Ivan Tello

Ms. Fisher

12/10/17

The Colosseum Wonder

There was a time in ancient Rome when a monument built for the home of blood, sweat and tears

was constructed. The Colosseum is a 2000 year old masterpiece of savagery and brutality. It was home

to gladiatorial battles set out in front of thousands of spectators and emperors. It is a symbol

remembered for the death of Martyrs and a fallen ancient empire. It is structural wonder that would still

be impressive if it were built today. The Roman Colosseum was created under Ancient Roman Emperor

Vespasian. After a great fire ripped through the city and former emperor Neros Golden palace was

destroyed, Vespasian ordered an amphitheatre to be built in its place. It was made of stone and concrete.

Unlike other amphitheatres built on hillsides, this three story amphitheatre was built freestanding

without hillside support. This structure is a masterpiece because it represents great themes such as brutal

criminal justice, retains the lines of communication with the relevant past like the fall of the Roman

Empire, and it is a superb piece of design which seemed to surpass the architectural limitations of the

time.

Criminal Justice is a theme that represents the highest masterpieces are illustrations of great themes. The

Colosseum was the home of gladiatorial battles between slaves, prisoners and criminals. Condemned

criminals would be executed in battles or in plays where death was part of the play except the death is

real. Not every gladiatorial battle was fought between willing competitors. Innocent people, convicted

criminals and even slaves competed in combats. To the masses, it was a all a spectacle,Gladiatorial

combat involving potentially innocent human beings is still a great piece of bloodsport to thrill the

ignorant masses today. This is true whether the crowd staging the show is itself composed of criminals,
or whether convicted criminals who nevertheless do not deserve to die serve as the gladiators to

entertain their jailers. (Mark Cartwright). Many times, innocent people were wrongly executed. They

were forced to compete. Innocent or not, they were treated extremely unfairly and showed no justice in

the criminal system. Although many gladiators were innocent people, slaves and criminals were also

forcibly put to battle. Gladiators most often came from a slave or criminal background but also many

prisoners of war were forced to perform in the arenas. It is also of note that until their outlaw by

Septimius Severus in 200 CE, women were permitted to fight as gladiators.(Mark Cartwright )

Criminals weren't put to justice the right way. They didnt dispute how severe punishments should be for

criminals. Instead, they fought to live or failed doing so. Slaves also were forced to combat due to their

low status in society.

The Colosseum retains lines of communication with the relevant past. It retains these lines

because the Colosseum is still standing today and remains as a symbol for christian martyrs who died for

their belief. The Colosseum has outlived its own empire. The colosseums era of existence kicked off

when Nero gained power in Rome. During his reign he ordered for his golden palace to be built in the

center of the city. It was only until civil wars broke out that prompted Nero to commit suicide (Keith

Hopkins). It retains the lines of communication of ancient Rome. The Colosseum was built as a gift to

the people by Vespasian, the ruler that succeeded Nero. It was built as a symbol of good things to come

in his time as ruler. He started off his time as ruler with the construction of the Colosseum. The

Colosseum was still used after his time, ( ). Lives that were lost were often of christian martyrs that

died refusing to conform to the rest of societys conventionality. From the Renaissance period both

artists and architects like Michelangelo and later tourists on their Grand Tour took a renewed interest in

Roman architecture and ruins. As a consequence, in 1744 CE Pope Benedict XIV prohibited any further

removal of masonry from the Colosseum and consecrated it in memory of the Christian martyrs who had

lost their lives there, ( ). Although not completely intact as it was in the beginning, the Colosseum
remains standing in Rome. Through the centuries the Colosseum was used for purposes other than

gladiatorial battles.Eventually it was abandoned. Soon, suggestions for it be demolished arose. Christian

figures were against its demolition for the purpose of remembering the fallen martyrs standing up for

their beliefs. This retains lines of communication because Christianity is still a religion practiced by

millions in present day.

Such a structure was made efficiently with much detail respective to the technological capacities of

ancient Rome. The Colosseum was made using new materials that turned out to be just right. The

design of the Colosseum applied the latest developments in engineering and architecture. The recent

invention of concrete enabled this massive building to be built quickly and efficiently, ( ). The

amphitheatre was built using a new creation that would turn out to be very important to its structure. The

invention of concrete helped build the enormous structure. In the ancient roman era, the materials

available to build such a structure was limited. Concrete made the construction of the Colosseum

possible. Given concrete was never used before that, it is a superb piece of architecture because of its

innovative materials used. The Colosseum was designed with intelligent purpose. The Roman

architects and builders had to design the Colosseum to provide the biggest arena in the world capable of

holding between 50,000 - 80,000 people. Just one series of games might last for 100 consecutive days.

Attention had to paid towards crowd control. The Roman architects therefore devised an ingenious

system of entrances, corridors, and staircases that allowed the crowds to enter and exit the Colosseum

quickly and easily. There were 80 separate entrance arches - see Colosseum Entrances and Exits. By

using so many separate entrances the architect solved the problem of crowd control - the Colosseum

could be cleared in less than 10 minutes, ( ). The architecture of the Colosseum gave visitors an
efficient way of exiting. It had a unique way of structure that consisted of huge arches. This is superb

piece of architecture because it was distinguishable from other amphitheaters. It was the largest and had

the greatest capacity.

The Colosseum is a masterpiece because it represents great themes such as brutal criminal justice,

retains the lines of communication with the relevant past like the fall of the Roman Empire, and it is a

superb piece of design which seemed to surpass the architectural limitations of the time. The Colosseum

is symbol for great themes that embody a superb piece of design, retains lines of communication and

displayed a brutal criminal justice system. From the many deaths that took place in this Colosseum of

great design, its remained a symbol that retains lines of communication that speaks volumes on the past

and present. The Colosseum will always remain symbol of death and bravery from a fallen nation.
 Works Cited

Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. "Could You Stomach the Horrors of 'Halftime' in Ancient

Rome?"LiveScience. Purch, 04 Feb. 2016. Web. 06 Jan. 2017.

Cartwright, Mark. "Gladiator." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., 06 Nov. 2012. Web. 06 Jan. 2017..

"Decline of the Colosseum." Decline of the Colosseum. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2017.

Hoppkins, Keith. "BBC - History - The Colosseum: Emblem of Rome." BBC News. BBC, 22 Mar. 2011.

Web. 06 Jan. 2017.

"The Colosseum Is Built in Rome: 7580." Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History, edited by
Jennifer Stock, vol. 4: Europe, Gale, 2014. World History in Context,
link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/RVNMBB714697551/WHIC?u=lnoca_stmartin&xid=5ed5c237. Accessed
8 Jan. 2017.