Also referred to as the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Colosseum was designed as an arena, and was built in the first century under Roman emperors of the Flavian dynasty. These emperors were Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian, Vespasian lasted from 69-79 CE, Titus from 79-81 CE, and Domitian from 81-96 AD. Construction began in 72 CE under Vespasian’s rule, and their site was on the lake and gardens of Nero’s golden house. The lake was drained and the foundation was laid around six meters deep as a protection from earthquakes. This was part of a campaign for Vespasian, as it would symbolize glory of Rome, and he attempted to reestablish that glorious image after the recent civil war. He had new coins created that had each new building under his rule, the others being the Temple of Peace and the Sanctuary of Claudius. The Colosseum opened in the year 80 CE, under Titus’ reign, with Vespasian’s oldest son entering a one hundred day gladiator event. A project of this scale had never been achieved before, and it linked the Esquiline, Palatine and Caelian hills. It was around forty-five meters high, and was about 190 by 160 meters across. The interior arena was 87.5 meters by 54.8 meters.

        The stone required to build the Colosseum was quarried limestone, and internal walls of volcanic stone, brick, and concrete. The vaults had to be lighter, so they were built out of pumice stone. Because the Colosseum was designed to bring back the old glory of Rome, it is the junction of the three styles, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Each floor has its own style, the first being Doric, the second Ionic, and the third level Corinthian. There were around eighty entrances, which seventy-six of them were numbered and had tickets sold at each. Two entrances were for gladiators, one named the Porta Libitina (Libitina as the Roman goddess of death) and this door was used for removing the dead from the arena. The other door was named Porta Saniviviaria, where the winners and survivors that were spared left the arena. The last two doors were exclusive for the Emperor’s use. As all other arenas and stadiums, there was ringside seating which was specifically for the Emperor and other important people. Then the marble seats given to the upper class and middle class, and the slaves and foreigners had wooden seats and standing room on a flat roofed colonnade that was specifically reserved for the women and poor. The capacity for the Colosseum was around forty five thousand seated and five thousand standing viewers. Images on Titus’ coins show that there were three tiers, statues in the upper arches, and a large column fountain (the Meta Sudans), which was near the Colosseum.

        In 422 CE, an earthquake damaged the Colosseum, and the emperors Theodosius II and Valentian III repaired these damages. Other repairs took place in 467, 472, and 508 CE. Today, the Colosseum is stripped because in 1231 CE, there was a great earthquake and collapse of the southwest image. This led to looting of stones and columns, statues melted down for lime, and finally, Pope Alexander VI leasing the Colosseum as a quarry. However, the Colosseum was still used for religious processions and plays during the 15th century. During the renaissance period, Roman architecture had a resurgence, and in 1744, Pope Benedict XIV prohibited the removal of masonry from the Colosseum, dedicating the memory of the Christian martyrs to the Colosseum. Unfortunately, the locals used it as stables, and there were about four hundred plant varieties that grew in the ruins, some rare and even unique. Papal authorities wanted to restore the building, adding a massive buttress to the east end, and then in 1871, Italian archaeologist Pietro Rosa removed the buttress among other post-Roman additions so that the Colosseum was visible in all of its glory.

       The Colosseum still stands today as a symbol of the Ancient glory of Rome, and thankfully, it is well maintained and preserved.