The Colosseum

& Other Sports Arenas

The Design

• Largest amphitheater in the Roman World

• Perimeter = 545 m. across

• Built out of travertine with iron clamps to hold the blocks

Who Built It

• Begun in AD 70, finished by AD 80

• Also known as the Flavian Amphitheater

• Begun by emperor Vespasian, finished by his son, Titus

Daily Shows

• Morning – Wild Animal Hunts also known as Venationes

• Midday – Public Executions

• Afternoon –Gladiatorial Contests

Who watched the shows

• Women were not encouraged to attend, but Romans would sometimes take their children to the fights so they could learn good moral behavior (how to die like a Roman)

• Upper class did not usually attend public executions

A Reconstruction

model

Posts for awnings

interior

Interior

Undergroundchannels

Royal Box

The Seating

• Multiple Entrances and exits allowed for quick seating of 50,000

• Emperor and Vestals on first level

• Senators also sat on first level, but had to bring their own chairs

cross

Ad bestias

Ad bestias 2

music

Colosseum

Poor, slaves,

and women

Banned Groups

• Gravediggers, actors and those who had fought previously as gladiators were banned from watching the fights

Other Sports Arenas

Piazza NavonaCircus of Domitian

Neptune Statue

Piazza Navona

Once a circus….

Model of Circus Maximus

Circus Maximus