Why colosseum is famous

Afternoon Private Colosseum Tour. Previous article: Can you see Venice in 3 days? Covid Travel Update Read More. The Colosseum could seat around 50, spectators for a variety of events. These included gladiator contests, animal hunts and re-enactments of famous battles.

There were even mock sea battles as they flooded the Colosseum with water. The arena had 36 trap doors for special effects, as well as many underground passages and rooms to hold wild animals and gladiators before the games began.

In order to gain popularity, emperors organised and paid for events in the Colosseum themselves. Entry was free for all ancient Romans and they sometimes had free food throughout the spectacles too. The Colosseum had a velarium , a type of awning used in Roman times.

This pulled over the top of the seating area to shade the spectators and protect them from the scorching sun. Encyclopedic Entry Vocabulary. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Media If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer.

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The invention of concrete enabled the amphitheatre to be built quickly and to great effect. So what took place in the Colosseum? When the Colosseum was first opened , Emperor Titus declared a days of celebratory games that included animal fights and gladiatorial combats.

These shows demonstrated power and prestige, and became a big hit with audiences. The concept of the Colosseum grew from the custom of wealthy Romans holding funeral games to honour the dead.

These funeral games were paid for by wealthy Roman aristocrats. The 50, spectators would have been seated according to social ranking. Awnings would have been installed on the top story in order to protect audiences from the strong sun. A large number of wild animals , like crocodiles, hippos and tigers were imported in from Africa and the Middle East.

Roughly animals were slaughtered in the name of entertainment over the years of games. Thankfully not all the events that took place were based on violence.

A Roman Colosseum fact is that the last gladiatorial fight happened in CE and the last animal hunts stopped in CE. This was mainly because it cost too much to maintain the facilities and the procuring of exotic animals. The building stopped being used for entertainment in the early medieval era.

It was later reused for such purposes as housing, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine. The seating at the Colosseum was divided into four mean sections with audience members divided by social status.

The Patricians and Plebeians were originally the only two classes of Romans allowed to enter the higher VIP tiers, and then later Equites or Knights were incorporated. The Equites were the group who had control over administration and finance, ranking just under the senate.

In c20 BC Emperor Augustus indicted an official order entitled Lex Lulia, who stipulated the seating arrangement for Roman public venues. This group enforced the class rules all over the Roman Empire, including banning women from public spectacles they were only allowed in much later.

The first tier , called the podium , was reserved for very important Romans like emperors, government officials and senators. This podium would look something like a 15 foot terrace. The second tier , the maenianum primum , was reserved for non-senatorial noble classes, called Equites, or knights.