The Colosseum of Rome

The construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of the Roman Emperor around 70AD. The name Colosseum has believed to be derived from a colossal status of Nero. This statue was later replaced to the sun god Apollo by successor of Nero. Colosseum was used for Gladiator battle, sea battling, animal hunting, and other battles that Roman can imagine of.

Colosseum in Rome is the largest amphitheater ever built in the Roman Empire. The height of Colosseum is 48 meters, 188 meter long and 156 meter wide. The Colosseum divided into 3 levels and each level consists of 80 arches. Those arches on the second and third level are believed stood with Roman God statues in the past. Despite the impressive of the external structure, the internal structure of Colosseum is equally impressive. Colosseum could accommodate more than 50.000 seats. The interior of the Colosseum was divided into 3 sections:

• Arena – The stage can be covered by sand or floored with water for naval battle.
• Cavea – Spectacular Seating. Divided into 3 tiers, Knight sat at lowest tier; wealthy citizen at middle tier while public sat at highest tier.
• Podium – Terrace of seat reserve for emperors, senators and VIPs.
  

The Colosseum was in use until 217, when it was damaged by fire from lightning. Four earthquakes between 442 and 1349 severely damage some parts the building,

In March 2003, we visited Rome. Everybody told us that “No visit to Rome completed without visit to Colosseum”. In the matter of the fact, Colosseum becomes our Must-Visit destination. The Colosseum is located in the center of Rome which is very easy to be located. The structure of the Colosseum is very impressive, you can clearly see those 3 levels of the Colosseum with its arches. Even though some parts of the Colosseum was destroyed by earthquake but you can still see the glory of the Colosseum in the past when current structure preserved.

The picture showed that I climbed up to the lower level of the Colosseum. My height don’t even reach one third of the height of the lower section.
When we were inside the Arena of Colosseum, we instantly flashed back many scenes from Award-winning movie Gladiator by Russell Crowe. The scenes showed General Maximum fought with tigers, Maximum fought with Emperor Commodus, Gladiator Maximum earn the overall tomb up from audiences, etc. The internal of Colosseum is equally impressive compared with its external.

Colosseum could be the most spectacular and greater work of Roman architecture however the usage of the structure was very cruel. How many victims had sacrificed themselves for the pleasure of Roman Emperor or wealthy citizens? Sigh!