Colosseum and Roman Theaters

The construction of the Colosseum was begun in A.D. 69 and completed 11 years later in A.D. 80, as the first permanent amphitheater. Located on marshland between the Esquiline and Caelian Hills, it was an elliptical arena and could fit up to 50,000 spectators.

The Colosseum was over 160 feet high, 600 feet long, and 500 feet wide. It had four stories and 80 entrances (76 for spectators and four for the emperor and the gladiators.) 80 arches supported vaults for passageways, stairways and tiers of seats. At the outer edge of it, the arches supported by columns circled the Colosseum on three of the four levels, supporting it. The fourth level consisted of a wall with small square windows spaced over every other arch, in the levels below. Between these windows were smaller, square blocks protruding out of the wall with about five per space. On the inside of the Colosseum, the fourth story held up a velarium, a canopy for shade to keep the spectators comfortable on hot, sunny days. Spectators sat on long bench

Most actors were men or young boys. However there were women, like Theodora, who acted in mimes. Actors became famous and were raised to nobility. Many mimes were slaves who were forced to act. Emperors used acting as a time to show the citizens of the Roman Empire their talents. Emperor Nero used to sing in the theater, and no one in the audience was allowed to leave until he was finished.

Roman amphitheaters were built similar to Greek amphitheaters. The stage was a semi-circle down at the bottom and there would be a semi-circle of rows where the audience would sit. The stage was raised 5 feet above the ground and could be from 100-300 feet long and 20-40 feet wide. The seats could hold up to 15,000 people. Trap doors in the stage were common and the theater would even have a cooling system, which consisted of air blowing from a nearby river. During the Roman empire 125 permanent theaters were built. Roman theaters were a source of entertainment that the audience loved. The Greeks influenced them, but the Romans did things differently and were more violent. Roman theater has now influenced our theater as well. We now have many tragedy and comic plays, but we have women in most of our plays, if not all.

The Colosseum is a magnificent work of architecture. It is an unbelievable structure that has withstood many earthquakes, and most of all, time.

Arena-Arena-sand (colosseum arena covered in sand)

Some topics in this essay:
Caelian Hills, Roman Theaters, Emperor Nero, Daedalus Icarus, Terence Plautus, Flavian Amphitheater, Christians Roman, Roots Amphitheater-Amphi-around, Christians That’s, Roman Empire, play actors, comic plays, roman theater, roman empire, songs play, arches supported, feet wide, wooden floor, secondary actors, covered sand,