|
History of the Colosseum
We have to look back before the Roman Colosseum
was actually built to gain an insight into the history of
the Colosseum and why the terrifying Arena of Death was ever
built. The scale of the Gladiatorial Games increased from
just a small number of participants to the massive numbers
of gladiators seen in the spectacles of Roman Colosseum
watched by up to 80,000 people. The History of the
Colosseum.
History of the Colosseum -
The First Gladiatorial Fight
The History of the Colosseum
began in Rome when the first recorded gladiatorial fight was
staged in 264AD. Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva put on a
gladiatorial combat to honor the memory of his deceased
father who was a consul named D. Junius Brutus Pera. Three
pairs of slaves, selected from among 22 prisoners of war,
were chosen to fight. The first gladiatorial fight took
place in the Forum Boarium, a cattle market, situated near
the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine
hills. As this was the funeral of a prominent aristocrat and
held in a public space, the event was likely to have drawn a
large crowd. This first Gladiatorial combat was a clever
idea as it also brought political prestige to their family¹s
name. So the history of gladiatorial combat and therefore
the Colosseum is related to a funeral. The History of the
Colosseum.
History of the Colosseum -
The Roman Funeral
Why does the History of the Colosseum
and gladiatorial combat relate to the Roman funeral, what
was the connection? The religion of the Romans revolved
around the worship of various gods and goddesses and their
belief in the afterlife. Romans believed that human
sacrifice at the dead person's funeral would appease the
pagan gods and ensure a satisfactory entrance into the
afterlife. Earlier customs of sacrificing prisoners on the
graves of warriors or aristocrats were followed by Romans.
Ceremonies connected with the dead lasted for nine days
after the funeral, at the end of which time a sacrifice was
performed. The Romans believed that "souls of the dead were
propitiated by human blood..." Preparation for Roman funeral
rites involved captives or slaves being bought, trained to
kill and then sacrificed during the funeral rituals. This
funereal ritual, or sacrificial ceremony, was called a munus
- a duty paid to a dead ancestor by his descendants, with
the intention of keeping alive his memory. At these
ceremonies slaves or servants attended the funeral dressed
as Pluto or Charon who were the gods of the dead. The god
Charon ferried the dead across the Styx and an attendant,
playing the role of Charon, symbolically carried away the
bodies of the dead gladiators during the religious
ceremonies. This symbolism was transferred to the Roman
Colosseum when dead gladiators were escorted by a figure
depicting Charon from the arena. The History of the
Colosseum.
Origin and History of the Colosseum
- The Rise of
the Gladiator Games
The first gladiator fight was so successful that Roman
aristocrats soon copied the idea. These funeral games, or
munera, were held annually or every five years for the
purpose of keeping the dead person's memory alive. The
events grew bigger and more elaborate and at the funeral of
P. Licinius Crassus, who had been Pontifex Maximus one
hundred and twenty gladiators fought and funeral games were
celebrated for three days; at the end of which a public
banquet was given in the forum. Prominent Roman families
competed against each other to produce the best games. What
had started with Decimus Junius Brutus Scaeva organising
three matches as funeral games transformed into public
performances. Those organised by Julius Caesar, on the death
of his daughter Julia, featured 320 paired gladiator
matches. The History of the Colosseum.
Origin,
History of the Wooden Arenas and
the Concept of the Colosseum
The history and concept of the Colosseum
grew from the custom of funeral games. The funeral games
were organised as public events by wealthy Roman aristocrats
and Patricians. The Gladiator games were popular with the
'mob'. At first gladiator games, or combats, were held in
small wooden arenas. The word “arena” means sand, a
reference to the thick layer of sand on the floor for the
purpose of soaking up the blood. But as the popularity of
the games grew large amphitheatres were built to house the
games. The amphitheatres were round or oval in shape. Their
design was taken from joining two half circle wooden
theatres together (the word "amphi" means 'both sides').
History of the First Stone
Amphitheatre in Rome
The most important amphitheatre, prior to the Colosseum, was
the first stone built amphitheatre in Rome which was called
the Amphitheater of Statilius Taurus. It was built in 29 BC,
on the Campus Martius, by consul Titus Statilius Taurus in
the time of the Emperor Augustus. This amphitheatre was
quite small and in order to placate the plebs the Emperor
Nero built a much bigger, wooden, amphitheatre called the
Amphitheatrum Neronis in 57AD. Both of these amphitheatres
were completely destroyed in 64AD due to the Great Fire of
Rome.
Origin and History of the
Colosseum - From Religious to Political Events
Initially the provision of
Gladiatorial Games was seen as a method to please the Roman
gods and avert Rome from disaster. The
Romans who were responsible for staging such events grew in
popularity, so the 'games' became political events by which
prominent Romans could gain popularity with the mob. By the first century A.D. providing gladiatorial
games even became a requirement of some public offices. It
was not long before the concept of a permanent stone arena
was born which would become known as the Colosseum. The
History of the Colosseum.
History of the Colosseum -
Vespasian and the Flavian Amphitheatre (the Colosseum)
The terrible reign of the
Emperor Nero and
the burning of Rome led to Civil War. The turmoil ended when
Vespasian
became emperor. Vespasian founded the Flavian dynasty, so
called because all of the Emperors of the Flavian dynasty
bore the name Flavius. After the death of Nero morale and
the confidence of Roman citizens was at an all time low.
Vespasian had to get support back from the people. His idea
was to demolish the palace of Nero and construct a permanent
arena designed as a massive amphitheatre for housing free
gladiator games and other entertainment for the amusement of
the 'mob', the Plebs. The palace of Nero was called the
Domus Aurea (Latin for "Golden House") and was a large
landscaped portico villa. The construction of the 'Flavian
Amphitheatre' started in c70AD.
History of the Colosseum -
The Flavian Amphitheatre is Called the Colosseum
The Colosseum was
originally called the the Flavian Amphitheatre. The original
name of the Flavian Amphitheatre was given due to it being
built by Titus Flavius Vespasianus (Emperor Vespasian) who
founded the Flavian dynasty. It was soon given the name Colosseum
which was taken from the Latin word
'colosseus' meaning colossal. This was in reference to the gigantic statue
of the Emperor Nero which had been previously erected near
the site of the Colosseum. This statue of Nero, believed to
have been cast in bronze, measured 100 to 120 Roman feet (37m)
high and had become a landmark in the centre of the city of
Rome. The History of the Colosseum.
History of the Colosseum -
The Construction of the Colosseum
The Colosseum would become a symbol of the might, the wealth
and the power of the Roman Empire. Construction started in
c70AD and was
financed from the proceeds gained from the Roman sacking of
Jerusalem. The successful campaign against Judea was ordered
by Vespasian and led by his son,
Titus. The
Colosseum took less than 10 years to build, a remarkable
achievement for the excellent engineers and their famous
engineering skills. The architecture of the Roman Colosseum
illustrates their use of one of the Romans most famous
inventions - concrete. The Emperor Vespasian died on 23 June
79 and never saw the completed Colosseum. In A.D. 81 Emperor Titus dedicated the
Colosseum in the city of Rome. The History of the Colosseum.
History of the Colosseum
and the Roman Emperors
Many Roman Emperors enjoyed the
spectacles that the Colosseum had to offer and many of the
gladiatorial games were financed by the emperors themselves.
The history of the bloody arena continues through the reigns
of various emperors, the emergence of the new Christian
religion, the horror stories of the deaths of Christian
martyrs in the Colosseum, the Gladiator fights and the
killing of thousands of exotic animals in Ancient Rome.
There was even an Emperor who took great delight in
participating in the gladiator games held at the Colosseum -
the Emperor Commodus. Commodus was the Emperor featured in
the Russell Crowe movie Gladiator. The Roman Emperors and the Colosseum played
a huge part in the history of the
Persecution of the Christians.
History of the Colosseum - Telemachus
and
the End
of the Gladiatorial Games
The Gladiatorial games at the
Colosseum ended during the reign of the Emperor Honorius.
Stilicho had defeated the Goths at Verona in June 403, it was the last Roman victory, and it was
celebrated by the last Roman triumph followed by
Gladiatorial games in the Colosseum. In the midst of the
bloodshed a voice was heard bidding it to cease in the name
of Christ, and between the swords there was seen standing a
monk holding up his hand and
keeping back the blows. There was a shout of rage, and he
was stoned to death by the outraged 'mob' and killed. It was found that
he was an Egyptian
monk named Telemachus.
The death of Telemachus put an to
gladiator combats. Chariot races and games went on but the terrible sports of death and blood were
ended for ever. The last known gladiatorial fight in the
Roman Colosseum therefore took place
during the reign of Honorius. The Emperor
Honorius,
finally decreed the end of gladiatorial contests in 399 AD.
The last known gladiator competition in the city of Rome
occurred on January 1, 404 AD. The Sack of Rome occurred on
August 24, 410 when the city was attacked by the Visigoths,
led by Alaric I. The Roman capital had already been moved to
the Italian city of Ravenna by Honorius, after the Visigoths
entered Italy. The Visigoths destroyed many of the aqueducts
leading to Rome. Without a fresh supply of water the city
could no longer function. The Romans fled from the city -
the glory days of Rome were finished. The History of the
Colosseum.
Modern History of the Colosseum
The History of the Colosseum
moves on to the amphitheatre falling into decline. The outer
walls were stripped of marble and even the iron cramps were
removed and used to make weapons (the holes left in the
Colosseum can be seen today). The Colosseum had various uses
from housing vagrants to providing shelter to animals. Uses
included housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a
fortress, a quarry and as a Christian shrine. Today the
glory days of the Colosseum have returned - the number of
visitors and tourists to the Colosseum is estimated at over 5
million per year, all interested in the terrifying history of
the Colosseum.
History of the Colosseum
The content of this History
of the Colosseum category on life in Ancient Rome provides free
educational details, facts and information for reference and
history research for schools, colleges and homework. Refer to
the Colosseum Sitemap for a comprehensive search on interesting
different categories containing the history, facts and
information about Ancient Rome. The
History of the Colosseum.
|
