THE ROMAN COLOSSEUM

This page will teach you about what the Colosseum was like in the ancient days of the Roman Empire including things like the seating, the awning, the construction, and more!

Admission

Admission was free and open to men, women, children, and slaves as long as seats were available. However, women were confined to the topmost part of the Colosseum, and so their view of the games would have been limited.
There were over 76 main entrances!

Foundation

Floor: made of timber, strewn with sand, and consisted of many trapdoors

Underneath: Under the arena (and expanding out) was an immense complex of cells and passages used to hold lifts and machinery, which were used to raise caged animals, scenery, and other things for the wild beast hunts.

Construction

Emperor Vespasian started building it, but it was finished by his son Titus in 80 AD.
Titus used Jewish prisoners to speed up the construction. It was originally known as the Amphitheatrum Flavium (Flavian Amphitheater) but became known to us as the Colosseum.

Measured: 620 feet x 512 feet (189 meters x 156 meters)
Seating: Could hold an estimated 45, 000 people

Audience's Response

Audience was very involved in the games held in the Colosseum
Would yell things like:

"Verbera!" Thrash him!

"Iugula!" Murder him!

"Hoc habet!" He's hit!

"Mitte!" Let him go!

Awning

It was used in times of extreme heat or excessive rain
It was so large that it took 1000 sailors of the Imperial fleet to raise the awning over the Colosseum

Above is a picture of the Colosseum during a ship battle (naumachia) with the awning raised over the top.

Seat of Honor (pulvinar)

The seat of honor was for the officiating magistrate, most likely the emperor. After the emperor, or other magistrate, sat down, the games could begin.
The gladiators would come before the seat of honor and greet the emperor saying, "Ave, imperator, morituri te salutant!" ("Hail, emperor, those who are about to die salute you!")

To the left is a model of the seat of honor (pulvinar) in the Colosseum. This is where the emperor, or magistrate, would have sat to watch the games!

Scenery

The Colosseum has been standing as the most famous image of Rome for 1900 years! It is almost equal to the city's fame on its own. It is located in the center of Rome, and it is the largest amphitheater ever built during the Roman Empire.

Below are a few pictures of the Colosseum today! It is still a very breath-taking and awesome sight!

The Roman Colosseum