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The Colosseum
One of the most famous monuments of ancient Rome is the Colosseum. This name is
actually a nickname for what is formally called the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was built beside a
colossus, a massive statue, originally of the emperor Nero. It came to be known as the
Colosseum due to its proximity to the statue.
The emperor Nero caused quite a bit of trouble for the Roman population. A great fire of
Rome destroyed the houses of many of the middle- and lower-class citizens of Rome. Instead of
helping to rebuild their homes, however, Nero took over the land where the houses once stood
and made himself a giant palace with grand gardens, referred to as the domus aurea, or “golden
house.” During the reign of the Flavians, a large part of the palace was torn down to make way
for the amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is a massive stage for public games. Usually the wealthy,
most often the emperor, would hold games on festival days or to celebrate special occasions, and
any class of people could attend. In this way, the land was given back to the Roman people, and
the action was very popular among every rank of Roman citizenry.
Some of the games that were shown within the Colosseum included gladiatorial battles,
chariot races and, in its early years, the stage could even be flooded to allow for staged naval
battles to take place. Eventually, this ability was lost to create two levels with tunnels beneath the
main stage for gladiators, animals and performers to move beneath and pop up from different
trapdoors in the floor. These underground floors are known as the hypogeum. The theatre was
said to have held between 50 000 and 80 000 people. The feats of engineering, including
multiple entrances and exits created by columns and passageways, allowed crowds to enter and
exit quickly, just like in our modern stadiums. Like today, there were also different numbered
entrances and sections, and Romans would have been given assigned seating to help the
organization along.
Seating in the Colosseum was based on rank. The senatorial class sat in the front row,
while the emperor and his family had their own box. Another box was reserved for the Vestal
Virgins, a group of Roman priestesses. The equites, or knights, sat in the rows above the Virgins,
then other members of the upper classes, then the plebeians or lower-class citizens. The final
rows, at the very back of the audience where it was mostly standing room only, were reserved for
the lowest classes, slaves and all women. It would have been very indecent for women to attend
games at the Colosseum, so these women would have mostly been of the lower classes, who did
not have to worry as much about maintaining their reputations and social standing.