Hi there, Little Fox readers. Sorry I'm in a bad mood today. But it's a really nice day, and my parents are making me go to a boring play at a stuffy old theater. My mom says it'll be fun, but I'd much rather be outside with my friends.
Oh! That reminds me of our latest landmarks lesson! We just learned about a very famous outdoor theater—the Colosseum. Completed around 80 AD, this ancient amphitheater is a symbol of the once mighty Roman Empire. It's also the largest amphitheater ever erected in Rome—with enough seats to hold over fifty thousand spectators!
Construction of the Colosseum began around 70 AD during the reign of the emperor Vespasian. Vespasian had come to power after Nero, a cruel emperor who executed lots of people and plunged the empire into chaos. Determined to restore order to Rome and pride to its citizens, Vespasian launched many public works projects. One of these projects was the construction of a magnificent arena in the center of the city, on land that Nero had once seized from the people.
Following Vespasian’s orders, teams of professional architects, engineers, and decorators designed the building, with about 100,000 slaves providing the manual labor. And because the ancient Romans had recently invented an inexpensive new building material—concrete—the new arena could be built cheaply, and pretty quickly too.
Shaped like an oval (which is still the shape of most outdoor arenas today), the Colosseum had four tiers of seats. Workers created eighty entrance arches, so that big crowds could quickly flow in and out. The building was decorated with fountains and painted statues and even had soft cushions resting on its seats!
Mr. Fay also showed us pictures of an incredible network of underground rooms. These were mostly used for storing supplies and props for the shows, including exotic animals like lions, rhinos, and—yikes!—crocodiles!
The city celebrated the opening of the Colosseum with one hundred days of games and festivities. At first it was called the Flavian Amphitheater to honor Vespasian's family, the Flavian dynasty. But over time the building became known as the Colosseum because of the enormous, or colossal, statue of Nero that had once stood there.
The Colosseum is pretty famous for its tall, decorative columns, which inspired many other architectural works around the world. But if you ask me, the coolest thing about the building is its amazing engineering. Roman builders created lots of different machines to help shows run smoothly and keep the crowds comfortable; many of these devices are still used in theaters and arenas today. There were elevators and pulleys to lift equipment and props. Trapdoors opened under the floor for special effects, and on hot days, a special awning could be stretched over the building to block the sun. Engineers even designed a system for flooding the arena so that mock sea battles could be staged! It sounds like those ancient builders thought of everything, doesn't it?
Admission to events at the Colosseum was free, but spectators still needed tickets for seating. And people had to sit in sections based on their social rank: Rome's wealthiest citizens got to sit in the first tier while poor Romans and women were stuck sitting far from the action, way up at the very top.
By now you're probably wondering what kinds of shows they had at the Colosseum. Well . . . I hate to tell you this, but most of them were pretty bloody. Mr. Fay said that as many as 700,000 people may have died there, along with even more animals. Sometimes so much blood was spilled, the sand covering the floor turned red.
Most of the people who died at the Colosseum were gladiators—professional fighters who battled to the death to entertain Roman audiences. Some gladiators volunteered to fight while others, like slaves, were forced to fight. The sport was so popular in ancient Rome, there were even special gladiator schools!
Other events at the Colosseum included animal hunts and exhibits as well as dramas based on mythology. People used to believe that Christians were martyred there, fed to lions because of their religious beliefs. But today most historians say this is just a legend. I sure hope they’re right.
Fortunately, the violent contests between gladiators were outlawed around 400 AD. In 523 AD the animal hunts and games were put to a stop too. With the end of the games, the Colosseum fell into disrepair. In the years that followed, it was turned into a cemetery, a fortress, and a site for religious events. Its grounds were constantly looted; people carried off stones, as well as gold and bronze objects.
Today the Colosseum is one of the most popular tourist sites in the world, with millions of visitors each year. Although it's in ruins from all the looting, and damaged from air pollution and earthquakes, you can still see the outer shell of the building. You can also peek at the underground rooms and imagine what it was like when huge beasts and powerful gladiators prowled through those ancient corridors.
In 2011 a restoration project was begun to help preserve the Colosseum. Like Mr. Fay said, it’s important to remember the terrible violence that happened there. Still the Colosseum is a remarkable example of Roman architecture and human achievement. The famous writer Charles Dickens once described it like this: "It is the most impressive, the most stately, the most solemn, grand, majestic, mournful sight, conceivable."
You know what? After telling you about the Colosseum, I feel a little better about going to the play today. The show might be boring, but at least it won't be violent and bloody like those gladiator battles!