Read the Bldg Blog interview with Mary Beard about the Wonders of the World series
(Part I and Part II)
Byron and Hitler were equally entranced by Rome's most famous monument, the Colosseum. Mid-Victorians admired the hundreds of varieties of flowers in its crannies and occasionally shuddered at its reputation for contagion, danger, and sexual temptation. Today it is the highlight of a tour of Italy for more than three million visitors a year, a concert arena for the likes of Paul McCartney, and a national symbol of opposition to the death penalty. Its ancient history is chockfull of romantic but erroneous myths. There is no evidence that any gladiator ever said "Hail Caesar, those about to die..." and we know of not one single Christian martyr who met his finish here.
Yet the reality is much stranger than the legend as the authors, two prominent classical historians, explain in this absorbing account. We learn the details of how the arena was built and at what cost; we are introduced to the emperors who sometimes fought in gladiatorial games staged at the Colosseum; and we take measure of the audience who reveled in, or opposed, these games. The authors also trace the strange afterlife of the monument—as fortress, shrine of martyrs, church, and glue factory. Why are we so fascinated with this arena of death?
A fascinating account for the Rome-bound traveler as well as the fan of European history.
— George Cohen
It has been, and continues to be, the object of myth as well as the defining symbol of ancient Rome; a romantic ruin to ongoing popular tourist attraction. Filmmakers, too, from Cecil B. DeMille to Ridley Scott, have used it for their own creative impulses. Although work on the building started in AD 72, it did not officially open until AD 80. Authors and classical historians Keith Hopkins and Mary Beard explain how it was built—and at what cost.
— June Sawyers
Keith Hopkins and Mary Beard, eminent classical historians, have written a superb new cultural history of the Colosseum. As well as documenting the variety of flowers that once grew wild among the ruins, they offer pithy and occasionally hilarious accounts of the three million tourists who descend on the monument each year.
— Ian Thomson
The book covers a wide variety of topics, including—to give but a few examples—the life of a gladiator, which was distinctly unglamorous, the exclusion of women from vast areas of the auditorium, the means by which wild animals were brought to Rome, the duration of the 'shows' (123 days for a Trajan bloodbath, according to one observer), the splendid flora (420 species in 1855, although now diminished by weedkiller), and practical tips for any visitor. The book is a great read.
— John McBratney
In her concise portrait Beard shines a torch into the dark recesses of the building's long history and illuminates a gladiator here, a fresco there, a medieval bullfight there...Here there is a sophisticated interpretation of the Colosseum's meaning and a survey of nineteenth- and twentieth-century responses to the Colosseum, with quotations from Byron, Mark Twain, Henry James and Hitler.
— Debra Aaronson Lawless
Gives a sprightly, entertaining account of this archetypal building in all its various incarnations, from the "killing fields" of antiquity to the pilgrim's goal of the sixteenth century, the botanist's paradise of the nineteenth, and the archaeologist's puzzle of today—four different construction crews worked on separate quarters of the building, with conspicuously differing results.
— Ingrid Rowland
This architectural icon of the classical world probably has been the subject of more myths and half-truths than any other building surviving from antiquity...This slim book, which would fit into a pocketbook or a knapsack, would make a worthy travel companion for anyone visiting Rome because it sheds so much light on "what is likely to seem at best a confusing mass of masonry, at worst a jumble of dilapidated stone and rubble."
— Spencer Rumsey
A lure for travelers since the days of the Grand Tours, this majestic ruin in Rome was, of course, the scene of murderous spectacles in ancient times. The writers, a pair of British academics, recount the origin of the Colosseum on the site of a private lake in Nero's palace, reveal how it was built and operated and draw on archaeology and classical writings to detail the lives of the gladiators. The magnificent, crumbling building still holds pride of place in the Eternal City, and this book provides a readable and informed introduction.
— David Armstrong
Racy and occasionally confrontational...This book revels in the accretions of detail and myth. The improbable animal fights; the unfeasibility of flooding the arena to stage mock sea-battles; the claims of Christianity to the place, with a crucifix and 200 days' indulgence accruing in memory of the early Christians who (probably) didn't get torn to pieces by the lions who (probably) weren't there in the first place; the thunder of footsteps on the wooden floor, deafening those in the undercroft with its winches and ramps and the stink and racket of animals and fighting men; the heat in the arena despite the probable shade offered by great cantilevered canvas awnings: first-class scholarship and an engagingly demotic style bring all this into sharp focus.
— Michael Bywater
It is a work of scholarship written with the general reader in mind. The scholarship is worn lightly, and the book is a pleasure to read. It sums up all that is known, and makes it clear that much must remain conjectural. Anyone visiting Rome and making the obligatory sightseeing tour of the Colosseum will do well to read it in advance and keep it to hand; enjoyment will be much enhanced.
— Allan Massie
Anonymous
Posted March 24, 2012
This is the perfect overview of one of the most iconic buildings in the world. Mary Beard, renowned for her accessible and insightful views on world history, collaborated with Keith Hopkins to create an erudite but very readable history of a building that simply took my breath away the first time I saw it live a few years ago.
The Colosseum was recently named one of the 7 NEW Wonders of the World. It’s eye-catching and iconic series of white stone arches, uniformly built into multilayered tiers that diagonally slope where the building has decayed over the course of almost 2000 years, exudes ancient history and immediately invokes images of toga-festooned senators cheering on blood-soaked gladiatorial battles. Beard and Hopkins write, “the Colosseum has become for us the defining symbol of ancient Rome…” driven by “a combination of admiration, repulsion and a measure of insidious smugness. For it is an extraordinarily bravura feat of architecture and a marker of the indelibility of ancient Rome from the modern landscape…”
The authors effectively combine over 30 pictures, drawings and maps with a blend of history, religion, architecture, opinionated analysis, and a fascinating look at the world of gladiators.
The building itself was placed on the remains of Emperor Nero’s famed Golden House, a vast compound that he had built on the charred remains of a burned Rome. The Emperor Vespasian built the amphitheatre as a way to give something back to the people who’d suffered greatly under the rather unstable Nero. Originally known as The Flavian Amphitheatre (Flavian being the family name of Vespasian), the building opened under the reign of Vespasian’s son Titus, two years after the popular Vespasian died.
The authors take great care to highlight the realities of the many myths surrounding the building. While it was likely that Christians were killed in the Colosseum, there exists no evidence that they were fed to the lions, nor evidence indicating they were killed en masse. Animal hunts were a highlight of the many multi-day events held in the building, but it’s highly unlikely that over 5000 animals were killed during the 100-day opening ceremonies.
Following a 300-400 year run as the marquee sporting venue in the Roman empire, the building’s purpose varied dramatically until the mid-19th century when it was finally recognized for its historic, archeological, and touristic value. Popes chargeed a fee to ‘quarry’ its stone for use in other buildings throughout the city. Christian sects utilized the building off and on throughout the centuries, building a chapel, at one point, on the arena floor, and creating enough infrastructures in and around the building to support pilgrims traveling across Europe. The building had even become a botanists dream where it housed 418 different species of flora until the mid-19th century.
Ancient Emperors, modern world leaders, and even celebrities have all claimed a connection to the ancient building. One of the most impressive images in the book is of Benito Mussolini riding horseback, with the Colosseum as a backdrop, during the inauguration of the Via del Impero. The building has held modern concerts, though the acoustics are thought to not be very good.
Having visited the building personally, I also feel a connection to this world wonder. It feels a bit antiseptic. Tourists are corralled into queues and limited in where they can go. Gates, fences and other touches of modernity are subtle but preset and noticeable. But if you’re a wanderer, you can find more. You’ll find random assemblages of travertine stones - unclear whether they're from a more modern repair, an aborted renaissance "quarry", or simply ancient stone with no clear place in the archaeological puzzle. Look hard, and find ancient graffiti or inscriptions
I'm a bit of an "archaeophile" I'll admit. But a visit to The Colosseum is simply too monumental to go underprepared. "The Colosseum" is a must read. I've dog-eared the pages of this book that I'll read to my family during our upcoming trip to the Eternal city. The book has just over 200 pages, but it's cut smaller than the average trade paperback. The writing is clear and concise, and full of easily consumed information.
Overview
Read the Bldg Blog interview with Mary Beard about the Wonders of the World series
(Part I and Part II)
Byron and Hitler were equally entranced by Rome's most famous monument, the Colosseum. Mid-Victorians admired the hundreds of varieties of flowers in its crannies and occasionally shuddered at its reputation for contagion, danger, and sexual temptation. Today it is the highlight of a tour of Italy for more than three million visitors a year, ...