Colosseum

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Colosseum

Colosseum or Coliseum , Ital. Colosseo, common name of the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome, near the southeast end of the Forum, between the Palatine and Esquiline hills. Begun by Vespasian, c.AD 75, and completed by his son Titus in AD 80, it is the most imposing of Roman antiquities. The vast four-storied oval is 617 ft (188 m) by 512 ft (156 m), much of which is still standing; it had tier on tier of marble seats accommodating c.45,000 spectators. It encloses an arena measuring 250 ft (76 m) by 151 ft (46 m) where gladiatorial combats were held (see gladiators ) until 404. According to tradition, persecuted Christians were thrown there to beasts. The Colosseum has been damaged several times by earthquakes.

Bibliography: See J. Pearson, Arena: The Story of the Colosseum (1974).

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Colosseum

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Â© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Colosseum the name since medieval times of the Amphitheatrum Flavium, a vast amphitheatre in Rome, begun c.75 ad; the name is Latin, and is the neuter of colosseus ‘gigantic’.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Colosseum." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 17 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Colosseum." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (December 17, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Colosseum.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Colosseum." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Colosseum.html

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