The Colosseum had been decided to be built in 72 AD, by Emperor Vespasian. Th Colosseum is also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. It is located east of the Roman Forum and has 80 arched entrances. It is 188 meters long and 156 meters wide. The Colosseum's interior was divided into three parts. The arena, cavea and podium. The arena had a wooden floor covered in sand. Trapdoors led down to the underground chambers and passageways beneath the arena floor-the hypogeum. Animals in cages and sets for the various battles were hoisted onto the arena by a system of pulleys. The cavea, for spectator seating, was divided into three tiers. Knights sat in the lowest tier, wealthy citizens in the middle and the plebs in the higher. The podium was reserved for emperors, senators and VIP's.
Vespasian had ordered the Colosseum to be built on the site of Nero's palace to separate himself from the hated tyrant. He wanted to gain popularity by holding deadly games in there. In 80 AD, Vespasian's son Titus opened the Colosseum. Gladiators were either slaves, prisoners of war or condemned criminals. They were mostly men but there were some women. Both the poor and rich attended the games. One contest after another was staged in the course of the day. As the ground got soaked with blood, a fresh layer of sand was added to cover it. The games continued until Christianity put an end to it. The Colosseum was abandoned after the fall of the empire. Later, it became a fortress occupied by two of the cities warrior families. The Frangipani and The Annibaldi. It was also damaged several times by earthquakes and pollution and vibrations caused by traffic also affected the Colosseum. This led to two-thirds of the Colosseum being ruined.
Food and Drinks
Types of Bread libae-smaller rolls panis primus- cheap, coarse grain bread panis secundus- bread one step above Panis Primus panis plebeius- bread of coarse wheat flour panis castrensis -"army bread" panis sordidus - "dark bread" panis rusticus -bread of bran alone Picenian bread- fine biscuits siligineus -white bread
Fruit almonds plums apples pomegranates figs quinces filberts walnuts grapes chestnuts pears
Drinks calda-warm water and wine laced with spices-typically a winter drink mulsum-honeyed wine posca-vinegar mixed with enough water to make it drinkable-typically a soldier, slave drink "wine"-watered down wine-the Romans never drank wine straight
Meat and Fish beef & veal lamb carp mackerel rays chicken goose boar mutton catfish mullet sardines crane ostrich dormice sausage clams mussels shark dove partridge goat snails crab octopus sole duck peacock hare sucking pig eel oysters swordfish fig-peckers pheasant kid venisonflounder perch trout flamingo pigeon hake porpoise tuna thrushes lobster prawns turbot
Sauces and Spices defrutum-concentrated wine was used in cooking. liquamen (aka garum)-made from salted fish and fish insides-may have been the ancestor of Worcestershire Sauce pepper-imported from the East; used a lot in all sorts of foods including some sweet baked biscuits salt-harvested from beds at Ostia
Porridge and bread are staple foods in the homes of the Roman citizens. In some houses, for breakfast, it might be bread dipped in wine or with cheese, dried fruits and honey. Lunch was usually leftovers from the day before. The main meal of the day is called cena. This is in the middle of the afternoon and would often go for hours.