The history of the Roman Empire is one filled with incredible strength and magnificence, and walking around the city, tourists can feel the energy of deep-rooted Roman pride easily. This pride can still be seen today in the crumbling, once elaborate, architecture. In the first century AD, one of the most extravagant pieces of architecture in the world was built, The Colosseum.
Emperor Vespasian began building The ‘Colosseo’ in AD 70, but sadly only lived to see the completion of the first two floors. Vespasian’s inspiration for the piece of art came from his desire to make a distinction between himself, and his predecessor, Nero. Nero took his own life after suffering military coups; in his own magnificence, he had built a statue of himself, but Vespasian would later make his distinction by building the Colosseum as a symbolic gesture, for the Roman citizens, on top of Nero’s personal garden and statue. Take that, Nero!
For its inauguration, Titus called for 100 games to be played in the amphitheater; these games included, gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. He even included battle recreation shows on temporary, and artificial, lakes of water inside of the Colosseum. As the legend continued to live on, the amphitheater remained a gathering place to watch gladiators, who were mostly slaves, condemned criminals, and prisoners of war, kill each other.
There were also games of wild animal fights and imitation naval engagements. During this time, as history calls it the Imperial Age, the Colosseum was recorded to have hosted the most cruel skirmishes in the entirety of Roman history.
The Colosseum saw life for about four centuries; by the 6th century AD there was the beginning of the struggles for the Western Roman Empire and a shift in the public’s opinion of the bloodshed that was happening inside the amphitheater. This spark of negative opinion was largely instilled by an Egyptian monk, Telemachus. Telemachus had visited the Colosseum in the year 404 AD and was terrified by the killings and cruel torture that the Colosseum allowed; he argued that it was against the word of Christ and, in turn, he was stoned to death by angry mobs.
However, Telemachus would have been thrilled to learn that three short days later, the Emperor of the time, Honorius, put the gladiatorial games to rest. However, it wasn’t until 523 AD that the “less violent” games of animal hunting were stopped as well.
History explains that it was majorly due to Christianity that led to the changes in opinions within the Roman Empire; luckily, Christ’s words convinced the Romans to change their morals and values during this time. When the Empire fell, the Colosseum went down with it; quickly, it was abandoned and used for storage of building materials.
Despite all of the physical and historical turmoil that the Colosseum has endured, it still stands tall, but broken, to this day. Although, it does not see the bloodshed that it once did, it remains as one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions. It is hard to tell if it is the dark history within the building or the magnificence of the architecture that draws so many tourists to it’s doors.
Nevertheless, visiting this incredibly famous place allows people from all around the world to gain insight into the history of the Roman Empire and its people, and to the ones who lost their lives inside the ring. Tour guides now bring guests underground to explore the corridors that the gladiators used to prepare to fight, or die.
The Colosseum is surrounded by the Tramway Stop, and two Bus Stops which makes getting to the monument incredibly easy. However, tourists should be warned that the building is also surrounded by “peddlers” who will try to take tourists on non-professional tours. To avoid this, professional tour guides suggest purchasing tickets online, or in the building for 12 Euro.
The Colosseum look more mysterious at night with the lighting.
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