Roman Coliseum Essay

888 Words4 Pages
Saamer Pirzada Coach Boyd 5th Period Lit 03/22/12 The Basis of modern arenas: The Roman Coliseum Many seem to forget where today’s arenas and stadiums originated. The answer to that would be Rome and its coliseum. The famous Roman Coliseum started it all. A massive architectural building that really built the main structure for today’s arenas. The Roman Coliseum in comparison to modern day arenas and stadiums consists of many similarities and differences. The Roman Coliseum was also referred as the ‘’ Flavian Amphitheatre’’(Martial on the Coliseum). As stated in a section of the article ‘’Building the Coliseum’’, ‘‘the building of the coliseum began between 73-74 A.D. And was almost completed in 79 A.D when Vespasian died. Rome’s emperor at the time, Vespasian, originally planned the Coliseum up. Once he passed away, his son, emperor Domitian, took over not only the throne, but also the project that soon would be a legendary arena for years to come (building the Coliseum). ‘’The large structure was built to help win over the roman populace to the rule of the new Flavian Dynasty’’ (Martial on the Coliseum). What really makes the Roman Coliseum so legendary was the overall appearance of the structure. The building amazed the human eye. The site of the building was once occupied by and artificial lake. Like other amphitheatres, the coliseum was elliptical in shape. Semi-circle arches and barrel vaults were used in the building of the Roman Coliseum (Building an Empire and a Legacy). The large coliseum could contain approximately 50,000 people (Ms. Kratzert 03/18/12). Not only was the arena a masterpiece, but it was also had a lot of different activities that went on. For example the first type of events that went on were funereal games to honor the dead that were held by wealthy Romans. According to a section in an article

More about Roman Coliseum Essay

Open Document