lost its responsibility for their death. From modern point of view could be the interest in bloody gladiatorial combats considered as kind of perversion, too. The Colosseum and the gladiatorial combats became an icon of Rome. This prove its picturing on walls, floors, ceilings or pots found trough the whole Roman Empire.
The moral attitude of the twenty-first century is different from that in ancient Rome would be. The main difference is in current general opinion about equality of all people. Thus we can give only vague picture of what was happening in heads of Romans. Colosseum - Why were the games important for Romans? Of course, the psychological aspects cannot be neglected either. Although this story could be a fiction it provides us with a contemporary opinion.
Another psychological aspect is the one of the oldest addiction — gambling.
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