Roman Colosseum: Stadium for Gladiator Games

By: Jessica Adan

When you think of visiting Rome, Italy, the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum and the Colosseum may come to mind. In fact, the Colosseum is considered the main symbol of Rome, with around 6 million annual tourists.

However, many people plan on seeing the Colosseum without knowing the history behind it or even what its purpose was.

Although built thousands of years ago, the Colosseum stands strong.

What Led to the Building of the Colosseum

Founded on April 21st, 753 B.C., Ancient Rome was believed to be discovered by the mythological twins Romulus and Remus. Whether or not Romulus and Remus were actually real, civilization began to develop over time, led by emperors who had a total rule. Due to Ancient Rome existing at a time with little technology and advancement, civilians relied on fire for necessities such as cooking food, heating up a home, and providing light.

Priscilla Corti, a tour guide for various attractions in Rome, said, “Fire was one of the most important things for the Ancient Romans, but also it was one of their worst enemies.”

Priscilla Corti gives tours in English to visitors. As a Roman resident, she loves to educate people about her home.

This would all come to play on July 18, 64 C.E., when the infamous Great Fire of Rome was initiated, destroying half the city. Nero, the emperor at the time, was blamed heavily for the incident and how it was handled, along with a series of other factors. Vespasian, a general hungry for power, used this as ammunition to take over and become the next emperor of Rome on December 21, 69 C.E.

As a sign of his emergence of power, Vespasian ordered the Flavian Amphitheater, which was what the Colosseum was called at the time, to begin being built in 72 C.E. Wanting to appeal to the Ancient Romans and their love for entertainment, he designed it to be the site of Gladiator fighting.

The Design

The concrete design of the Colosseum is catered to the Roman audience. Round in shape, Ancient Romans could fully surround the center of the site to watch and enjoy the games.

The Colosseum was built mainly out of many concrete slabs like the ones above.

The site is quite large and believed to seat up to around 50,000 civilians, with four levels containing a total of 80 arches. The arches were used as entrances and exits: 76 were for civilians, two were for the gladiators, one was reserved for elites and the last was designated for the emperor. There were built-in sails to protect the audience from the sun and rain, and many of the entrances had statues.

The entrance and exit arches were made relatively large to fit many people. A picture of what the original Colosseum was believed to look like is placed in this one.

Corti said, “It is the same as a modern football stadium.”

Inside the stadium lies the arena, which is where the action would occur. With a wood floor and sand to collect the blood, gladiators would fight in front of everyone for amusement.

Gladiators

A common misconception surrounding the gladiators who fought in these games is that they did it voluntarily. In reality, gladiators were actually enslaved people who were experts at fighting. Owned by masters, they would be trained to fight so that they could put on a show for audiences. These gladiators would also be purchased and sold depending on their size, training and how they were performing.

Each gladiator wore metal armor and carried weapons such as these swords and spears.

As Corti said, “It was like a business.”

Games

Games were quite the spectacle, including both gladiators and animals. However, gladiators would either fight as a team against an animal or just fight each other. They would never fight animals and each other at the same time.

If there were a full day of gladiator fighting, it would begin with a team of gladiators fighting one or multiple animals, and the type used would vary on the day. The more popular choices were lions and bears.

Once the first set of games ended, the audience would break for a long lunch. When everyone reconvened, the next festivities would begin.

Gladiators would fight in this center arena surrounded by a captivated audience.

The second set of games was more popular and just included humans who would just fight each other. Initially, games would result in gladiators dying, but because they were part of a business and were expensive to replace, they eventually stopped fighting to the death.

If a gladiator was injured or wanted to give up, they would ask the emperor if they could live. Faced with this decision, the emperor would often ask the audience and see what the popular opinion was. Even though the emperor had the final say, he usually followed the people's thoughts.

Colosseum Deterioration

The Colosseum you know today is quite different from how it used to look due to a period of deterioration from the 14th-18th century.

With gladiator games becoming frowned upon, the amphitheater became abandoned. A failing economy, natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes and the stealing of material for other uses all contributed to the structure's decline, which is visible through the crookedness and a large amount of the fourth level being destroyed.

Initially four levels, you can see how much the Colosseum had deteriorated in the 14-18th centuries.

There was no solution until the 19th and 20th centuries when a great deal of work was done to restore the historical location.

Currently, the Colosseum is protected and constantly kept updated. It has become an attraction for people all around the world to experience.

A Place to Visit

The Colosseum can be visited by anyone seven days a week from 2:00-7:15 P.M. Tickets can be purchased by waiting in a line or purchased online. You can even pay to schedule a tour that allows you to enter and get a guide's detailed history of it.

While in the attraction, you can explore a walkthrough of both the first and second levels and be able to circle the stadium.

You can see all the places tourists can visit in the Colosseum. These include the inner first and second levels and inside the arches.

Chiuwen Lin, a tourist from abroad, recounted visiting the site as a surreal experience.

She said, “I came here because it is very famous and I wanted to see it once in my lifetime. I could only imagine how popular it was in ancient Rome.”

Chiuwen Lin has wanted to see the Colosseum for years. She felt so lucky to see it in person.

Additionally, a portion of the Colosseum is designated as a museum area where people can read more about the architecture and history.

Whether going for 30 minutes or several hours, the Colosseum is a symbol of entertainment and a great place to get a look inside at what exactly occurred at gladiator games.