Talk:Colosseum

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Contents

[edit] The Title

Why is this article called the Roman Colosseum? I cannot find any other well-known "Colossei", and even if there are, then this building still deserves to be on the Colosseum page, with references to these others. jheijmans

Have you seen The Coliseum? (Hint: it's in Nashville. Nashville is in Tennessee). ~~

I know those comments are kind of old, but I wanted to add this...it should probably just be "Colosseum," or even Flavian Amphitheatre, but I guess no one calls it that anymore. Also, I wasn't sure about the burning marble sentence, so I left it in. All I know about the marble is that they removed it to build other things in the middle ages. Adam Bishop 05:48 26 Jul 2003 (UTC)

I move that this article be moved to Colosseum. There is no other Colosseum (even if there is a copy of it in Tennessee), and the word Colosseum was coined in relation to this building. Even if it needs to be disambiguated from some other Colosseum, the correct form would be Coloesseum, Rome or Colosseum (Rome). Adam 08:22, 18 Apr 2004 (UTC)


[edit] Burning marble for lime not limestone

I'm confused by this phrase " marble burned to make limestone". Burning marble does not make limestone. Marble is metamorphosed limestone; limestone that underwent tremendous pressure and heat in the earths crust. Burning it does not turn it back into limestone. Perhaps what is intended is "lime" for use in mortar? And anyway, the colosseum is made of travertine, not marble.

Marble was burned for lime not limestone. Powdered agricultural lime acts as a fertilizer. --Wetman 20:08, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Besides, romans had no need to make lime in this way, Vesuvius (spelling) the volcano gave them all of the ash and lime needed ... largely why romans were known for concrete, a case of geology giving them lemons. -- Dbroadwell 04:45, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Temple in Jerusalem

I heard something on a TV documentary somewhere about the construction of the Colosseum having been financed by the sacking in 70 CE of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. The timeline seems to allow for this possibility, but is there a citable source that can corroborate this assertion? - Knoodelhed (Su. 9/7/03 14:30 PDT)

I agree. How could this be established with a citable source? Through Annual Reports? But what's the point here? Responsible economic history? Subtexts and agendas: so often a sign of pseudohistory. Wetman 12:26, 21 Nov 2003 (UTC)

From the documentary I saw, there is some carved stone. Before the new text, there were holes for bronze letters. Some epigraphist reconstructed the text as VESPASIANVS / AMPHITEATRU / EX MANIBVS, which allegedly means that Vespasian built the amphiteatre with the loot. -- Error 23:33, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Is the plural of "colosseum" collossea? Dysprosia 07:27, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

There is only one Colosseum...the Flavian Amphitheatre. It's not really correct to call those other ones colosseums. Anyway, "colosseum" is an adjective (describing the statue of Nero). If you wanted to use it as a noun in Latin (meaning "those things that are colossal" I guess) you could say "colossea," but I doubt it would ever have been used that way. The plural of amphitheatrum is "amphitheatra," if that helps. (If you want to use it as an English noun the plural is just "colosseums" :)) Adam Bishop 19:48, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)


[edit] Death penalty

"In recent years, the local authorities of Rome have ordered the lighting of the Colosseum to be lit all-night-long whenever a condemned to death penalty gets its sentence commuted or indulted."

Who can explain this to me? (It's the last sentence of the article.) Does this make sense? <KF> 03:57, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)

"In recent years, the officials of Rome have ordered that the lights of the Colosseum should burn continuously throughout the night each time the death sentence of a condemned prisoner is commuted." That's what it's trying to mean: no idea if it's true. - Nunh-huh 04:03, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Is there capital punishment in Italy? <KF> 05:10, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)
I think not, and suspect that the officials of Rome are simply having their say about the rest of the world. - Nunh-huh 05:47, 1 Aug 2004 (UTC)
A recent example was the liberation of the two Simonas kidnapped in Iraq. -- Error 23:33, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Who was the architect?

This is one of the most spectacular buildings built before the 20th century. Any information on who and how it was designed?

In the 20th century, can some architect office give an estimate of the number of engineers required to design something of this scale, with good old pen & paper? What about the construction? in 8 years?


-I haven't read anything in particular on this issue, but I know that Romans very rarely (or not actually) write down the architect on an inscription, but merely the one who donated the funds or the one who ordered it to be built. For the Romans a mathematician was in much higher regard than a regular architect, or so I have been told. So I think it'll be hard to find out who designed it. Probably there will have been a team of architects with each one having their own specialty, and one supervisor. - EB


[edit] My Opinion of the Colosseum

I think the Roman times should make this a not torture thing because this is a harsh thing to do to someone in particular. Many people din't think what I thought but this is to me a legal action which I object to the torturing in the Roman times. It such a hassle when you could just put the man or women in jail or froce the gulitly out of the country. But duy to the respect many people never objected before about this back in those days. I wish I could just be there at the time of this thing started and stop it for the non torture of the Romans. -- Previously unsigned comment by 66.108.138.252, at 03:44, 14 December 2004

I think that you would have no chance to stop the games by yourself. I guarentee you that you would have been in one of those seats cheering on your favorite gladiator to kill the opponent. It is just that lifestyle has changed and now you think that killing is a horible thing. That is just what our culture now believes. -- Previously unsigned comment by 68.184.240.98, at 02:36, 10 November 2005

[edit] Spelling: "Coliseum"

Is this a legitimate alternate spelling? or should it be a silent redirect to Colosseum? or what? --Wetman 20:08, 9 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I think that's a medieval Latin spelling, and Lord Byron used it ([1]), so I don't know. It should certainly be a redirect, at the least. Adam Bishop 06:20, 10 Jan 2005 (UTC)
It gets two and a half million Google hits. It is worth mentioning as an alternative name. — Gulliver ✉ 19:31, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I disagree. I just listened to a lecture from Modern Scholar and it was emphasized several times that it should be spelled 'Colosseum' because of the colossus statue of Nero. Spelling it other ways removes that bit of historical importance. --Patik 17:42, Jun 3, 2005 (UTC)

hi im a senior and i added some info to this article

[edit] The Roman Colosseum

I was inside this ancient Stadium in August 1970.

Legends say it was where Gladiators fought and died and animals sacrificed and Christians were Martyrd.

I was told by the tourguides that it was called such because it had many tall statues inside of the outer arches.

Legends said it was built on a lake bed and that there was an Artesian Spring nearby.

Nero built his palace over the lake and after it burned down the Stadia was built there.

Nero built the very first true Planetarium on this site, complete with a rotating dome!

I was told the Coliseum was converted into a Citadel after Rome was abandoned after 476 AD.

I was also told the marble and travertine stone was quarried to make quicklime for mortar to build much of Roma.

Some of the stone was used to make St Peters Cathedral and much of Vatican City.

There are many other Stadia in the Roman Empire.

One was unEarthed in Pompeii and another in Herculanium.

The Rock Band Pink Floyd gave a concert there about 30 years ago.

There used to be a convention center in New York City called the Coliseum where they had annual Auto Shows and Flower Shows.

It was torn down and the Time Warner Building is now there.

The New York Coliseum was replaced by the Javits Convention Center.

The New York Coliseum was not a Stadium, just a convention hall.

I only spell Coliseum with one "l" and one "s"

Supercool Dude 20:56, 2 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Supercool Dude there are a lots of mistakes in your memories of the Colosseum: The Colosseum is an amphitheatre and not a stadium

By historical sources (not legends) we know that: a) yes gladiators fought in the arena, b)animals were killed by a staged hunt, and not sacificed, c)Christians were not martyred as such in the Colosseum (in other places yes, they were)

There is no evidence of statues having been placed in the arches, probably the name derived from a nearby colossal statue of the Sun God, later reworked with the faces of some emperors

It was built on a lakebed that had been drained in republican times and then refilled with water to make a lake for the residence of Nero. I have no knowledge of artesian spring nearby

Nero's palace wasn't built over the lake and it didn't burn down, but it was demolished by the Flavian emperors after Nero's death

We know that one chamber in Nero's palace was probably rotating and that it had pictures of the constellations on the roof, but that doesn't sum up to be a Planetarium.

The Colosseum was used as a fortress by Roman baronal families in the Middle Ages. In those years Rome had very few inhabitants but the city was never abandoned

The limestone was used to make mortar,to build many buildings in Rome after the Middel Ages (not most of Rome!)

St Peter is a Basilica and not a Cathedral (Rome's Cathedral church is San Giovanni). There is no evidence of the stones being used for the Vatican City

There are many other amphithatres in the Roman Empire. Stadia are different buildings.

Pink Floyd performed in the Pompeii amphitheatre (record: Live in Pompeii)

(By Andrea Pepe, Aug 2006)

[edit] Travel Guide and Holiday snaps

Is it just me or is this article starting to feel like someones photo album. I think we need to decide which images add to the article and which are travel snaps. The travel tips , although useful, are not appropriate to an encyclopedia and I think should be moved to Wikitravel. Lumos3 20:11, 16 August 2005 (UTC)


[edit] Illumination??

In recent years, the local authorities of Rome have illuminated the Colosseum all night long whenever someone condemned to the death penalty gets commuted or released

Where did you get this information?? I live in Rome and, as far as I know, the Colosseum is always illuminated at night... Anyway, this sentence needs to be changed, too: it sounds like we have the death penaly in Italy, while we obviously don't Alessio Damato 11:20, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

See this CNN report [2] Lumos3 12:38, 5 September 2005 (UTC)
ah, yes, it happened when I was at the high school... 5 years ago! the information is true, but I don't think it is valid anymore. I'll change the article according to that. Alessio Damato 15:12, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

The Colosseum is still illuminated "every time something moves against the death penalty" (words of Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni, see http://www.repubblica.it/2005/l/dirette/sezioni/esteri/penamortwill/penamortwill/ of Dec 12, 2005). Moreover, I live near the Colosseum and I can testify that it is true; the illumination changes and the monument becomes greenish. (Andrea Pepe, Jan 5th, 2006)

[edit] Independence Day movie

Is the Colosseum actually destroyed in that movie? I don't remember that happening, and I know I removed it from the article once already. I thought all the destruction was of buildings in the US. Adam Bishop 03:04, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Not sure if it was that movie or another, but I do recall a modern hollywood movie having it attacked. The stone glowed red (as if absorbing the energy), then exploded all at once. Liu Bei 16:51, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
That's "The Core", I think. Adam Bishop 17:22, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
I think something similar also happened in Armageddon Jds10912 00:44, 15 June 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification. I beleive you are correct. Liu Bei 05:55, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pictures

Enlarge

.

Is there a reason why the pictures were removed?

Never mind, there back now! tpower 17:03, 5 January 2006 (UTC)

I uploaded a pic of the shoring at the edges here. Just in case anyone thinks it might have a place in the article. --DanielCD 17:25, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Who said what about the Colosseum?

Do we actually know what people thought about the Colosseum who were around in that time?

[edit] Removed sentence

Spectators at the amphitheater were not segregated by sex. The poet Ovid suggests that this makes it an excellent place for his male readers to meet women.

Ovid died in 17 CE, when the Colosseum didn't yet exist. (Thanks to the anonymous User:136.165.208.169.) - Mike Rosoft 15:12, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WWII

It would be interesting to note if the Colosseum was damaged at all during WWII, and what that damage was. It would also be fascinating to note current / future preservation / restoration activities. Anybody know anything about this? --69.157.109.57 22:53, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cats

Is it worth mentioning that the Colosseum is inhabited by hundreds of cats, or is that irrelevant? Thiseye 00:45, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

I was looking here for that. I say worth noting. Chris 08:01, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Flora

  • Caneva G, Cutini M, Pacini A, Vinci M (2002). "Analysis of the Colosseum's floristic changes during the last four centuries". Plant Biosystems 136 (3): 291-311. DOI:10.1080/11263500212331351199.
  • Caneva G, Pacini A, Cutini M, Merante A (2005). "The Colosseum floras as bio-indicators of the climatic changes in Rome". Climatic Change 70 (3): 431-443. DOI:10.1007/s10584-005-5355-z.

aditional refs for the flora of the colloseum!--Stone 10:36, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Panther

If you read the WP pages around panther, you'll see that properly there's no such animal. In ancient Rome, the animals they called panthers were probably leopards (with longer tails). I don't care if you want to list it twice, but linking to panther is only going to cause confusion because that's a disambig page. -Jcbarr 21:50, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

Well, as I type, I am holding the guide book:
"... such as lions, panthers, leopards and hippopotamuses"
Make of that what you will. I'm logging out now - too tired. --Thelb4 21:59, 3 November 2006 (UTC)
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