Colosseum

All of Rome, crammed into this great cauldron. The Emperor himself, taking his box seat last of all, with a swish of his cloak and a great cheer (he hopes). And those on the sand, ready to fight, bleed and possibly die, to entertain.

We’ve all felt in our bones, whether at sports games or music concerts, when thousands chant as one. These moments of brilliance bring us out of ourselves and connect us to each other. The Romans felt it at the gladiatorial games. Nowhere more so than here – the Colosseum.

The Romans would have called it the Amphiteatrum Flavium, after the Flavian emperors who built it in 72 CE. Before them, Nero had placed a great big statue of himself on the site, like the “Colossus” of Rhodes. That’s why people in medieval times started calling it the “Colosseum”.

Gladiatorial combat took place here. Every sword swish, grunt of pain and splash of blood felt by the baying crowd. However, gladiators were extremely expensive slaves, so combat was rarely fought to the death.

Lions, tigers and rhinos could appear as if from nowhere out of trapdoors in the sand. A fringe of sails around the roof was fastened via rigging to metal rings on the street outside. Teams of sailors could move it to shade the crowd from the sun. They even flooded the arena itself to stage sea battles with real ships.

Come and see these marvels for yourself at the Colosseum in Rome.