THE COLOSSEUM'S ROLE IN ANCIENT ROMAN SOCIETY

JULIAN ARANA
PROFESSOR HENRY LARES
ARC 2701 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE I
11/29/06
The Colosseum's role in ancient Roman society For as long as humans have existed, they have always found some way to entertain themselves. Even the earliest societies have left evidence of some sort of activity or hobby that they used as a form of entertainment. Perhaps the most famous building that was used as a form of entertainment is the Roman Colosseum, also known as the Flavian amphitheater. In ancient Rome, the most popular form of entertainment was the gladiator fights. These fights, usually among animals and trained public fighters, were staged in open arenas in a city's forum. There is evidence
The Romans borrowed the Greek theater concept and decided to extend the building to make it completely circular. The word amphitheater comes from two Greek words that mean "theater in the round." As stated earlier, the first Roman amphitheaters were constructed out of wood and were very vulnerable to disaster. The amphitheater in Pompeii (the first permanent stone amphitheater, built in 80 B.C.) was buried in dense ash 159 years after it was built when a nearby volcano erupted. Gladiator games were expensive, so they were paid for only by the wealthiest individuals, such as emperors and public officials. In A.D. 57 Nero, the fifth Roman emperor built a second wooden amphitheater. Nero's gladiator shows were extremely expensive so he nearly emptied the Roman treasury during his reign. In A.D. 64, after a huge fire that started in the wooden seats of the Circus Maximus and left thousands of people homeless, Nero claimed a lot of the land that was left for himself. He built the Golden House, an enormous palace surrounded by a fantasy landscape. Nero upset the people of Rome by lighting Christians on fire and failing to earn military glory, so he was eventually forced to kill himself. The next three Roman emperors met violent deaths that year, one after another. Finally, a powerful general named Vespasian took over the Roman throne in A.D. 69. Vespasian managed to endear the people of Rome by restoring the treasury, giving money to