COLOSSEUM
ARCHITECTURE
The Colosseum Architecture
There is no doubt that the Colosseum is a massive and architecturally complex structure. In the past, amphitheatres were temporary structures constructed out of wood as required before the construction of the Colosseum. In the city of Rome, the Colosseum was the second and largest permanent amphitheatre constructed within its boundaries. While the circus was used for chariot races and had a much larger capacity, the Colosseum was used for various blood sports, such as animal hunts, prisoner executions, and gladiatorial fights, in addition to the circus. Amphitheatres are designed with an elliptical shape in order to provide visibility from every seat in the arena due to its elliptical shape.
The Colosseum has an exterior facade that consists of four levels. The bottom three levels consist of 80 arches each, and the top level consists of only one arched opening. In terms of structural design, the arches are responsible for the enormous size of the building. As far as aesthetics are concerned, the arches serve to lighten the visual aspect of the overwhelming bulk of the huge building.
In their ideological function, however, they can be seen as a number of triumphal arches, reflecting the fact that the Colosseum was built as a result of the spoils of Judea. A large amount of spectator seating can be found on the four levels within the Colosseum that are visible from the outside. As per contemporary estimates, the Colosseum could seat up to 87,000 people at a time, but modern, more conservative estimates suggest that the number of people would be closer to 50,000.
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AMONG THE 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD..!
On the night of 7 July 2007, in Lisbon, a universal survey was conducted in which 100 million people from all continents took part in order to determine the 7 wonders of the modern world, among which the Colosseum was included.
In addition to the Colosseum, the following other buildings were elected: the Great Wall of China, the ancient Jordanian city of Petra, the Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the Inca Ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, the Mayan Pyramid of Chichen Itza in Mexico, and the Taj Mahal (India).
Did you know that not every battle ended in death?
Even though movies like Gladiator make it seem like every battle results in the death of a gladiator, in reality, battles to the death were not always the result of battles to the death. It was not uncommon for gladiators to refuse to kill their opponents, or for fan favourites to be pardoned.
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