By Funso Aina
The Colosseum in Rome is one of the most recognizable historical landmarks in the world. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and it is still the largest standing arena of such hue in the world, despite its age. It held an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 spectators at various points in its history.
Listed as one of the new ‘Seven Wonders of the World,’ which is why apart from the numerous references to it in books (both fiction and non-fiction), artworks and games; its essence has also been variously immortalized in popular culture, most especially films. As a matter of fact, the buzz in town presently is the release last week of ‘Gladiator 2,’ which naturally has its plot built around the Colosseum. A bit of trivia though, – the ‘Colosseum’ in the movie was reconstructed in Fort Ricasoli in Kalkara, Malta.
Anyway, the actual place is a must-visit for any tourist here. However, for me, it was a bag of mixed feelings because of its horribly ghastly history. Walking around the almost 2,000-year old imposing arena, touching its cold stones, exploring the parts that has been reduced to rubble by various earthquakes; I shuddered and broke out in goose bumps, just remembering that over 400 thousand human beings lost their lives here by being fed to wild animals, mostly lions, bears and tigers!!!
What was equally devastating was the fact that the practice was a wildly popular spectator sport back in the day! Can you imagine?
The numerous deaths at this ‘bloodily’ iconic place also includes the casualties of the gladiatorial games equally held there. The gladiator games lasted for nearly a thousand years. Manic swordsmen fighting to the death, or wrestling wild animals.
Emperor Vespasian laid the foundations of the arena in 72 AD, and it took eight years in total to build. It has 80 entrances, two of which were aptly named – the ‘Gate of life’ and the ‘Gate of death!’ The former is where gladiators would enter before the spectacle began, while the latter is where the unlucky ones were carried out, lifeless!
FUN FACT:
It is interesting to note that while the Colosseum and Julius Caesar are definitive icons of the Roman Empire, the two never existed simultaneously. The former was assassinated almost 125 years before the first games happened.
at the Colosseum.
Surreal!
