From its history, to its legendary fights, and its cultural impact, join us as we explore
facts and history of the legendary Coliseum!
9.
A Landmark of the World The kingdom of Rome was one of the most powerful
and legendary empires of its time, or more accurately, both its time as a Republic and
a true Emperor-led kingdom.
But, in the time after the fall of Nero, a new Emperor rose in the form of Vespasian,
and to help keep the people entertained, and to prove that Rome was moving forward, he
had over 100,000 slaves (via a war with the Jews) to construct the Coliseum of Vespasian.
It was, and is, the largest Amphitheater ever built.
It was so massive, and strong, that it could 80,000 people in it, which was good, because
Rome was very large, and the contests that were held in the Coliseum were some of the
things that people of Rome lived to see.
And for hundreds of years, this is what the Coliseum was known for, and if you haven't
noticed, it's still around.
That's because Rome had a way of making concrete that basic made it immortal.
Yes, the Coliseum has been damaged in the past, but that honestly only affected the
wooden parts, not the concrete for the most part.
Anyway, because of its history, it's one of the most popular landmarks in the world to
visit, and by that I mean it's literally one of the most popular places in the world for
tourists.
Just in 2018, over 7.4 MILLION people went and saw the Coliseum!
Making it the most popular tourist attraction in the world.
And as long as it's up, people are going to visit, especially since it's a pop culture
icon as we'll detail a little bit later.
8.
Chariot Racing > Gladiator Fights If I was to mention "Rome" to you, there are
likely several things that would pop into your mind.
The city itself, its history, some of its rulers, and of course, the Coliseum.
The Coliseum of Vespasian was one of the major wonders of the ancient world, and it was home
to many a gladiator fight.
The gladiator fights were battles of will and steel, and featured both proud warriors,
and slaves trying to earn their freedom.
These battles have been dramaticized heavily over the years via movies like Gladiator and
Spartacus, as well as numerous TV series that pay reference to them.
So, you might think that the gladiator fights were the most popular thing in Rome when they
were around.
But...they weren't.
While the Coliseum (at its peak construction before being destroyed partially in a fire)
could fit anywhere from 50,000-90,000 people, the Circus Maximus, which was the place they
held chariot racing at, could hold 250,000 people.
That's quite a bit more.
Granted, there's obviously more violence and "story" in gladiator fights, which is why
not too many movies have been made about chariot racing outside of Ben-Hur, but still, in Roman
times, racing was better than fights apparently.
Then again, when you look at how fondly Rome is looked at in the modern times, the main
thing people remember is the Gladiator fights are one of the main things remembered.
My how time changes how we look at things.
In case you were curious, the gladiator fights were outlawed when Christianity became the
main faith of the people.
The fights were deemed "barbaric", among other things.
7.
The Coliseum Was Built For Peace, Not Violence Because of the...dramatic things that happened
in the Coliseum, it's easy to think that something like that structure was built as a monument
to violence.
A display of the power of Rome, and what others who aren't as high classed as some have to
look forward to.
But in fact, that's not true.
We've teased out some of the things that led to the construction of the Coliseum, but there
is a lot more to the story than we've told you.
As mentioned, Nero was the last "great" emperor before he killed himself in 68 AD.
What was to follow was a series of civil wars, each one starting and ending because various
factions of people wanted a new leader, a better leader, and one that was as far apart
from what Nero was as possible.
Which if you think about it, is not a bad request.
The problem was that the first three emperors weren't exactly up to snuff, and thus more
wars continued.
Which brings us to Vespasian.
Vespasian was not a politician, he was a general, a good one too.
And it was actually his men that all but forced him to take the mantle of Emperor.
He only agreed to it because he realized that after all the politics and crap that had gone
on with previous emperors, a more militaristic approach would be needed for what was to come.
I know that may seem to sound like he did a dictatorship, but that's it at all.
Instead, he used the more basic and noble forms of military leadership to make Rome
a better place.
He made sure the senate was reinstated and given their rightful and just powers.
But also made sure that they weren't leeching off the profits of the people like previous
versions.
He and his sons even went so far as to ensure that the people were taken care of in a whole
measure of ways.
Eventually, once faith had been restore in the Emperor position, Vespasian took the people
to the former palace of Nero, one of the last "green" places in the city at the time, and
declared that in the rubble that they would make they would make an amphitheater.
One where the people could come to be entertained and enjoy life instead of having to fear it.
The Coliseum took ten years to make, and by the time it was done, Vespasian had passed
away, but his son Titus took over.
And when it was completed, he was praised and loved by the people, not the least of
which was that he was the Emperor who helped rebuild parts of the Roman emperor after Vesuvius
had erupted.
And thus, the Coliseum was born, and it stood for a great many years.
So yeah, it was a symbol of peace, who knew?
Sure, people died in there, but the people who watched the fights were happy!
That means something...right?
Before we regale you with more facts and history of the Coliseum, be sure to like the video
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6.
What Is In A Name?
Obviously, as we've noted almost innumerous times, this giant amphitheater is known as
the Coliseum.
But why is it called that at all?
Sure, in modern times the name "coliseum" means a grand place to do battle, or a theater
of sports or spectacles.
But back then...it would've been just a word.
So why was it this word?
Believe it or not, it wasn't called the Coliseum originally.
Instead, it was known as the Flavian Amphitheater.
"Why the heck was it called that?" you ask me.
Well that's because of Vespasian and his sons, one of which I've already mentioned via Titus.
Anyway, this line of history is known as the Flavian Dynasty, and was one of the more beloved
and prosperous dynasties in Roman histories.
So, naturally, the amphitheater (which was again built during the reign of Vespasian
for the most part) would be named after the family.
The catch though is that there was another landmark nearby called the Colossus.
No, not the Colossus of Rhodes, that's something else entirely.
No, this Colossus was a giant statue of Emperor Nero.
Which is ironic that it was still around during the Coliseum's construction when you think
about it given what he did to Rome.
Either way, it was named after the statue in part, though obviously we can't be sure
of that as there's no real historical document as to how and why it ended up that way.
Regardless, it's what we call it now!
So...be grateful!
5.
Seating Arrangements Not unlike theaters or other massive venues
of entertainment, the Coliseum needed to have a rather complex and yet elegant seating system
to make sure that everyone could A) all get into the Coliseum to watch the fights, and
B)
make sure that they knew where they were allowed to sit to help ensure traffic didn't overflow
and such.
At its peak, the Coliseum could hold about 80,000 people (this includes the areas that
are now gone due to the fires), and so that's a lot of people and classes to sit down.
So how exactly did they make it all work?
Well, to start, the Emperor had his own private box (think of it like the skybox at basketball
or football games) for him, his family, and his personal entourage to view everything
in.
If you think of Gladiator, that's kind of what it was.
And yes, he did do the thumbs up, thumbs down thing.
Anyway, right around him would be other authorities, likely to make sure nothing got out of hand
and that no one tried to make an attempt on the Emperors life (which never happened to
our knowledge).
After that, everyone else was arranged in sections and by classes.
So naturally, Senators and other officials were seated in more prominent seating, while
lower class members, non-citizens, and slaves usually had higher up seating, or would even
be in wooden bleachers.
But what might surprise you is that outside of the Coliseum was a number system to help
people get to their seats and sections.
Which is not unlike what many sports venues do now to ensure that people find their seats
easily enough.
4.
Underground There have been many interpretations of how
the layout of the Coliseum worked in regards to the fighters that were going to be put
to battle.
But the ones that are correct were ones that featured it all happening underground.
The bottom of the Coliseum (that you view from the seats) was not concrete like the
rest of the building, but rather, was made up of a thick wood.
One that would withstand the pounding of battle and more.
But underneath the floor is where every gladiator would wait their turn for a fight.
Then, when the time came, they would go and be raised up to the entrances via special
elevators.
If you recall the movie Gladiator, there was a point where a tiger popped out of the ground
to attack Maximus.
This really did happen.
As there were up to 30 trap doors on the battlefield, and they could be sprung at anytime with various
animals or people to ensure that the fight was kept entertaining, and thus, surprising.
Nowadays, if you were to visit the Coliseum, you'd see that the wood floor has been torn
up, and that's by design, as they want tourists and visitors to see just what was going on
just out of view from the spectators.
3.
Water Battles When you think of the Coliseum as a whole,
you no doubt picture all the amazing gladiator battles that happened, or sometimes the man
vs. beast action that would happen.
But, because of the layout and size of the Coliseum, there was a third kind of battle
that could happen here...water battles.
Oh yes, they would flood the arena area and would have ships with combatants at the ready
so that they could go and have naval battles.
While somewhat rare to be honest, this was another way of ensuring that people would
be entertained and not just have the same kind of gladiator battles over and over again.
Eventually though, the naval battles were taken to another place, that way the underground
and backstage area could be improved and not have to fear water damage.
2.
Training Gladiators were warriors, but not all of them
were born that way.
Many were slaves forced to fight, or criminals who had been caught and thrust into the Coliseum
as a type of punishment.
Not all who entered that place had proper training, but a great many did.
In fact, there were multiple "training academies" for the gladiators that were in Rome.
The biggest of these was the Ludus Magnus, a facility that you could actually see from
the Coliseum, and has been dug up in terms of archaeology to see just what it would offer
those under its wings.
The training that they did there was real and intense, they even had a mini-arena to
field test their warriors should the need arise.
Furthermore, they had "rooms" that were little more than cells.
And yet, for some, being a gladiator was the highest honor one could get in their life.
So they happily accepted the training.
Oh, and if you're wondering why training would matter in a fight like this, think about it
from the viewers perspective.
The Coliseum was a theater, a place of entertainment.
Would you want to see two people fight that had never held a sword before?
Or, would you want to see a true battle of wills to see who would come out on top?
That's what I thought.
1.
Free For All One of the reasons why the Coliseum was so
popular wasn't just because of the fights, it was because the early Emperors made sure
that people knew they could come here, be entertained...and not pay a penny for it.
That's right, much of the time the Coliseum games weren't funded by the people, rather,
they were funded by the Emperor himself!
He would pay out of pocket to make the event happen, and at times would go and get food
for everyone to eat so that they could dine as they watched the fights.
This made the Coliseum the place to be in the minds of many.
So even when attendance did have a fee, they didn't mind as much because they knew they
were going to have a good time.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think of these fact and historical documentation on the Coliseum?
Which of these facts or historical tidbits did you enjoy the most?
Have you ever been to the Coliseum yourself?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!