What is the purpose of the Colosseum?

The Colosseum was built in the year 80 to entertain the Roman citizens by organizing different events such as Gladiator fights, open hunts and re-enactments of naval battles. It was also a powerful instrument of control over the people and a showcase for Rome's supremacy over the world; at that time the Roman Empire stretched from Britain to Egypt. map.

Gladiators

The Muneras are fights to the death between gladiators with the aim of providing entertainment for the spectators. Their fights are more about spectacle than about killing the opponent.Most gladiators are criminals or prisoners of war sentenced to death. But the government forces them to fight to the death to entertain the government and the people. Ridley Scott's film Gladiator illustrates this very well.

The incredible history of the Colosseum

The construction of the 188m long, 155m wide and 48m high building was as rough and violent as the events that took place thereafter. The construction of the Colosseum was seen as a feat. Indeed, the Romans used for the first time materials still in use today, such as travertine limestone and concrete. Using these new materials, they had no proof that the building would stand, but under pressure from the Emperor Vespasian, the Romans had to carry out the orders. Known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, the name of the arena was inspired by a colossal statue of Nero that once stood nearby, called The Colossus.

this image is a reproduction

It was partly thanks to Nero, the so-called "tyrant of Rome", that the Colosseum could be built. Nero was the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was suspected of having deliberately set fire to Rome in order to rebuild it in his own image. Indeed, after the fire, he built a large palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. He also laid out the grounds to include an artificial lake, pavilions, gardens and porticoes, and the gigantic bronze colossus of Nero. Later, the famous Domus Aurea was demolished to build the greatest monument of the Roman Empire, the Colosseum.