The Colosseum
Many ages ago, the Amphitheatrum Flavianum was the most famous building in Europe. It is popularly called Colosseum. That name is descended from the Greek word Kolossos, which means huge statue. Since there used to be a big statue of Nero near the Amphiteatrum. The first man who used the term Colosseum for the Amphitheatrum Flavianum was a monk, named Bede. He used it in the 8th century when he wrote a travel story about Rome.
The Colosseum was built in the period when the Flavian emperors ( 69-96 ) reigned the country. It was built at the place where Nero had ordered to lay out an artificial lake after the fire of Rome in 64. This formed part of his palace the "Domus Aurea", which had his most important rooms at the Esquiline.
In 80 Emperor Titus held an openings party, which lasted 100 days. The party took the lives of 5000 animals .
In 405 emperor Honorius forbade the gladiator games , the venationes-fights with wild animals however did not stop until the middle of the sixth century. In the middle ages the building suffered a lot of earthquakes and of the fact that it was partly rebuilt as castle. In 1312 emperor Hendrik VII granted it to the senate and the people. The Romans were very proud of the Colosseum . This appears for example from the poet Martialis, who writes about this building in many of his poems. For example in the following fragment: "Let Memphis ( a city in Egypte ) keep silent about the miracle from his piramides, everything has to give way now for the Amphiteatrum of our emperor".
But they had a good reason to be proud of the Colosseum. It was a huge building, for that time, and it seated to 50,000 people. The building has 4 floors and several entrances. The outside alone of the building is already pure art. It had many statues and pillars, all built in different ways. You might say that the Colosseum is the precursor of the Amsterdam ArenA, because the Colosseum also had a roof that could be moved. This roof was a sort of canopy which was spread over the whole Amphiteatrum when the weather was too hot. In the picture you can still see the holders where the posts were which carried that canopy. Under the real arena was a very big substructure where the wild animals were held. These animals were brought up with a wooden elevator. Thanks to an ingenious system, all the hatches were opened at the same time and all of the animals stormed into the arena. This must have been a beautiful sight. Also the décor pieces were stored in the substructure.
The fights that were shown in the Colosseum were inhuman. Humans killing humans, animals killing animals and there were even fights between animals and humans. Blood was shed all over.
The people who appeared in the arena were the gladiators. Some of them did not fight voluntarly, but enforced. These people were slaves, prisoners of war or people who were condemned to death. But also a few Christians were killed in this way. They did not have a choice, they had nothing to lose in such a fight. Only in this way they could try to get their freedom back. And it had to be bloodier and bloodier. The public wanted more and more.
The fights that were held in the Colosseum were most of the time fights between gladiators. The fights started with a parade from the gladiators. They greeted the emperor and spoke the traditional words: "ave Ceasar, morituri te salutant!" ( greetings Ceasar, they who are going to die, greet you) After that there was a humoristic part with midgets, clowns en cripples. After the "death" of these actors the gladiators set foot on the ground. A fight of life and death then began.
When a gladiator was defeated, the imperial thumb decided whether he stayed alive or not. The survivors left the arena through the Porta Sanivivaria ( Sanivivaria means: "they who live in good health" ), while the corpses were taken away through the Porta Libitina ( dedicated to the goddess of death ).
Also hunting matches, boxing matches and other kinds of matches were organised. Also great sea battles were performed and the whole Colosseum was flooded with water. These were the so-called naumachia, which means 'sea battle'. The word comes from 2 Greek words, naus, which means ship, and machè, which means fight.
These preformances of seabattles with real fights were introduced by Caesar.
All these things were organised to satisfy the Roman people and especially the proletarians, the people who only had there children ( proles ) as posession.
Because of the Romans a lot of wild animals are extinct in North Africa. There aren't any lions left there for example.
Later the Colosseum became the symbol of the power of Rome. The next proverb, which is very famous, is related to that power:
QUAMDIU STAT COLYSAEUS STAT ET ROMA: QUANDO CADET COLYSAEUS CADET ET ROMA; QUANDO CADET ROMA CADET ET MUNDUS
( as long as the Colosseum exists, Rome exist; if the colosseum falls, Rome falls; if Rome falls, the world falls)
Some facts of the Colosseum:
length 188m
width 156m
height 57m
80 entrances
ca. 50,000 places for spectators
All of the entrances are numbered, except one which is at the side of the Monte Oppio, which has almost stayed completely in tact. That one is not numbered and gives access to a hall with plaster decorations.
The Colosseum is made out of tuff, conctrete, marble and 300 tons of iron ( for the traps ).
The marbleblocks of the Colosseum were not attached to each other with mortar, but with metal clamps. In the middle ages these clamps were removed, so that holes in the wall were visable.
The Romans of today tell their children that the babarians, after they had plundred Rome, wanted to finish their work with the destruction of the Colosseum. They tried it with dynamite, but the Colosseum maintained.
There will now follow some pieces of text, which are about the Colosseum. The first one is written by Marcus Valerius Martialis and is taken from Epigrams, Liber Spectaculorum, verse 2.
The build of the Amphitheatre Flavium
Here, where the collossus with rays views the stars from closer by, and in the middle of the street the high scafholding is rising up, shone the hated palace of the cruel king and there was only one house in the whole city; here where a very honorable mass of the Amphitheatre is erected. Here, where Nero's lakes here, where we admire the quick gift, the therm, the proud park had taken the homes of the poor people; where the pillars of Claudius throw their long shadows was the end of the palace. Rome has been given back to itself and with you Caesar, as ruler, what was first a source of entertainment for the master, is now one for the people.
Epigrams, Liber Spectaculorum, verse 5
Except normal gladiatorgames there were also myths performed in the arena:
Believe that Pasiphae was connected with the bull; we have seen it; the old story has gained credibility. And don't let the old age not be susprised by themselves, Caesar: the sand makes everything the story tells, reality for you.
Epigrams, Liber Spectaculorum, verse 21
Everything Rhodope has seen in the theatre of Orpheus, the sand has revealed to you, Caesar. The rocks crawled and the strange forest ran, as is believed that the forest of the Hesperides once was.
Every kind of wild animals could be found there, mingling with cattle, and over the see-er were many birds, but he himself lay torn by an ungrateful bear. Only this happened in contest with history.
Epigrams, Liber Spectaculorum, verse 24
The arena could be changed, so that there was a water surface in the arena. This way a naumachie could be preformed.
If you, spectator from a far, happen to be late, and this is your first day of the Sacred Games, don't allow Mars of the seas confuse you with the ships and the sea-like waters; this was land not to long ago. Don't you believe it? Watch, until Mars gets bored by the seas. Before you knew you will say: This was sea not to long ago.
The last piece of text is written by C. Suetonius Tranquillus and is taken from Divus Claudius.
A Naumachie
Yes even when he had the plan of draining Lake Fucinus, he first held a sea battle.
But when the warriors shouted: "Greetings Imperator, they who are going to die greet you!", he had answered: "or you won't die", and none of the warriors wanted to fight, like they had gain freedom, he jumped out of his chair after he had thought if he should kill them all with fire and sword and while he was walking across the length of the pool, he urged them to fight, partly with threats, partly by shouting.
In this show one of the Rodhian vleet and one of the Sicilian vleet came into a fight, each 12 war ships, while a silver Triton, which was erected from the middle of the lake by a machine, gave the sign to fight with a horn.
The last 2 pieces of text are about a "naumachie". These were seabattles, which were held in a arena. Louis Couperus has also written a story about this phenomenon. The story is called The Naumachie ( how original ). Here are some lines from this story:
On all the ship the warriors arised, and we lifted our swords and our very big shield and smashed sword and shield against eachother, and we all shouted, as loud as we could, the greet to the emperor: "Ave, Imperator! Morituri te salutant!"