Expert: Maria - 12/9/2006

Question
Dear Maria
We are 11th grade students from Israel and we are doing an English project about the Colosseum. We read an article about the subject and learned that the Colosseum was regularly used for almost 400 years. We are interested in knowing how the Colosseum was maintained for such a long period of time.
Thank you for your time
Victor and Evgeni

Answer
Hello,

the Colosseum, originally called the Flavian amphitheatre, begun by the emperor  Vespasian, inaugurated by his son Titus in 80 A.D. and completed by Domitian,  3rd emperor of the imperial Flavian family, 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 and  were abolished first by the  emperor Constantine I in AD 325,  were again abolished   by the emperor Honorius (393-423 AD), though they may perhaps  even have continued for a century after that. Anyway the last recorded gladiatorial contest ('ludi gladiatorii', in Latin) was in 404 AD, the last hunt   ('venationes', in Latin) in 523 AD.

As for  how the Colosseum was maintained for such a long period of time, I must point out that the city of Rome had a vast number of monumental structures like the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Forum of Trajan and other forums, aqueducts, theaters, gymnasiums, bath complexes, etc.
All these structures were maintained by the Roman State, of course, through its government  bodies which had a maintenance staff of architects and masons.
Such a maintenance lasted until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
So, the Colosseum, that was the scene of thousands of combats between gladiators,of contests between men and animals( venationes), and of many larger combats, including mock naval engagements (Latin, 'naumachiae'),  was abandoned and later damaged by lightning and earthquakes and, even more severely, by vandalism, so that  all the marble seats and decorative materials disappeared. Moreover in the Middle Ages the Colosseum was  used as a defensive wall or a fortress against invaders. Restoration began in the 18th century, but only recently the Colosseum  re-opened after 1,500 years for some events like "Art and Culture", that's a festival of  Greek tragedy plays and other performances. So, Rome's ancient arena of death and slaughter has come back to life.

Hope this helps.
Best,
Maria
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NOTA BENE.
The great Flavian Amphitheatre, or Colosseum,  erected on the site of the Golden House of Nero, was the first permanent amphitheatre to be built in Rome.
The name Colosseum,from the  Latin adjective  “Colosseus”, i.e. “giant”, was applied to this structure some time after the 8th century 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.
It seems that the popular name "Colosseum" was first mentioned in the 7th century AD in the writings of the venerable Bede, who quotes a prophecy of Anglo-Saxon pilgrims: "Quamdiu stabit Colyseus stabit et Roma; quamdiu cadet Colyseus cadet et Roma;quamdiu cadet Roma cadet et mundus", i.e. "Till the Colosseum stands the Rome will stand; when the Colosseum falls  Rome shall fall; when Rome falls the world shall fall".
The Colosseum  had no roof, but an awning ( in Latin “Velum” or  "Velarium ) that was manipulated by sailors to shelter the  spectators from the sun.  Each of the galleries was divided into wedge-shaped sections (Latin, cunei)  by radial walks that led to the many exits (vomitoria).
In the ancient world, the elliptical-shaped Colosseum, taking ten years to build, was the largest structure of its type. It stood 160 feet high with four storeys of windows, arches, and columns.
Each of the three exterior floors consisted of 80 arches.
Its monumental size and  grandeur as well as its practical and efficient organization for  producing spectacles and controlling the large crowds make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans.