We
enthusiastically arrived at the cafe to start our Context Travel tour of the
Colosseum because we could finally see the place that we had studied so much
about in the months leading up to our trip. I was excited for us to
explore the Colosseum on a Context tour, but it turned out to surpass even what
I was expecting. I thought that we were going to focus on the long
history of bloodshed of both the gladiators and animals that were harmed in
this location. Our enthusiastic docent, Dony, showed us the main tourist
attraction of Rome in a whole new light. Dony was small in stature, but he had
a loud voice, which kept us interested in the wild history of the Colosseum.
Did you know that the Colosseum was never originally called the
Colosseum? Initially, it was called the Flavian Amphitheater because
it was built during the Flavian dynasty. The mind boggling part was that it was
not always an amphitheater! When Dony asked this question of us, I wracked my
brain, trying to remember the answer. I thought our docent was asking us a
trick question. But no, to my surprise, it was Nero’s reflection
pool! Nero was the emperor of Rome from 54-68 A.D., and he was quite the
egotistical emperor. His “reflection pool” was bigger than the Colosseum!
While
on the Colosseum walk, the one thing that really piqued my interest was how
many times the Colosseum changed throughout history. Each emperor used it for a
different purpose. First, it was Nero’s reflecting pool. Many years later, the
new emperor, Titus, had it used to entertain the masses of the Roman people so
that he could gain favor after Nero’s evil reign. It was turned into a Naval
fighting space, so boats could battle for entertainment - and up to 300 people
would die during each show. He would fill up the bottom of the Colosseum with
water, and put in not just boats, but huge military naval ships to battle each
other! I could see the water splashing the audience, like the whale shows at
Six Flags. I imagined the slaves hauling in huge ships, just to keep the Romans
happy at their expense.
The
next emperor, Domitian, totally revamped the place into an amphitheater.
Elevators were put in, to bring deathly surprises to the gladiators, and white
sand was put onto the floor, so spectators could see the bloodshed more
clearly. It was almost as if I could smell the scent of death and loss.
Another
shocking thing was its use in Renaissance times, where it was used as home for
many families who had nowhere to go. These families lived in a giant theater
where so many people had previously died; talk about home sweet home!
Once
again, like in every story of Rome, the Pope had to butt his head in and turn
the Colosseum into something that he owned. Pope Benedict XIV, in the 1600s,
“Christianized” the place by putting up a huge cross where emperors once sat to
watch a show of a complete slaughter. As our docent Dony explained this
timeline, the Colosseum evolved right before my eyes. How could one building
withstand all the changes of time and the whims of emperors, and still serve as
a place for entertainment? I think the answer is because people still get
enjoyment out of something so old. For example, today people from around the
world come to see the Colosseum in its extraordinary glory. Very few visitors,
however, come to the Colosseum know that this building has progressed
right along with mankind.
Today, I saw the Colosseum in a
whole new light. It is more than just an amphitheater of blood, but a
building that still stands because it evolved. This walk taught me through
example that even though someone may have a bad reputation, you won’t know who
they are until you talk to them. The Colosseum is known for violence and
bloodshed, but I never appreciated the history of one of the world’s greatest
monuments until I got to know it.
Myriah Catalano
2 comments:
Love this -I had no idea about the varied history! That's quite a reflecting pool...
I really love the title, it captures the history of the structure so well! Great storytelling!
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