The Coliseum

The pictures above were taken from inside the coliseum. I think many are familiar with the view from outside the coliseum. I thought it would appropriate to offer a view from inside. Pictures 2 and 5 are a view of the same wall from different perspectives. In the fourth picture you have a view of the lower level below the floor of the coliseum. This picture also includes the area where the emperor sat. It is off to the left, and is marked by the large wooden cross. Pictures one and three present art work which were part of the coliseum interior. It is sometimes difficult to imagine a stadium built during this period which is large enough to hold 70,000 people. This is similar in size to Cleveland Browns stadium. Another stadium built with public money to watch "gladiators" square off against each other. And it is still standing almost 2000 years later. One is impressed with the engineering skills the construction required, and the same time one is troubled by the purpose it served. As Woodward said, the coliseum shows Romans at their most impressive and and at their cruelest at the same time.