The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000; it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles (for only a short time as the hypogeum was soon filled in with mechanisms to support the other activities), animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.
Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and has also links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.
The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.
The Colosseum
The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, following the reign of Nero.[10] This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum (with Caesareum an adjective pertaining to the title Caesar), but this name may have been strictly poetic as it was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).
The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby (the statue of Nero was named after the Colossus of Rhodes).[citation needed] This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.
In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.
The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.
The name further evolved to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as Coloseumul (Romanian), le Colisée (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu (Portuguese).
Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and has also links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.
The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.
The Colosseum
The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, following the reign of Nero.[10] This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum (with Caesareum an adjective pertaining to the title Caesar), but this name may have been strictly poetic as it was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).
The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby (the statue of Nero was named after the Colossus of Rhodes).[citation needed] This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.
In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.
The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.
The name further evolved to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as Coloseumul (Romanian), le Colisée (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu (Portuguese).
The site chosen was a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the area to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose Domus Aurea on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake surrounded by pavilions, gardens and porticoes. The existing Aqua Claudia aqueduct was extended to supply water to the area and the gigantic bronze Colossus of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea.
Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and other support buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea. Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located on the outskirts of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect, placing it both symbolically and precisely at the heart of Rome.
Construction was funded by the opulent spoils taken from the Jewish Temple after the Great Jewish Revolt in 70 AD led to the Siege of Jerusalem. According to a reconstructed inscription found on the site, "the emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to be erected from his general's share of the booty." Along with the spoils, estimated 100,000 Jewish prisoners were brought back to Rome after the war, and many contributed to the massive workforce needed for construction. The slaves undertook manual labor such as working in the quarries at Tivoli where the travertine was quarried, along with lifting and transporting the quarried stones 20 miles from Tivoli to Rome. Along with this free source of unskilled labor, teams of professional Roman builders, engineers, artists, painters and decorators undertook the more specialized tasks necessary for building the Colosseum.
Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of Vespasian in around 70–72 AD (73-75 AD according to some sources) The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished by his son, Titus, in 80, and the inaugural games were held in A.D. 80 or 81. Dio Cassius recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheatre. Commemorative coinage was issued celebrating the inauguration. The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.
In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius) which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. Gladiatorial fights are last mentioned around 435. An inscription records the restoration of various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484 and 508. The arena continued to be used for contests well into the 6th century. Animal hunts continued until at least 523, when Anicius Maximus celebrated his consulship with some venationes, criticised by King Theodoric the Great for their high cost.
The Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use during the medieval period. By the late 6th century a small chapel had been built into the structure of the amphitheater, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.
Interior of the Colosseum, Rome (1832) by Thomas Cole, showing the Stations of the Cross around the arena and the extensive vegetation
Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake in 1349, causing the outer south side, lying on a less stable alluvial terrain, to collapse. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century[citation needed]. The interior of the amphitheater was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble façade) was burned to make quicklime. The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.
During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials sought a productive role for the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death. In 1671 Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry caused the idea to be hastily abandoned.
In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who perished there (see Significance in Christianity). However, there is no historical evidence to support Benedict's claim, nor is there even any evidence that anyone prior to the 16th century suggested this might be the case; the Catholic Encyclopedia concludes that there are no historical grounds for the supposition, other than the reasonably plausible conjecture that some of the many martyrs may well have been.
Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects, removing the extensive vegetation which had overgrown the structure and threatened to damage it further. The façade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827, and the interior was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The arena substructure was partly excavated in 1810–1814 and 1874 and was fully exposed under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.
The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices).In recent years the Colosseum has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released, or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold in November 2012 following the abolishment of capital punishment in the American state of Connecticut in April 2012.
Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002), Paul McCartney (May 2003), Elton John (September 2005), and Billy Joel (July 2006).
"Building the Colosseum". roman-colosseum.info.
Hopkins, p. 2
"BBC's History of the Colosseum p. 2". Bbc.co.uk. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning (First ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
William H. Byrnes IV (Spring 2005) "Ancient Roman Munificence: The Development of the Practice and Law of Charity". Rutgers Law Review vol. 57, issue 3, pp. 1043–1110.
"BBC's History of the Colosseum p. 1". Bbc.co.uk. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Baldwin, Eleonora (2012). Rome day by day. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 26. ISBN 9781118166291.
Dark Tourism - Italy's Creepiest Attractions, The Local
"Frommer's Events – Event Guide: Good Friday Procession in Rome (Palatine Hill, Italy)". Frommer's. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
Logan, Willy. "The Flavian Dynasty". Retrieved 25 September 2007.
J. C. Edmondson; Steve Mason; J. B. Rives (2005). Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome. Oxford University Press. p. 114. ISBN 0-19-926212-8.
"The Colosseum – History 1". Retrieved 26 January 2008.
Mairui, Amedeo. Studi e ricerche sull'Anfiteatro Flavio Puteolano. Napoli : G. Macchiaroli, 1955. (OCLC 2078742)
"The Coliseum". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 2 August 2006.; the form quoted from the Pseudo-Bede is that printed in Migne, Pat. Lat 94 (Paris), 1862:543, noted in F. Schneider, Rom und Romgedanke im Mittelalter (Munich) 1926:66f, 251, and in Roberto Weiss, The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity (Oxford:Blackwell) 1973:8 and note 5.
Claridge, Amanda (1998). Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (First ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. pp. 276–282. ISBN 0-19-288003-9.
"Building the Colosseum". tribunesandtriumphs.org.
Sear, David R. (2000). Roman Coins and Their Values - The Millennium Edition. Volume I: The Republic and The Twelve Caesars, 280BC-AD96 (pp. 468-469, coin # 2536). London: Spink. ISBN 1 902040 35 X
ALFÖLDY, GÉZA (1995). "Eine Bauinschrift Aus Dem Colosseum.". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 109: 195–226.
Cass. Dio lxxviii.25.
The repairs of the damages inflicted by the earthquake of 484 were paid for by the Consul Decius Marius Venantius Basilius, who put two inscriptions to celebrate his works (CIL VI, 1716).
"Rome." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006.
The Coliseum in Catholic Encyclopedia
Young, Gayle (24 February 2000). "On Italy's passionate opposition to death penalty". CNN. Retrieved 2 August 2006.
"INTERNATIONAL: Roman Colosseum Lit to Mark Connecticut's Abolition of Death Penalty". Death Penalty Info. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
Colosseum stages peace concert, BBC News Online, 12 May 2002.
McCartney rocks the Colosseum, BBC News Online, 12 May 2003.
Sir Elton's free gig thrills Rome, BBC News Online, 4 September 2005.
Ian Archibald Richmond, Donald Emrys Strong, Janet DeLaine. "Colosseum", The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Downey, Charles T. (9 February 2005). "The Colosseum Was a Skydome?". Retrieved 2 August 2006.
Samuel Ball Platner (as completed and revised by Thomas Ashby), A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press, 1929.
The Colosseum.net : The resourceful site on the Colosseum.
Nick Squires (23 June 2010). "Colosseum to open gladiator passageways for first time". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
Joseph M Champlin, The Stations of the Cross With Pope John Paul II Liguori Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-89243-679-4.
Vatican Description of the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum: Pcf.va
"Rome Colosseum repair to be funded by Tods shoe firm". BBC. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Silvers, Eric (25 April 2014). "The Colosseum's Badly Needed Bath". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
Povoledo, Elisabetta. "Colosseum Won't Be Restored in a Day, but Work Is Finally Scheduled to Start". Retrieved 2015-06-17.
"The-Colosseum.net: Antiquity". the-colosseum.net.
"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Coliseum". newadvent.org.
"Colosseum & Christian Martyrs". tribunesandtriumphs.org.
Hopkins, p. 103
Brockman, Norbert C. (13 September 2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 108. ISBN 9781598846553. "Public executions were held there during the empire, and it is for these last events that the Colosseum became a Christian shrine. It is disputed whether many early Christian martyrs actually died in the Colosseum, since there is no mention of that in ancient Christian records."
Brockman, Norbert C. (13 September 2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 108. ISBN 9781598846553. "There seems little doubt that some Christians were executed as common criminals in the Colosseum-their crime being refusal to reverence the Roman gods. Most martyrs, however, died for their faith at the Circus Maximus. Some were even executed as members of what the Romans considered a Jewish sect, since both Jews and Christians refused to reverence the gods."
Potter, David Stone (1999). Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire. University of Michigan Press. p. 227. ISBN 9780472085682. Retrieved 30 April 2014. "The public execution of condemned offenders, including Christians, is associated above all with the amphitheater, although there were executions at various other venues. Gladiatorial games, hunting displays, and executions also took place at the Circus Maximus, even after the construction of the Colosseum (Humphrey 1987, 121)."
Hopkins, p. 2
"BBC's History of the Colosseum p. 2". Bbc.co.uk. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning (First ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
William H. Byrnes IV (Spring 2005) "Ancient Roman Munificence: The Development of the Practice and Law of Charity". Rutgers Law Review vol. 57, issue 3, pp. 1043–1110.
"BBC's History of the Colosseum p. 1". Bbc.co.uk. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Baldwin, Eleonora (2012). Rome day by day. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc. p. 26. ISBN 9781118166291.
Dark Tourism - Italy's Creepiest Attractions, The Local
"Frommer's Events – Event Guide: Good Friday Procession in Rome (Palatine Hill, Italy)". Frommer's. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
Logan, Willy. "The Flavian Dynasty". Retrieved 25 September 2007.
J. C. Edmondson; Steve Mason; J. B. Rives (2005). Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome. Oxford University Press. p. 114. ISBN 0-19-926212-8.
"The Colosseum – History 1". Retrieved 26 January 2008.
Mairui, Amedeo. Studi e ricerche sull'Anfiteatro Flavio Puteolano. Napoli : G. Macchiaroli, 1955. (OCLC 2078742)
"The Coliseum". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 2 August 2006.; the form quoted from the Pseudo-Bede is that printed in Migne, Pat. Lat 94 (Paris), 1862:543, noted in F. Schneider, Rom und Romgedanke im Mittelalter (Munich) 1926:66f, 251, and in Roberto Weiss, The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity (Oxford:Blackwell) 1973:8 and note 5.
Claridge, Amanda (1998). Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide (First ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1998. pp. 276–282. ISBN 0-19-288003-9.
"Building the Colosseum". tribunesandtriumphs.org.
Sear, David R. (2000). Roman Coins and Their Values - The Millennium Edition. Volume I: The Republic and The Twelve Caesars, 280BC-AD96 (pp. 468-469, coin # 2536). London: Spink. ISBN 1 902040 35 X
ALFÖLDY, GÉZA (1995). "Eine Bauinschrift Aus Dem Colosseum.". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 109: 195–226.
Cass. Dio lxxviii.25.
The repairs of the damages inflicted by the earthquake of 484 were paid for by the Consul Decius Marius Venantius Basilius, who put two inscriptions to celebrate his works (CIL VI, 1716).
"Rome." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006.
The Coliseum in Catholic Encyclopedia
Young, Gayle (24 February 2000). "On Italy's passionate opposition to death penalty". CNN. Retrieved 2 August 2006.
"INTERNATIONAL: Roman Colosseum Lit to Mark Connecticut's Abolition of Death Penalty". Death Penalty Info. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
Colosseum stages peace concert, BBC News Online, 12 May 2002.
McCartney rocks the Colosseum, BBC News Online, 12 May 2003.
Sir Elton's free gig thrills Rome, BBC News Online, 4 September 2005.
Ian Archibald Richmond, Donald Emrys Strong, Janet DeLaine. "Colosseum", The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Downey, Charles T. (9 February 2005). "The Colosseum Was a Skydome?". Retrieved 2 August 2006.
Samuel Ball Platner (as completed and revised by Thomas Ashby), A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press, 1929.
The Colosseum.net : The resourceful site on the Colosseum.
Nick Squires (23 June 2010). "Colosseum to open gladiator passageways for first time". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
Joseph M Champlin, The Stations of the Cross With Pope John Paul II Liguori Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-89243-679-4.
Vatican Description of the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum: Pcf.va
"Rome Colosseum repair to be funded by Tods shoe firm". BBC. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
Silvers, Eric (25 April 2014). "The Colosseum's Badly Needed Bath". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
Povoledo, Elisabetta. "Colosseum Won't Be Restored in a Day, but Work Is Finally Scheduled to Start". Retrieved 2015-06-17.
"The-Colosseum.net: Antiquity". the-colosseum.net.
"CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Coliseum". newadvent.org.
"Colosseum & Christian Martyrs". tribunesandtriumphs.org.
Hopkins, p. 103
Brockman, Norbert C. (13 September 2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 108. ISBN 9781598846553. "Public executions were held there during the empire, and it is for these last events that the Colosseum became a Christian shrine. It is disputed whether many early Christian martyrs actually died in the Colosseum, since there is no mention of that in ancient Christian records."
Brockman, Norbert C. (13 September 2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 108. ISBN 9781598846553. "There seems little doubt that some Christians were executed as common criminals in the Colosseum-their crime being refusal to reverence the Roman gods. Most martyrs, however, died for their faith at the Circus Maximus. Some were even executed as members of what the Romans considered a Jewish sect, since both Jews and Christians refused to reverence the gods."
Potter, David Stone (1999). Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire. University of Michigan Press. p. 227. ISBN 9780472085682. Retrieved 30 April 2014. "The public execution of condemned offenders, including Christians, is associated above all with the amphitheater, although there were executions at various other venues. Gladiatorial games, hunting displays, and executions also took place at the Circus Maximus, even after the construction of the Colosseum (Humphrey 1987, 121)."
https://en.wikipedia.org
Litfin, Bryan M. (1 October 2007). Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction. Brazos Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781441200747. "But according to Irenaeus (who spent time in Rome not long after these events took place) Ignatius did in fact meet his end by being torn apart by wild animals for the amusement of the Roman masses, probably in the infamous Colosseum. The crowd there that day would have viewed the spectacle as a crushing defeat of this meek man's Christian religion. But Ignatius understood his death to be a shout of victory. Today a Christian cross stands in the Colosseum of Rome with a plaque that reads, "The amphitheater, one consecrated to triumphs, entertainments, and the impious worship of pagan gods, is now dedicated to the sufferings of the martyrs purified from impious superstitions.""
Flinn, Frank K. (2006). Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Infobase Publishing. p. 359. ISBN 9780816075652. Retrieved 30 April 2014. "He was caught up in the general persecution of the church under the emperor Trajan (r. 98-117), brought to Rome, and fed to the lions in the Coliseum around 107 C.E. His feast day is October 17. Before his execution, Ignatius wrote seven letters to the churches along his route, one each to Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Philadelphia, two to the church at Smyrna, and one to Smyrna's bishop, Polycarp. The letters are a rich source about early theology, liturgy, and church organization."
Hopkins, p. 103: "It is likely that Christians were put to death there and that those said to have been martyred 'in Rome' actually died in the Colosseum. But, despite what were are often told, that is only a guess. One of the possible candidates for martyrdom in the Colosseum is St. Ignatius, a bishop of Antioch (in Syria) at the beginning of the second century AD, who was 'condemned to the beasts' at Rome."
Brockman, Norbert C. (13 September 2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 108. ISBN 9781598846553. "The Christians who did die in the Colosseum often did so under dramatic circumstances, thus cementing the legend. The hero St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of St. John the Beloved, was sent to the beasts by Trajan in 107. Shortly after, 115 Christians were killed by archers. When Christians refused to pray to the gods for the end of a plague in the latter part of the second century, Marcus Aurelius had thousands killed in the Colosseum for blasphemy."
Hopkins, p. 160: "For most of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance the Colosseum was not so much a monument as a quarry. To describe this activity as 'robbery' is to give the wrong impression. For the most part, there was nothing illegal or unofficial about the removal of this stone."
"The-Colosseum.net: 1300-1700". the-colosseum.net.
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "In the Middle Ages, for example, when the sanctuaries of the martyrs were looked upon with so great veneration, the Coliseum was completely neglected; its name never occurs in the itineraries, or guide-books, compiler for the use of pilgrims to the Eternal City."
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "The "Mirabilia Romae", the first manuscripts of which date from the twelfth century, cites among the places mentioned in the "Passions" of the martyrs the Circus Flaminius ad pontem Judaeorum, but in this sense makes no allusion to the Coliseum."
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "Pope St. Pius (1566-72) is said to have recommended persons desirous of obtaining relics to procure some sand from the arena of the Coliseum, which, the pope declared, was impregnated with the blood of martyrs. The opinion of the saintly pontiff, however, does not seem to have been shared by his contemporaries."
Litfin, Bryan M. (1 October 2007). Getting to Know the Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction. Brazos Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781441200747. "But according to Irenaeus (who spent time in Rome not long after these events took place) Ignatius did in fact meet his end by being torn apart by wild animals for the amusement of the Roman masses, probably in the infamous Colosseum. The crowd there that day would have viewed the spectacle as a crushing defeat of this meek man's Christian religion. But Ignatius understood his death to be a shout of victory. Today a Christian cross stands in the Colosseum of Rome with a plaque that reads, "The amphitheater, one consecrated to triumphs, entertainments, and the impious worship of pagan gods, is now dedicated to the sufferings of the martyrs purified from impious superstitions.""
Flinn, Frank K. (2006). Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Infobase Publishing. p. 359. ISBN 9780816075652. Retrieved 30 April 2014. "He was caught up in the general persecution of the church under the emperor Trajan (r. 98-117), brought to Rome, and fed to the lions in the Coliseum around 107 C.E. His feast day is October 17. Before his execution, Ignatius wrote seven letters to the churches along his route, one each to Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Philadelphia, two to the church at Smyrna, and one to Smyrna's bishop, Polycarp. The letters are a rich source about early theology, liturgy, and church organization."
Hopkins, p. 103: "It is likely that Christians were put to death there and that those said to have been martyred 'in Rome' actually died in the Colosseum. But, despite what were are often told, that is only a guess. One of the possible candidates for martyrdom in the Colosseum is St. Ignatius, a bishop of Antioch (in Syria) at the beginning of the second century AD, who was 'condemned to the beasts' at Rome."
Brockman, Norbert C. (13 September 2011). Encyclopedia of Sacred Places [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 108. ISBN 9781598846553. "The Christians who did die in the Colosseum often did so under dramatic circumstances, thus cementing the legend. The hero St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of St. John the Beloved, was sent to the beasts by Trajan in 107. Shortly after, 115 Christians were killed by archers. When Christians refused to pray to the gods for the end of a plague in the latter part of the second century, Marcus Aurelius had thousands killed in the Colosseum for blasphemy."
Hopkins, p. 160: "For most of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance the Colosseum was not so much a monument as a quarry. To describe this activity as 'robbery' is to give the wrong impression. For the most part, there was nothing illegal or unofficial about the removal of this stone."
"The-Colosseum.net: 1300-1700". the-colosseum.net.
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "In the Middle Ages, for example, when the sanctuaries of the martyrs were looked upon with so great veneration, the Coliseum was completely neglected; its name never occurs in the itineraries, or guide-books, compiler for the use of pilgrims to the Eternal City."
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "The "Mirabilia Romae", the first manuscripts of which date from the twelfth century, cites among the places mentioned in the "Passions" of the martyrs the Circus Flaminius ad pontem Judaeorum, but in this sense makes no allusion to the Coliseum."
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "Pope St. Pius (1566-72) is said to have recommended persons desirous of obtaining relics to procure some sand from the arena of the Coliseum, which, the pope declared, was impregnated with the blood of martyrs. The opinion of the saintly pontiff, however, does not seem to have been shared by his contemporaries."
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Diliff
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "The pamphlet was so completely successful that four years later, the jubilee year of 1675, the exterior arcades were closed by order of Clement X; from this time the Coliseum became a sanctuary."
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "At the instance of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Benedict XIV (1740-58) erected Stations of the Cross in the Coliseum, which remained until February, 1874, when they were removed by order of Commendatore Rosa. St. Benedict Joseph Labre (d. 1783) passed a life of austere devotion, living on alms, within the walls of the Coliseum."
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "The pamphlet was so completely successful that four years later, the jubilee year of 1675, the exterior arcades were closed by order of Clement X; from this time the Coliseum became a sanctuary."
"The Coliseum". Catholic Encyclopedia. New Advent. Retrieved 24 April 2014. "At the instance of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Benedict XIV (1740-58) erected Stations of the Cross in the Coliseum, which remained until February, 1874, when they were removed by order of Commendatore Rosa. St. Benedict Joseph Labre (d. 1783) passed a life of austere devotion, living on alms, within the walls of the Coliseum."
No comments:
Write σχόλια