The Colosseum and its use have been well depicted and made to come alive before our eyes, in the movie 'Gladiator'. The Colosseum had been the stage or arena where the indefatigable Gladiators fought for their lives, when thousands of spectators exalted the feat and hundreds and thousands were executed, different types of games were played and animal fighting contests and animal hunting were held. It was primarily for this reason alone that the Colosseum was built. The construction was started some where in the time period of 70 to 72 AD by the emperor Vespasian and was completed by his son Titus in 80 AD, in order to satisfy the thirst of Rome's common people for large number of games.
The Colosseum has the look of an open air amphitheater and in the Roman times, had the capability of holding fifty-thousand spectators in one time. The architecture of the Colosseum perhaps, laid the foundation of the modern construction, as in times as those, a massive free standing structure of its size was unheard of. This oval shaped structure measures a total of 48 meters high, 189 meters long and 156 meters wide with a total of the area at the base being around six acres. It has four levels, where, the first level was meant for the Royal family and Emperor and high officials, second level for the families of the higher aristocrats and the third and fourth levels were meant for the common masses. Outer portion was made of travertine stones and the interiors used to bear incredible architectural skills. There were gates which were numbered at regular intervals for a free passage for the 50,000 spectators to get in and out of the Colosseum easily.
The Colosseum was used for the purposes of jailhouse and others in the medieval times and today, serves as the most awe inspiring tourist attractions in the world, which has gone on to place it in the list of the Seven Wonders of World, proving its stance as the best icon of Roman antiquity
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