The Colosseum | National Geographic Society

The Colosseum, also named the Flavian Amphitheater, is a large amphitheater in Rome. It was built during the reign of the Flavian emperors ... ResourceLibraryENCYCLOPEDICENTRYResourceLibraryENCYCLOPEDICENTRYTheColosseumTheColosseumThefamousRomanamphitheater,theColosseum,wasbuiltbetweenA.D.70and72andwasenjoyedbyRomancitizensduringtheheightoftheRomanEmpire.Grades6-8SubjectsAnthropology,Archaeology,SocialStudies,WorldHistoryImageColosseumTheColosseuminRome,Italy,isalargeamphitheaterthathostedeventslikegladiatorialgames.DesignPicsInc.EncyclopedicEntryVocabularyTheColosseum,alsonamedtheFlavianAmphitheater,isalargeamphitheaterinRome.ItwasbuiltduringthereignoftheFlavianemperorsasagifttotheRomanpeople.ConstructionoftheColosseumbegansometimebetweenA.D.70and72undertheemperorVespasian.Itopenednearlyadecadelaterandwasmodifiedseveraltimesinthefollowingyears.Themassivestructuremeasuredapproximately189by156meters(620by513feet),toweredfourstorieshigh,andincludedeightyentrancestotheamphitheater—seventy-sixforthepatrons,twoforparticipantsofevents,andtwoexclusivelyfortheemperortouse.Thesheernumberofentrancesprovedtobenecessary:theColosseumcouldholdmorethan50,000spectatorsatitsmaximumcapacity.WhentheColosseumfirstopened,theemperorTituscelebratedwithahundreddaysofgladiatorialgames.Emperorstraditionallyattendedthegames.TheemperorCommodusisknowntohaveperformedinthearenaonhundredsofoccasions.Asidefromthegames,theColosseumalsohosteddramas,reenactments,andevenpublicexecutions.Eventually,theRomans’interestinthegameswaned.AfterthefalloftheWesternRomanEmpire,theColosseumbegantodeteriorate.AseriesofearthquakesduringthefifthcenturyA.D.damagedthestructure,anditalsosufferedfromneglect.Bythe20thcentury,nearlytwo-thirdsoftheoriginalbuildinghadbeendestroyed.Nevertheless,arestorationprojectbeganinthe1990storepairtheColosseum.Todayitisoneofmodern-dayRome’smostpopulartouristattractions,hostingmillionsofvisitorsayear.CreditsMediaCreditsTheaudio,illustrations,photos,andvideosarecreditedbeneaththemediaasset,exceptforpromotionalimages,whichgenerallylinktoanotherpagethatcontainsthemediacredit.TheRightsHolderformediaisthepersonorgroupcredited.AuthorNationalGeographicSocietyProducerSarahAppleton,NationalGeographicSociety,NationalGeographicSocietyotherLastUpdatedMay20,2022UserPermissionsForinformationonuserpermissions,pleasereadourTermsofService.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutlicensingcontentonthispage,pleasecontactngimagecollection@natgeo.comformoreinformationandtoobtainalicense.Ifyouhavequestionsabouthowtociteanythingonourwebsiteinyourprojectorclassroompresentation,pleasecontactyourteacher.Sheorhewillbestknowthepreferredformat.Whenyoureachouttohimorher,youwillneedthepagetitle,URL,andthedateyouaccessedtheresource.MediaIfamediaassetisdownloadable,adownloadbuttonappearsinthecornerofthemediaviewer.Ifnobuttonappears,youcannotdownloadorsavethemedia.TextTextonthispageisprintableandcanbeusedaccordingtoourTermsofService.InteractivesAnyinteractivesonthispagecanonlybeplayedwhileyouarevisitingourwebsite.Youcannotdownloadinteractives.RelatedResources