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Under the arena was where the animals, such as tigers and lions, were kept. When the Colosseum was first built, it had seats made of marble and elaborate statues everywhere! Then, when it opened to the public, the king hosted 100 Continuous Days of Games. There were gladiator fights, where men fought each other to death, or fought with animals. Gladiators usually became rich, but their luxury ended quickly once they were killed in battles. “Beast” fights were also held, where dangerous and powerful animals fought each other. Gladiator battles were banned in 404 A.D. Then in 442 A.D. a terrible earthquake shook the Colosseum to rubbles. Its remains were used for the building of St.Peter’s. With pollution affecting the remains of the amphitheater, a group of workers rehabilitated it in 1990. It was then turned into a public theater in 2000.
Subject: Colosseum Title of Encyclopedia: Grolier Date retrieved: 2/8/08 Website URL: http://ea.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0101960-00
Author: Kevin Matthews Name of website: Great Buildings Collection Page or article title: Roman Colosseum Date of posting/revision: 1994-2007 Name of company/institution affiliated with the website: Artifice Inc. Date you visited the site: 2/8/08 \ Website address: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Roman_Colosseum.html
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The Colosseum was
built in 79 A.D. by Roman Emperor Vaspasia and was finished by Emperor Titus. It
was designed to be a Flavian amphitheater, which would seat up to 50,000 people
and have an area of about six acres! There were three tiers and they were decked
with Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns. On a hot summers day, spectators did
not have to worry about getting sweaty and warm. Instead, the amphitheater had
plenty of ventilation! The audience was provided with tickets, convenient
staircases, exits, and entrances.