The Colosseum!
A place to laugh live and die
A MASSACRE FOR FUN
The colosseum, By Colton Suess.
Back In A.D 80, your thumb decided if a man lives or dies. Interested? Keep reading.
So imagine you're at the movies, Watching a film about battle and fighting. Now Imagine if being in real life, live, with lions, swords and the crowd even gets into the action. That's the colosseum, or used to be. the colosseum is where people in Rome, Italy got their entertainment during times around 80 A.D with gladiator battles, lion taming,and other events of the sort. Nowadays, it's falling apart. A piece of history crumbling to dust.
If your not in the stands, then good luck!
It was always action packed, and even jokes battles took place. Being their during an event was either a dream or a nightmare!
Gladiator life was the opposite of pleasant.
LIFE OF A GLADIATOR.
Gladiator life was tough. They had to be constantly training, eating ash and porridge, and getting ready to battle. There were many types of gladiators. I have compiled a list of them at the bottom.they would fight to the death during the events, but beforehand training was harsh. Like, REALLY harsh. Porridge with ash for dessert, and if you misbehave, you will be sent to a dungeon that you can barely sit up in, and receive food every other day or so. Behaving is very important. Trust me, you would never want to be one.
Here's are some photos of something a gladiator might look like.
Gladiators training.
1 on 1 gladiator battle.
A lineup of gladiators.
Assorted history notes, if your interested.
Some small history notes of the colosseum:
The colosseum was finished on A.D 80. A Man named Vespasian Was what you might consider the inspiration of the colosseum. The colosseum we gladiators included criminals, slaves, captured war prisoners, and bankrupt Romans. Things like domes and football fields bowls were created/inspired by this monument. It was the first of its kind like this, as most similar constructions were built in the side of a hill or something like that, but it is completely free standing. Amazing, but alas, that reason is likely why it is falling apart now. It's in such a state of disrepair that a train coming by could knock off a huge stone section from it's rumbling alone! One minor earthquake could cause this thing to collapse completely! As previously mentioned, it's highly likely that the colosseum will NOT be here for the next few generations, so if you ever plan on seeing the colosseum, now would probably be the best time to do so... it's likely that our grandchildren will never even see it, except for in books and stuff like that. Sofia you planning to come see this piece of history, do it while it lasts! If you're wondering what it looks like, you can't miss it. It's a giant bowl shaped price of stone thousands of feet high, it looks kinda broken and chipped, As well.
The colosseum is a piece of time, of lifestyle, and of entertainment long forgotten in the. Orders world, a piece of time that's crumbling to the dusts of modern times.
Some gladiator types. (May be missplled due to the curse of autocorrect.)
Gladiator Types:- info from gladiator life book and unrv.com. Checked for correct info on Wikipedia and google search. Anything with quotes is from unrv.com.
Andabatae: Clad in chainmail, and wore visored helmets without eye holes. They charged blindly at one another on horseback as an ancient precursor to the medieval joust.
Bestiarii: (beast fighters) originally armed with a spear or knife, these gladiators fight beasts with a high probability of death. In later times, the Bestiarii were highly trained, specializing in various types of exotic, imported beasts.
Dimachaeri: Used two-swords, one in each hand.
"Equites: Fought on horseback with a spear and gladius, dressed in a full tunic, with a manica (arm-guard). Generally, the Eques only fought gladiators of his own type."
"Essedari: Celtic style charioteers, likely first brought to Rome from Britain by Caesar."
"Hoplomachi (heavily armed) or Samnite: Fully armored, and based on Greek hoplites. They wore a helmet with a stylized griffin on the crest, woollen quilted leg wrappings, and shin-guards. They carried a spear in the Hoplite style with a small round shield. They were paired against Mirmillones or Thraces."
Laquerii: Laqueatores used a rope and noose.
"Mirmillones (or murmillones): Wore a helmet with a stylized fish on the crest (the mormylos or sea fish), as well as an arm guard (manica). They carried a gladius and oval shield in the Gallic style. They were paired with Hoplomachi or Thraces."
Provocatore: Paired against the Samnites but their armament is unknown and may have been variable depending on the games.
"Retiarii: Carried a trident, a dagger, and a net, a larger manica extending to the shoulder and left side of the chest. They commonly fought secutores or mirmillones. Occasionally a metal shoulder shield was added to protect the neck and face."
Saggitarii: Mounted bowman armed with reflex bows capable of propelling an arrow a great distance.
Samnites: a less armed hoplomachi, pretty much
Secutores: Had the same armour as a murmillo, including oval shield and a gladius. They were the usual opponents of retiarii.
Scissores: Little is known about this ominous sounding gladiator.
"Thraces: The Thracian was equipped with a broad-rimmed helmet that enclosed the entire head, a small round or square-shaped shield, and two thigh-length greaves. His weapon was the Thracian curved sword, or the sica. They commonly fought mirmillones or hoplomachi."
Velites: Fought on foot, each holding a spear with attached thong in strap for throwing. Named for the early Republican army units of the same name.
Venatores: Specialized in wild animal hunts.