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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 stories of windows, arches, and columns. Each of the three exterior floors consisted of 80 arches. As many as 50,000 spectators with numbered tickets entered through 76 of the entrances on the ground level. Two of the remaining entrances were used by Emperor Titus and two for the gladiators.

Upon entering the Colosseum, visitors climbed sloping ramps to their seats, according to gender and social class. Women and the poor stood or sat on wooden benches in the fourth tier. Depending on the weather, an enormous, colored awning (velarium) could be stretched overhead to prevent the hot sun from coming in on the spectators.

A wooden flooring was used to cover the subterranean chambers where the gladiators as well as the animals were kept prior to performance. During the first ten years of its existence, the stadium was filled with water and used for mock naval battles. However, over time the Romans found it was damaging to the foundation as well as to the flooring.

Most shows in the Colosseum lasted all day beginning with comedic contests and exotic animal shows in the morning and moving on to professional gladiator events in the afternoon. In most tournaments and games, death played a prominent role. Professional gladiators, primarily condemned criminals, prisoners or war, and slaves, fought either animals or each other, generally until death. Their weapons might include nets, swords, tridents, spears, or firebrands. Occasionally, free Romans and women would enter the fight for a few brief moments of glory. Contrary to common belief, there is no documentation to back up the story of Christians being fed to the lions.

Basically these bloody forms of entertainment served political purposes. They were to teach the local Romans how to fight in preparation for visits outside their empire and to display the strength and courage of the Roman citizen to unemployed visitors to the city of Rome.

During the Colosseum's opening ceremonies in A.D. 80, spectacles were held for 100 days in which hundreds of animals and 2,000 gladiators were killed. Eventually, gladiator fights were outlawed by Emperor Honorius in A.D. 404; however, animal combats continued for another century.

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The Flavian Amphitheater, now called the Colosseum, would be third on the list of Roman wonders. It was an enormous stadium which reputedly could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. This compares favorably with some of our largest, modern-day sports arenas. The Colosseum was built around AD 80 to commemorate the Flavian victory over Judaea. It was a stone, arcaded structure, a marvel of Roman engineering, standing 157 feet high. Elliptical in plan, it was 620 feet long by 513 feet wide. The stadium had 80 entrances and a moveable canvas roof which could be manipulated to shield the spectators from the sun or rain. The Colosseum was a focal point in the daily lives of the Roman citizens and it later became a physical symbol of the city itself. A well known proverb, first penned by the English cleric, the Venerable Bede, in AD 730, relates that - "While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand. When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall, and when Rome falls - the World".

Today, the Colosseum is certainly the best known of all the ancient antiquities in Europe and it is visited by thousands of tourists each year. It appears on coins struck for Titus, 79-81, Severus Alexander, 222-235, and Gordian III, 238-244. These coins show the entire structure in a three dimensional view, revealing details that can be confirmed by the extensive ruins of the structure still existing today. The most dramatic depiction of the Colosseum appeared on a magnificent medallion struck by Gordian III.


A bronze medallion of Gordian III struck in 241-144 showing the Colosseum with a battle between an elephant and bull taking place in the arena. Also seen at the left is the Colossus of Nero, the 7th 'Wonder of Rome', converted into the image of the deity Fortuna. Description Historique des Monnaies Frappees Sous l'Empire Romain by Henry Cohen, No. 165, 166.