Gladiators Glory.

After the Vatican we were a bit weary that we had chosen the most impressive attraction as our first one. We were wrong. The Colosseum was amazing. We arrived early again, to miss the lines, of which there were none, and we were told admission was free that day. Perfect. Thus we splurged for the audio tour, hesitating, but electing to do it English instead of Spanish. It was a good call, as I would have been disappointed to miss out on the tour.

When the Colosseum opened, 5,000 animals were killed in the first hundred days. It was a slaughter house. When the Colosseum was in its prime, the Romans had 140 holidays in which it was used. Everyone gained free entrance, and were assigned seats prior to their arrival. The senators sat in the front rows with their names engraved on their seats.

Though the Colosseum is nearly all ruins on the inside, you could still see the cells where they housed the slaves and animals that fought for their lives in front of what they believe were nearly 50,000 viewers. I was unaware the that Colosseum later became a place of Christian interest, as the early Christian Priests claimed that the games were unjust and were not permitted. Thus many Christians were killed for this at the time, and now the Colosseum is a remembrance of the Christian martyrs who died for their beliefs. After the Colosseum we headed over to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, both of which were complete ruins.

I had to return to the Colosseum our final evening just so that I could take pictures at sunset. My best pictures were of this massive construction; which I am rather pleased about.