The Colosseum Essay Research Paper The ColosseumIn

The Colosseum Essay, Research Paper

The Colosseum

In the first century AD, the Roman Emperor Vespasian decided that Rome needed a stadium that would not only satisfy the crowds, but also convince the magnitude that Rome had become a power to be reckoned with. He wanted them to know that Rome now again had strong and unquestionable power in the world after the strong and bitter civil war it had recently gone through. His idea was to create an amphitheater. This theater, named the Flavian Amphitheater, earned a reputation as the greatest and deadliest structure ever built during the Roman Empire.

The Roman people found their greatest entertainment at public gladiatorial combats. Up until the late first century BC, these combats were held in the forum, the Circus Maxima, and other small arenas. At each of these sights there were great drawbacks. When the games were held in the forum, the only seats were a limited amount of temporary wooden seating. The Circus Maxima could hold a much greater amount of people then the forum, but the large spina, which stood in the middle of the fighting floor, created a great visual obstacle for all the spectators. The small arenas had such limited seating that going to the expense of hosting the games was often not worth it, due to the limited viewing audiences. All of these venues also harvested great safety and sanitary concerns. None of them had public toilets, or wash rooms. They were also nearly impossible to be efficiently evacuated in case of an emergency.

In 53 BC the politician Curio created the idea to build two semicircular stands built on a pivot. These stands could then be moved so each section could be turned away from each other and view separate events, or they could be turned inward, forming an oval, for joint viewing. This was the first recorded amphitheater in history.

In around 72 BC Vespasian, the current emperor of Rome, took this knowledge of Curio, along with that of the problems created with the other theaters, and set out to build the greatest amphitheater ever. The architect who created his design is unknown, but construction began in 75 BC. He selected a marshy area between the Caelian and Esqualine hills as the sight for his structure. This area was also the previous sight of Nero.s Golden House. During Nero.s rule he had created such a lasting illusion of terror throughout Rome that Vespasian wanted to prove to Romans that this too could be overcome. His goal was to transform the old residence of notorious horror into one of joy and entertainment. The construction is said to have progressed at a very rapid pace. Vespasian passed away in the year 79 AD, and the overseeing of the construction was continued by his sons Titus and Domitian, until 80 AD when it was completed. It is said that some 30,000 Jews were pressed into building this miraculous amphitheater, and that they can be credited for the fast completion in a time when modern building tools such as cranes were unavailable. The finished structure was named the Flavian Amphitheater, after the ruling dynasty who created it.

The Flavian Amphitheater was built in the shape of ellipse in the honor of the amphitheater of Curio, but this one was much larger. There were three principle arcades. The intervals were filled with arched corridors, staircases, supporting substructures, and finally tiers of seating. Much of the stones used in the construction were mined from Albulae near Tivoli, a town that was some fifty miles away. Much thought and planning was put into deciding what stones or materials would work best with each section of the Flavian Amphitheater. The final decisions proved so strong that parts of the structure still exist 2,000 years later. The foundation was built using concrete, a building material that was created by the Romans. Travertine, a form of limestone, was used for the tiers and arcades. Tufa-infill, a very porous substance, was used in between the piers and walls of the lower two levels. The top level, which was added after the initial construction, was originally made of wood. After a few years, the wood was taken out and replaced with brick faced concrete. This was also used for other parts of the lower levels, and the vaults. Combined these building materials created an amphitheater that covered six acres. The dimensions have changed slightly over the years, as wars and disasters have taken their tolls, but the basic foundation remains intact in all places. The elliptically shaped walls were 620 feet by 507 feet on their long and short axes.

Each level of the Flavian Amphitheater was designed differently with varied architectural styles. To maintain a standard of consistency each level had 80 arches that circled the exterior of the building, but opened into the interior seating levels. The first level was 34.5. high and 14. wide. Doric arches circled the outside. They were used on level one because they were the heaviest. The next level was 38.8. high, and had ionic arches that were 21.4 high and 14.wide. The third level is 37.10. high and has Corinthian arches 21. high and 14. wide. The Ionic and Corinthian levels, were used in upper levels, because they were much less heavy than their Doric counterpart. The fourth level, which was added at a later time, had a much more basic construction. It is decorated with Corinthian pilasters, which rose 45.6., and small rectangular windows. This to