There are so many interesting facts about the Colosseum you may not be aware of, from its construction to its purpose and more! Keep reading to discover even more!
It was an enormous monument and took years to construct. A large workforce aided in speeding up this process – especially slaves who helped move Travertine stones 20 miles from Tivoli to Rome.
1. It was the largest amphitheater in the world
The Colosseum stood proud in Rome as one of the largest amphitheaters of antiquity. Seating up to 50,000 spectators, its design permitted various public spectacles including animal hunts, gladiatorial combats and even recreations of historic battles.
The arena floor was covered with wood planks, punctuated every few meters by trapdoors that housed elevators run manually by slaves to bring animals, scenery or props up to arena floor level for events.
Underneath, the Colosseum was formed of an intricate network of tunnels and chambers known as the Hypogeum that housed exotic animals and gladiators when not on stage. Tunnels also connected directly with Rome’s scorching heat for spectators’ protection during storms or rainfall; pulleys and lifts allowed dramatic entrances of scenery, props, actors or even elephants onto stage via these systems of pulleys and lifts – so complex it even allowed elephants onto stage!
When not hosting events, the arena was used by Roman public to spend whole days watching spectacles that may now seem atrocious and revolting. Magistrates competed to organize such shows to gain favor with their people – gladiator battles and animal hunts proved popular among Romans.
Spectators would typically be seated according to their social standing, with lower seats reserved for poorest citizens while wealthier ones brought cushions from home for sitting on. Senators had exclusive seating on top tiers of cavea, while two boxes at either end of arena provided for their use by Emperor and Vestal Virgins.
As you explore the ruins of the arena today, you will encounter a complex web of concentric rings and whorls of masonry walls. Weeds grow waist-high between flagstones; while stonework consists of both travertine slabs and tufa blocks.
2. It was built in 72 AD
In 72 AD, Emperor Vespasian gave Rome an amazing present: he built the Colosseum as a show of his commitment to not being the depraved ruler that his predecessor Nero had been. Nero had constructed his Domus Aurea palace on this same spot but it had been devastated in a great fire of Rome in 64 AD; Vespasian decided instead to convert this site into an amphitheater where citizens could watch gladiator battles and other spectacles.
The Flavian Amphitheater took 8-9 years to construct and was completed by Titus, Vespasian’s son. It featured two main axes measuring approximately 189 meters (615 feet/513 Roman feet). Crafted out of travertine stone found near modern day Tivoli and laid without mortar; held together using large iron clamps; it contained approximately 5,13 Roman feet of seating space.
Internally, the amphitheater was in the shape of an oval and could accommodate up to 80,000 spectators. Audience members sat according to social status; lower tiers being reserved for poorest citizens while upper tiers accommodated the rich. Boxes for Emperor Tiberius and Vestal Virgins were located at both ends of the arena while there was also a wide platform or podium reserved exclusively for senatorial class, not open for viewing by general audiences.
Wild animals were frequently brought to Rome’s Colosseum for show hunts that created excitement and spectacle among audiences. Estimates indicate that up to one million wild animals lost their lives as part of these shows.
Amphitheater spectacles often lasted days and featured animal fights between gladiators and gladiator-fighting beasts; this type of display was not intended as educational but meant instead to impress audiences and showcase Roman power. By the 5th century however, Roman decline made such shows no longer cost-effective; maintaining them became costly with scarce resources available for gladiator fights and animal supplies making these spectacles increasingly unsustainable.
3. It was a place of death
When the Colosseum was initially constructed, its purpose was to be used by Romans of all social classes as a venue to witness gladiatorial combat or hunt wild animals for up to 100 days at a time – leading many people from its walls into death during such brutal spectacles.
Reason being that arena floors were covered in sand which absorbed any blood, urine or faeces that was spilled during these violent performances – Latin actually means “arena”, meaning sand.
Gladiators were not only physically fit, but were also expert marksmen. Armed with swords, tridents, lances, nets and bow-and-arrows which required skilled operation and maneuvering – including slaves, criminals and ex-soldiers alongside volunteer fighters from lower social classes who all considered them low class citizens who should not have such access – gladiators were seen with disdain by society at large.
Once a lustrum had subsided, gladiatorial games evolved into sports competitions; gladiators would be matched based on size, previous record, skill level and style of combatants. An upper seating area known as gradatio was reserved for wealthy Romans while those further down were known as cavea.
Though these games were entertaining to an audience, they could still be extremely dangerous for participants and fighters. At first, up to 1,000 deaths per year could occur within these arenas alone – especially during wild beast hunts.
The Colosseum served as a site for combat and hunting events for almost 400 years before being transformed into other uses including burial plots, places of worship and housing. Today it remains one of Rome’s top tourist spots attracting millions annually.
4. It was a place of worship
The Colosseum has come to symbolize Roman imperial hubris, but in reality was designed as a place for Romeans to worship their gods. Vespasian commissioned it after a bloody civil war on the site of Nero’s Golden Palace (Domus Aurea). At 50,000 people at once it is by far the world’s largest amphitheater ever created!
Amphitheaters were popular venues for various events, such as gladiatorial contests, mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions and plays based on Classical mythology. Thanks to its elliptical shape, every spectator could easily view all of the action at any point from any seat in the amphitheater; additionally there were colorfully painted hallways containing multiple classes of people that could occupy each section.
Rewarding spectators was part of the spectacle at the Colosseum. Stewards would pass through crowds during intermezzos between hunts delivering cakes, pastries and sweetmeats as well as cups of wine; handsome acrobats would perform for entertainment; sparsiones scented with balsam or saffron were a special treat too; as were various plants like fig trees and caper bushes flourishing within its dank walls.
Religious sacrifices were performed as part of the arena opening ceremonies to excite and arouse its crowd and spark curiosity about what was about to unfold. Exotic wild animals would also be paraded before spectators including slaves and Emperors.
Since its completion, the Colosseum has undergone many restorations due to earthquakes and fires. By the late 1700s however, its condition had worsened so drastically that it had to be closed down for safety purposes and eventually used as livestock stables or even as a quarry for building materials.