Colosseum (Rome, Italy)
Colosseum (Rome, Italy)
The construction of the amphitheater was begun by Emperor Vespasian after his victories in Judea. Suetonius tells us about this, “He also undertook new constructions: …an amphitheater in the middle of the city designed, as he found out, as early as at the time of Augustus.”
The construction was completed in 80 A. D. by Vespasian’s son –– Emperor Titus. The Colosseum’s opening was marked with games; this is what Suetonius writes about it,
“when the amphitheater and thermae hastily built nearby were dedicated, he (Titus) showed a gladiatorial fight –– amazingly luxurious and posh; he also enacted a sea battle on the former place and then had gladiators come out and in one day showed 5,000 different animals.”
Originally, the Colosseum was named after the ancestral name of the above mentioned Emperors, Amphitheatrum Flavium (amphitheater of Flavius); the current name Colosseum (Italian, Coliseo) stuck to it later starting from VIII century and was derived either from the colossal size of it or because a giant statue erected by Nero in honor of himself stood nearby it.
For a long time the Colosseum was to Rome’s dwellers and visitors of the city a place of entertaining spectacles, such as gladiatorial fights, animal hunts and sea battles (naumachiae). In spite of the well-established opinion that Christians were executed in the Colosseum the latest researches show that it is a myth created by the Catholic Church in later years. At the time of Emperor Macrinus it was seriously damaged by fire but was later restored on Alexander Severus’ command. In 248, Emperor Philippus still celebrated in it a millennium of Rome’s existence with big shows. Honorius in 405 prohibited gladiatorial fights as activities contrary to the spirit of Christianity, which after Constantine the Great was made a predominant religion of the Roman Empire; nevertheless, animal hunts continued to be shown in the Colosseum until Theodoric the Great’s death. After that sad times began for the amphitheater of Flavius.
The Colosseum in Middle Ages and New Time. Barbarian invasions devastated the amphitheater of Flavius and initiated its destruction. From XI century and until 1132, it served as a fortress for noble Roman families contending with each other over influence and power over their compatriots, especially the families of Frangipani and Annibaldi. The latter, however, were impelled to yield the Colosseum to Emperor Henry VII who gave it to the Roman Senate and people. In 1332, the local aristocracy held bull fights here but since that time systematic destruction of the Colosseum began. It started to be considered as a source of attaining building material, and not only the stones that fell off it but also stones purposely broken out of it were used in new constructions. In this way in XV-XVI centuries Pope Paul II took material from it for the building of the so-called Venetian Palace; cardinal Riario did the same for the Palace of Chancellor (Cancelleria); Paul III –– for Palazzo-Pharmazie. Yet a significant part of the amphitheater remained although the building as a whole was marred. Sixtus V intended to use it for a cloth manufacture, and Clement IX actually turned the Colosseum into a saltpeter-making plant.