Day 4 Continued: The Colosseum

Day 4, Continued

Now that I'm rested, let's go to the Colosseum! 

First, a little history. Following the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, Emperor Vespasian brought roughly 50,000 to 100,000 Jewish captives to Rome. These captives were forced to build the Colosseum and transport stone from Tivoli to Rome. The massive, rapid construction (roughly 8-10 years) is often attributed to this immense, forced labor force.  The construction was largely financed by the spoils (treasures) taken from the Second Jewish Temple, the one rebuilt after the Babylonian capture (586 BC) by King Nebuchadnezzar. Many years later, King Cyrus of Persia came to power and made this proclamation in Ezra 1:2-4

“This is what Cyrus, king of Persia, says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”

In this way, the Israelites pillaged the Babylonians! However, during Rome's capture of the Israelites, Emperor Vespasian took all of the Israelites' treasures and used them to build the Roman Colosseum.

The Colosseum is a short distance from the forum. We were first met with the gate above. The Jewish slaves put their "signature" in a variety of places throughout the Colosseum. In the last photo below, you can see a menorah in the scene, one way of proving it was built by Jewish slaves.

Next, we walked through the gate below. There are gates at each end of the Colosseum, a Winner's Gate, and a Loser's Gate. This is the Winner's Gate, where the emperor entered, and the winning gladiators exited the Colosseum.

There are gates at each end of the Colosseum, a Winner's Gate, and a Loser's Gate. This is the Winner's Gate, where the emperor entered, and the winning gladiators exited the Colosseum.

The gate in relation to the Colosseum.

Originally, all of the Colosseum was covered in marble slab. Unfortunately, it was all stolen.

This is what the Colosseum looked like.

Here we are inside the Colosseum, the largest amphitheater in the world. Just walking in gives you pause - we were walking in the same halls where millions of people have walked for the last 1,954 years! The original name was the Flavian Amphitheater, named for Emperor Vespasianus Flavius, who built it in 8 years. An interesting fact is that the Romans used gigantic cranes to build the stadium. The stones used to build it weighed between 20 and 50 tons, so they tied two massive tree trunks together, connecting them to a gigantic wheel. With a hook, they strapped one end to the object being lifted and the other. to the top of the trees, making a sort of pulley to pull them up.

The Colosseum was originally held together by an estimated 300 tons of iron clamps and bronze pins, not mortar. These metal fastenings secured the massive travertine stone blocks together. The iconic holes seen today are the result of medieval scavengers digging out this iron and metal to melt down and reuse, creating a "Swiss cheese" appearance. 

We began the tour down, down, down underneath the stadium floor, where the animals that 

fought (lions, tigers, bears, (oh my!) hippos, rhinos, elephants, and leopards) were held, and the gladiators were preparing. We got to see examples of the armor the gladiators wore. 

Do you see that dagger-looking sword at the bottom of the picture on the right? It's called a gladius. Only the fighters who used that type of sword were called gladiators. Other types of fighters were Bestiarii, who fought wild animals; gladiatrices, who were female fighters; and venatores, who were trained "hunters" who staged more elaborate hunts with animals, often displaying specialized skill rather than just a fight to the death. There were also Damnaty, who were prisoners or criminals sent into the arena without weapons for execution.

You can kind of get a glimpse of the immensity of the stadium in the first photo above. It held between 50,000 and 80,000 people! That's about the same as Empower Stadium at Mile High. Crazy! I wonder if Empower Stadium was built well enough to last 2,000 years? Hmmmm... things to ponder. The second photo is part of a pulley system that was used to bring animals up to the stadium floor to fight.

The underground pathways went on forever! Bryan is showing us one of the 240 arches that are built into the Colosseum. Italo told us arches are what give the structure the stability it needed to stand the test of time. 

These bones were found inside the Colosseum to prove that animals were part of the games. Italo said the bouts were like WWE - they were all staged for entertainment. At noon was the first show where the fighters executed theives and criminals in a showy fashion. Later on in the evening were the games with gladiators and animals. Italo told us the Colosseum was used like this for about 500 years, six months a year for three days a week.

Next Italo brought us to the main level. Seating was on 3 diffreent levels. The emperor and his guests sat on the first floor of one end of the stadium, above the "Life Gate" where the winners of the bout would exit. You probably figured out that the "Death Gate" was at the other end where the losers were taken out.

If you look above Italo's head you can see the white stones, that's where the emperor and his guests sat.

You can see all of the pathways we walked through below the stadium floor. So much went on below grounds!

Look at all the arches!

This is the loser's gate that we could see through an exterior arch.

I can still hardly believe how huge it is, and that it's still standing! It's so much like Invesco Stadium, with the stadium seating, walkways around the exterior of each level of seating. 

As we left Italo had us look up at the ceiling where there was more proof that the Coloseum was built by Jewish slaves. Carved into the wall was a map of Jerusalem and you can even see crosses to the side.

This photo gives you an idea of how tall the outside arches were! 

That's a wrap of the Colosseum! What an amazing experience! Our brains are full, but our stomachs needed a little something so we stopped for apertivo at a cute little trattoria, La Follia. Just what we were looking for!

Ciao for now! 🩷

Day 4: Roman Forum and Colosseum

Day 4

After our first two days of eating, it was finally time for some history! We began at the Roman Forum, where our guide, Italo, led us through the experience. He was incredibly knowledgeable and talked nonstop for the next three hours—so thorough that there weren’t many questions left to ask!

At first, we got some disappointing news: the Forum was closed due to a power outage, so we couldn’t go inside. Oh no! Italo did his best to guide us to vantage points where we could still see parts of it, but it just wasn’t the same.

Then, about 30 minutes in, the power came back on and we were finally allowed to enter. Oh my goodness—it was like stepping into another world, one that had shaped the course of history long before Christ.

Who's that? Oh, that's just Bryan
walking on the oldest street in the world!
It's made of volcanic stone.

This is the "Prison of the Holy Apostles of God, Peter and Paul". Italo told us the disciples were imprisoned here, and later Peter was crucified upside down on a cross because he was unworthy of dying in the same way as Christ.

An overview of the entire forum from above.

     

This is the gate of a temple dedicated to the many gods the Romans worshiped. Take a look at the close-up on the left side of the arch—the craftsmanship is absolutely incredible. It’s around 2,000 years old, which makes it even more mind-blowing to see how well it has endured.

The columns below were just as impressive—so tall and commanding that you can easily imagine them supporting the structure in Roman times. It’s amazing to think that all of this was built with such precision and strength that it’s still standing today.

Italo, our guide, is holding a picture of what the Forum looked like over 2,000 years ago (509 BC–27 BC). In the image, you can see the Curia Julia, the Senate house rebuilt by Julius Caesar. In the live photo, you can spot the remains of that very same building, still standing today.

The Roman Forum was truly the heart of Roman life—political, religious, and commercial—all centered in one place. And at the far end, you can see the Colosseum, once the city’s grand stage for entertainment.

Behind our smiling faces is the entrance to the Roman Forum.

On the right above is the oldest road in the world, the Appian Way, which began in the Roman Forum. It served as a vital route to the coast, used for transporting military supplies and improving communication across the Roman Empire.

In the next photo, the large pillar is the Column of Phocas, dedicated to Phocas in recognition of his support of the Church, most notably for donating the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV. A gilded statue of Phocas once stood at the top, though it has long since disappeared.

I, for one, am grateful they
translated this sign to English.

This is the site where Julius Caesar was cremated. Although he was assassinated in a different location, his body was brought here by grieving mourners. He was meant to be buried, but in their fervor, they accidentally cremated him. 😬

Later, a temple was built in his honor—the Temple of Divus Julius, dedicated to the “Divine Julius.

This circular building is the Temple of Vesta. Vesta was the goddess of the hearth, home, family, and sacred fire. The temple housed her eternal flame, a powerful symbol of Rome’s safety and prosperity.

The fire was tended by six elite priestesses known as the Vestal Virgins, who lived just behind the temple in, you guessed it, the House of the Vestal Virgins. Their sacred duty continued for centuries, until it finally came to an end in 391 AD, when the flame was extinguished by Theodosius I.

These are the remains of the
House of the Vestal Virgins.

This row of statues was to represent the Vestal Virgins. 

The Temple of Divus Romulus was dedicated to the son of Maxentius, who died young in the 4th century AD.

Here is a look at the forum from the opposite end. We were looking forward to the Roman Forum, and it was every bit as amazing as we thought it would be. I could add so many more photos and history, but I'll hold here for now.

Next up is... bedtime! I'll blog the Colosseum tomorrow! 🩷