Expert: Maria - 4/19/2008

Question
Hi I'm Jazz, i have this project on Ancient Rome and one of the questions was ' Draw or insert a picture of the Colosseum. Tell in a five sentences what happened at the Colosseum the time of Ancient Rome.' this is what i rote 'The Romans built the Colosseum in Italy in the city Rome, Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators . The Empires held Fights in the arena, they had the great gladiators. They had sand instead of dirt so it would be easier to clean all the blood up. The construction started between 70 and 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD. It is one of Rome popular Tourist Attractions, these days  people all over the world come to visit Rome and see the Colosseum.' tell what you think and what i could put in there and to improve it, i hope you can help
        Jazz  

Answer
Hi,

Here’s what you could tell about the Colosseum.
Have a nice day,
Maria
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The Colosseum, originally called Flavian Amphitheatre as it was built in Rome, Italy, under the Flavian emperors in the 1st.century AD,  is the greatest amphitheatre of the antiquity  and  was regularly used for almost 400 years until the 5th-6th.century AD, when gladiatorial shows that had begun to fall into disfavour with the coming of Christianity were abolished.

So, the Colosseum, that was the scene of thousands of combats between gladiators, of contests between men and animals  and mock naval engagements, was abandoned and later damaged by lightning,  earthquakes and vandalism, so that  all the marble seats and decorative materials disappeared.

Restoration began in the 18th century, but only recently the Colosseum  re-opened after 1,500 years for some events and performances. So, Rome’s ancient arena of death and slaughter has come back to life.

Today the Colosseum,  whose name derives from the  Latin adjective  “colosseus”, i.e. “gigantic/colossal”, because of its immense size and capacity, accommodating nearly 50,000 people,  or because it was near to a colossal statue of emperor Nero with the head in form of the Sun, which  stood in the square in front of the Amphitheatre, is definitely one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome.

As a curiosity, there is a medieval  sentence which reads: “Till the Colosseum stands, the Rome will stand; when the Colosseum falls,  Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, the world shall fall”.

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You could add the beautiful  picture you find at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Colosseum_in_Rome%2C_Italy_-_April_2007.jpg