Public entry 2 (6-1-19)

[bertabecca09]

 Colosseum (80AD):A Grand Amphitheater. Measuring some 620 by 513 feet (190 by 155 meters), the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world

On day three we visited the Colosseum. We had an amazing tour guide who taught us a lot of amazing things so I will relay her knowledge to the best of my ability through this blog post.

The Colosseum was constructed to occupy the attention and time of others from Rome or nearby cities. A lot of people went to see gladiator fights, which meant that they were not in the streets causing trouble. So it was a good way to draw everyone’s attention and bring in a lot of people from different areas. There is about 60,000 Jewish slaves who built the Colosseum. The Colosseum is four stories high and has about 80 ground level entrances. Because it was four stories high which meant that the poor people and females would sit at the very top, that would be because they didn’t get the best view of what was happening on the ground level. Then there would be selected women and people who got chosen to sit in the Emperor’s box with him. Sitting with the Emperor meant you were of good connections and high class. People could move up to the higher seats but people at the top couldn’t move closer down.

One of the things that people do not know about the Colosseum is out there is records of there being naval battles. That is shocking information because just the thought of how much water the ground level can contain there without it leaking out of there is really shocking. That meant the stone work was really great and the stone was compacted. Historians still don't know how exactly these sea battles were organized, but the ships used at the arena were likely smaller replicas of real Roman ships. One last thing that we learned at the beginning of the tour, was at the Colosseum is actually build on top of a former week.

Lastly one of the interesting things about the people that died which was about a .5 million men that died. The emperor chose if the opponent died or not. There was a good gladiator that was responsible to put on a good show frequently. But that didn’t necessarily mean that he would die, because there would be another person who would fight against him to put on a good show. If the emperor thought that the other man had suffered enough to the point where it was a good show, he would not die, by giving a thumbs up. If the emperor did not like the show, he would give a thumbs down in that moment that a man had to get killed. It was a stressful time for the people to be fighting in the ground level because an emperor could decide the fate of a man.

The Colosseum contains a lot of history, which is not known to a lot of people, however, we had an amazing tour guide who was able to make it interactive lesson throughout the tour of the great Colosseum.