The Colosseum

The Colosseum or also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is probably one of the most outstanding structures of all over the Roman Empire.

                                         1. Colosseum

 One of the construction blocks shows that Romans had the means necessary to build such a monumental structure. The victory of the Jewish war financed the construction of the amphitheatre. The most common form of entertainment were the gladiatorial games. 

                                         2. Gladiators fighting

Experts say that the gladiatorial games were fair games where the loser was never killed during combat. Apparently, they received medical care if they had injuries. The only time gladiators were killed was when they were seriously injured to the point when they didn’t have a chance to survive. Romans probably believed that it would be better if the moribund gladiator was killed, otherwise, they would have had a slow and horrendous death. Some sources suggest that real life gladiators did not fight to kill. The audience and the organizers were the ones who decided if a gladiator should die or live. But some sources demonstrate that most gladiators got out alive.

Here are some of the games that took place in the amphitheatre:

·         Elephants vs. Rhinos

-          Prior to the reign of the emperor Claudius, there were some witnesses who recalled the fight between one elephant gauging the eyes out of the rhinoceros.

·         Titus’ epic naval battle

-          The colosseum was periodically flooded with water and filled with ships to simulate a naval battle.

                                         3. Naval battles at the colosseum

·         Commodus plays giant-slayer

-          He fought in the colosseum several times winning a series of confrontations. His most brutal display was when he tied up a number of citizens to kill them thinking they were giants.

Works cited:

Aicher, Peter J. Rome Alive: A Source Guide to the Ancient City. Edited by Keenan, Laurie Haight. Mundelein: Bolchazy-Carducci Piblishers, 2013.

History Today. Review of Murderous Games: Gladiatorial Contests in Ancient Rome, by Keith Hopkins. June 6, 1983. http://www.historytoday.com/keith-hopkins/murderous-games-gladiatorial-contests-ancient-rome

Mancini, Mark. “7 Astonishing Roman Coliseum Fights.” Mental Floss.  http://mentalfloss.com/article/53408/7-astonishing-roman-coliseum-fights

RaviliouS, Kate. “Gladiators Played by the Rules, Skulls Suggest.” National Geographic News. Accessed March 3, 2006. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0303_060303_gladiators.html

Images:  

1. http://www.legionxxiv.org/colosseum/

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator#/media/File:Jean-Leon_Gerome_Pollice_Verso.jpg

3. https://earlychurchhistory.org/entertainment/naval-battles-in-the-colosseum/