Kyler
Language arts
2-12-02
The Roman Colosseum
Did you know that the Colosseum is larger than a baseball stadium today? The Colosseum was filled with entertainment. The Colosseum was made for entertainment like chariot races and gladiator matches. Spectators fled in to get a seat, also to catch the show.
Rome was founded in 735 B.C. A long time after Rome was founded Christianity began. That was in about 35 A.D. Since Christianity was not the official religion, the Christians were not appreciated. They became slaves if the Roman government found out that they were Christian. The slaves were used as entertainment for the Romans. They were used as gladiators in gladiator fights. Also as fighters against lions and other animals. Christians were killed in the Colosseum.
The Colosseum was built by the emperor of Rome. Emperor Vespasian was the one who ordered the slaves to build the Colosseum. It was started in about 80 A.D. Since Vespasian died his boys Titus and Dimotion finished it. It took about 9 years to build.
The Colosseum needed huge amounts of marble to be built. It started out as wood and ended as marble, limestone, brick, and concrete. It also had marble facing. The Colosseum needed about 100,000 cubic meters of marble! Even the pedestals were made of marble. The pedestals are 5 metric tons each. They need to be heavy in order to hold up the front of the building. The pedestals were held to the roof with metal pins. Since the pedestals were so heavy they had to be brought to the building site with 200 ox-pulled carts.
The Colosseum is very big in size. It is 79x48 meters around! That is nearly 237x144 feet. That is bigger than a baseball stadium today. There are 76 entrances. Two for gladiators and two for the emperor. For being so big it has 4 stories of windows. These windows are mostly arch shaped. The Colosseum could seat 50,000 spectators.
The Colosseum had two main sources of entertainment. The most popular being gladiator fights. The other one was chariot races. The chariots raced around the outside of the Colosseum's main ground. The ground was used for gladiator, chariot races, and animal fights.
Chariot races were one form of entertainment. In chariot races there were four regular teams. There were whites, greens, blues, and reds. Charioteers were treated as heroes for what they did.
Gladiator battles were only about 10-12 days a year. Gladiators originated in central Italy. But, the first gladiator fight in Rome was in 264 B.C. That was a event that Julius Caesar held. It had 300 pairs of gladiators. In 90 A.D. women started fighting dwarfs! But, in 325 A.D. fights were banned by the government. Even though they were banned they continued. They continued secretly until 500 A.D.
Gladiators were mostly men. They were mostly either condemned criminals of war or Christians that were caught by the government (slaves). The gladiator men were forced to become swordsmen in school. There were two classes of gladiators, heavily armed and lightly armed men. The gladiators never fought a man from another class.
Gladiators had limited weapons. These weapons were a war-chain, nets, a trident, man catcher, nunchuk, and/or a lasso.
Gladiator fights were life or death. The audience would decide the mercy of a man. When the thumb went up the man would live. But, if it went down the man would be killed. Most fights were held during a circus.
The Colosseum was a huge place for entertainment. The things that went on inside were loved by the Romans. The Colosseum is still standing in Rome today.
Thank you to:
http://www.kent.wednet.edu/curriculum/soc_studies/rome/
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Roman_Colosseum.html
http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/curriculum/soc_studies/rome/Colosseum.html