The Colosseum and the Roman Forum

The Colosseum is the largest and greatest of Roman arenas. The actual name of the building is the Flavian Amphitheatre, named for the Flavian emperors who began and oversaw its construction. Rome lacked the natural slopes like the ones on which the Greeks built their theatres, so the Romans began to use arches to mimic the effect of building on the side of a hill. The Romans eventually began to enclose the entire building, creating an oval structure (amphitheatre literally means a "both theatre"). The building became better known by its nickname of the Colosseum ("Place of the Colossus") because a giant statue of Nero stood outside of it. The Colosseum was built upon an artificial lake which was once a part of Nero's despised palace, the Domus Aurea, reclaiming the land for public use (the colossal statue of Nero also became either a statue of Apollo or the sun god Sol). The Colosseum held approximately 50,000 visitors and was used for hunts, executions, gladiatorial combats, and was likely even flooded for eiter naval displays or mock naval battles.

The Roman Forum was the central meeting place of the city of Rome and contained Rome's most important political, religous, and commercial buildings. The Roman Forum is located on what was once marshy land in between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. Construction on the site was made possible by the building of the cloaca maxima ("great sewer") in approximately the 7th century B.C. Gradually more and more buildings were added to the Roman Forum, and many structures were renovated, rebuilt, or added throughout the centuries.

	Exterior View of the Colosseum The Colosseum was roughly elipital in shape, with its longer axis measuring 188m and its shorter one 156m. The Colosseum stood on a base of two steps, above it there are three floors of arcades of travertine stone and a fourth story with only windows. There were 80 arches on every floor, divided by pillars with a half-column. The columns of the first level are of the Doric style, the middle level of the Ionic, and the upper level of the Corinithian. In this picture, one can see both the inner and outer shell of the Colosseum (only 31 arches of the outer ring still stand).
	Interior View of the Colosseum As one can tell from this picture, the outside of the Colosseum was once covered with a brillant white stone called travertine. The years have taken their toll on the outer covering of the Colosseum: the building has survived three major earthquakes, a disastrous fire, and medieval Romans used it as a garbage dump and as a quarry for the building of St. Peter's Basilica and other churches.
	The Floor of the Colosseum As one can tell in this picture, no original floor of the Colosseum remains. The floor of the Colosseum was actually made of wood, which was laid upon a series of rooms and cells which held animals, stage props, and prisoners (the roooms are called "carceres," the Latin word for "prisons"). The entire underground complex, called the hypogeum, consisted of two stories and the Romans were capable of lifting animals and materials through a series of trap doors. The wooden floor was covered with sand to soak up the blood and the sweat (the Latin word for sand is "harena" or "arena" and is the origin of the modern term). One can also see from this picture that a modern stage has been built upon the ruins, and the Colosseum has been used for modern performances (recent performers include Ray Charles, Paul McCartney, and Elton John).
	View of the Forum From the Capitoline Hill The top of the Capitoline Hill offers spectacular views of the Roman Forum. The large arch to the left in the picture is the Arch of Septimius Severus, which was built to celebrate his victories and the victories of his sons Caracalla and Geta over the Parthians and Osroeni in 195 and 197 A.D. The single column rising in the air to the right of the Arch is the Column of Phocas, an honorary column dedicated to the Byzantine Emperor Phocas in 608 A.D. (it was the last monument built in the forum in antiquity). The three columns visible behind the column are the remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux.
	The Temple of Castor and Pollux These three columns represent the remains of The Temple of Castor and Pollux. Castor and Pollux were the sons of Zeus and Leda and the brothers of Helen of Troy. The building of this temple is closely linked to Roman legend. In the beginning years of the Roman Republic, the last and desposed king of Rome Tarquinius Superbus waged war on the Romans in an attempt to gain back power. Two able but unknown horsemen came to the aid of the Romans at the Battle of Lake Regillus and helped the struggling Roman troops acheive victory. Immediately afterwards they were seen watering their horses at the Spring of Juturna in the Roman Forum. The dictator Aulus Postumius Albinus vowed to build a temple on the spot in their honor- it was finished by his son in 484 B.C.
	The Temple of Vesta The Temple of Vesta was one of the oldest sanctuaries in the Roman Forum. It was dedicated to the goddess Vesta, goddess of the hearth and home. A group of priestesses known as the Vestal Virgins were in charge of maintaining the sacred fire within the Temple of Vesta. The Vestal Virgins were chosen from distinguished Roman families and served a thirty year term (10 as a novice, 10 as a Vestal Virgin proper, and 10 as a supervisor). They took a vow of chastity for the entire thirty year term. The punishment for breaking the vow was to be buried in alive in a place known as the Campus Sceleratus ("Evil Field"). The remains standing today date to the final resoration of the temple which was ordered by the influential wife of the emperor Septimius Severus, Julia Domna, in 191 A.D.
	The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina The emperor Antonius Pius built this temple shortly after the death of his wife Faustina in 141 A.D. After his death in 161 A.D., the dedication was changed to both Antoninus and Faustina. The remains of the temple were converted into a church, the San Lorenzo in Miranda, in 7th or 8th century, which is why the remains are so well preserved.

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