What Is The Colosseum Essay

Ancient Rome is one of the greatest and most influential societies in the history of the world. From the basic rules of how the Roman Empire is set up to the infrastructures in the city, the strict hierarchy of Roman social structure can be reflected clearly all over the whole ancient Rome. In fact that “public architecture presents people with the official view of a society and provides the background against which its individual markers live their lives.”1 With the great desire of Roman for entertainment and their special taste for blood, the amphitheatre is considered as the most popular and most representative type of the entertainment building in the ancient Roman culture. And

For as long as humans have existed, they have always found some way to entertain themselves. Even the earliest societies have left evidence of some sort of activity or hobby that they used as a form of entertainment. Perhaps the most famous building that was used as a form of entertainment is the Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian amphitheater. In ancient Rome, the most popular form of entertainment was the gladiator fights. These fights, usually among animals and trained public fighters, were staged in open arenas in a city's forum. There is evidence

“The New Colossus” is a poem written by Emma Lazarus that is inscribed on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty. This is the poem that we as Americans use as words of inspiration. From October 28, 1886, the date of when the Statue of Liberty was built and dedicated, to the year 2017, we have used the poem’s words to live by. While some people think that it is time for a change, others say that we should leave the poem to stay, for it is a historical remembrance of everything that we have stood up for. This poem also represents the welcoming of immigrants, the freedom that we fought for, and the freedom of religion.

Keegan (2005) elaborates on the brutal events held within this structure, also questioning the morality of these civilized people who enjoyed viewing murderous games. He explains that these actions are a complex representation of their culture’s architectural achievement and human barbarism seen through gladiator combats. There was a large amount of effort and preparation put into organizing and maintenance, worth it as the Colosseum continued to be rigorously used for the next four centuries. Eventually, these activities were phased out and the site later turned into a ruin, to be scavenged for its materials. Natural phenomena such as lightning and earthquakes contributed also contributed to this. It’s impressive how although the Colosseum’s function drastically changed over time, it continues to provide benefit to people.

The Roman Colosseum was built throughout 70-80 A.D. It was a large, circular stone arena and was a very popular attraction in Rome. The Colosseum was used as a place of entertainment for the Romans (Doc 5). The Colosseum was the entertainment center of Rome and it was used as an amphitheater, arena, held gladiatorial events and people socialized there. The Colosseum influenced the U.S because in the U.S we have entertainment centers including movie theaters, wrestling matches, and sports games where people socialize and are entertained.

The art I selected from the Roman Empire is the architectural structure of the Colosseum, or amphitheater. This structure reveals the importance that the Romans’ placed on entertainment, in so much that Benton and DiYanni indicate “it was official policy that the state should provide entertainment for the public” (Benton, DiYanni, p. 108). The relationship between the art and the culture is distinguished and represented by the size of the structure; it being able to accommodate such large crowds of people indicates that the Romans placed much importance in attending the entertainment provided. The Colosseum influenced the culture by providing ample space for everyone to enjoy entertainment. The culture influenced the art by supporting through attendance to the different entertainment during that time.

The Ancient Roman’s had a wicked idea of entertainment. The Colosseum or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheater in the center of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and stone, it is the largest amphitheater ever built and is considered one of the greatest works of architecture and engineering. The Roman Colosseum, constructed in 79 AD, is a visual representation of the importance of physical strength and military proficiency in Ancient Roman civilization, this is because it was constructed to revel Rome’s military accomplishments and to provide entertainment for Roman citizens. Many events prompted the construction of the Roman Colosseum.

Throughout the history of Ancient Rome, the construction of public buildings was used as a political tool, to manipulate the views of the people and to demonstrate the power of the State. The very first emperor of Rome, Augustus, initiated social reform through the construction of buildings from 27 BC onwards. Emperor Vespasian in 69 AD used a similar initiative, and throughout Rome’s history it can be seen that times of civil unrest are often followed by a flourish in architecture and the arts. An example of this can be seen in one of Vespasian’s major building projects, the Colosseum, officially the Flavian Amphitheatre, which had

Ample architectural evidence suggests that Romans altered the structure of pre-existing buildings in conquered cities, such as theatres and stadiums, in order to accommodate their own Roman forms of entertainment, such as gladiatorial combat and beast displays. By altering pre-existing buildings, the Romans essentially discredited whatever events the building had previously been purposed for, deeming them inferior to the Roman spectacles that would replace them. This can be clearly seen in the example of the Roman theatre at Corinth (see Fig. 1) where the existing Greek theatre was greatly expanded, the hard marble floor was replaced with sand, and other alterations were made in order to accommodate Roman spectacles. Together with the information regarding the geographic location of amphitheatres, these pieces of evidence clearly suggest that the Roman amphitheatre functioned as a tool to assert Roman dominance and promote cultural values, thus reinforcing Roman empirical expansion. It is crucial to note, however, the limitations of using architectural remains as a form of evidence.

After Rome’s decline in 378 AD (Wilkes, 1992:265), parts of the amphitheater were restructured and used as chapels. The main sanctuary was built into the alcove, which originally housed the pulvinar (elevated imperial box) and vomitorium. Byzantine mosaics and frescos indicate that these chapels were created during the fifth century AD (Figure 4; Bowes and Mitchell, 2009:574-575; Isufi, 2006:11; Jacques, 1995:154; Karaiskaj, 2004:13; UNESCO, 2004:35-37). A second chapel and possible third were built on the north side of the stadium (Bowes and Mitchell, 2009:574; Bowes et al., 2003:392). Sometime during the seventh century, the arena began to be used as a graveyard, known as the necropolis. There are also several Byzantine art forms, dating from the ninth through eleventh centuries (Bowes and Mitchell, 2009:581; Bowes et al., 2003:391-392; Jacques, 1995:154-155; UNESCO, 2004:36-37). The cemetery ceased to be used by the inhabitants of Dyrrachium, at some point during the Middle Ages (Bowes and Mitchell, 2009:574; Bowes et al., 2003:388-389).

Historians have always used great structures from the ancient world to find out information about the kind of lives they used to live. The Colosseum in Ancient Rome, Italy was one of the most famous structures. The Colosseum in Rome gives historians a number of insights to the type of civilization that existed during the time of the ancient empire, through the gory battles and violent games that took place. This can be proven by the purpose of the Colosseum and the context surrounding its construction, the political and economic benefit of the Colosseum to the empire, the types of games which were held in the arena and the values which the structure suggests were important to the civilization at the

‘The Colosseum’ is regarded as one of the best work of the Rome architecture and engineering. It is situated in the centre of the city of Rome in Italy and is also known by the name of ‘Flavian Amphitheatre’ (Origins of the Colosseum, 2015). ‘The Colosseum’ is considered as one of the largest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire and also in the world. The building of ‘The Colosseum’ is highly impressive and is an important landmark for signifying the past history of Roman culture. The amphitheatre

The Colosseum was first built in 70-80 CE in Regio IV Templum Pacis, which is in Rome Italy today. Measuring some 620 by 513 feet, the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. Unlike many earlier amphitheaters, which had been dug into hillsides to provide adequate support, the Colosseum was a freestanding structure made of stone and concrete. The Colosseum could seat up to 80 thousand people. The Colosseum was a gift to the Roman people from Emperor Vespasian.

     The Coloseum was built by Hebrew prisoners and slaves. Details of the actual construction are unknown. The framework of piers, arches, linked walls and vaults were constructed with travertine blocks. In order to support the great weight of the structure the

The Roman Colosseum, a colossal amphitheater, was built in the first century under Flavian's rule. Many events such as gladiator games, beast fights, naval battles, and much more took place inside the huge elliptical arena. People of all ages and classes attended these well-known spectacles. The Colosseum is a huge Roman architectural achievement and the fact that it is still standing today only amplifies the importance of this structure. Hundred of thousands of people attended the ancient games, and even more continue to visit the arena today.