Architecture of Finess or Violence

Well-known for its political structure, urban planning, art and architecture, the ancient Roman society is also renowned for its eccentric means of entertainment; gladiatorial combats. To serve this interest an arena of monumental state, advanced architecture and innovative design was ordered to be erected by the emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72 as a gift for the Romans. It was originally called the “Amphitheatrum Flavium” but came to be called Colosseum during the medieval times due to its location adjacent to the Colossus of Nero, a 120 feet tall statute^[1]. Reflecting its name, it became the largest fighting arena in the world.

From paying attention to the comfort of the audience to the adequate facilities for the performers, every intricate detail was considered while erecting this edifice. The finesse with which it was built is testament to the fact that numerous buildings have been built on its design.^[2]The architecture of this structure has not only impacted the world in terms of architectural mastery, but has also influenced human behavior over the centuries and defined certain aspects of it.

Talking about the structure, one of the architectural innovations that made Roman structures characteristically distinctive is the arch. Colosseum is basically a progression of numerous huge arches arranged in an elliptical shape in three tiers; with each tier containing 80 arches, and reaching a height of 160 feet while expanding 1900 feet in perimeter. ^[3] The advantage of using arches is that they can bear an enormous amount of weight without increasing the overall weight of the building. The arches were first used by the Mesopotamians and then centuries later by the Romans.

Before Romans, the ampitheaters constructed by the Greeks were semi-circular in shape. The Romans came up with a 360 degree design by combining two Greek ampitheaters back to back. The arches basically made it possible for the Romans to materialize a circular building. Over here, one thing was repeated over and over again, simplifying the execution process.

The structure of the Colosseum still stands intact today because concrete was used to form its skeleton.^[4] Romans came up with their own formula to make cement, which they used to build other structures likes temples, roads and aqueducts as well.  The principle ingredients were lime and volcanic ash, which were available in abundance.

The exterior of the Colosseum was made up of travertine^[5], a decorative limestone, which is obtainable in the region. The seating area called the ‘cavea’ had marble seats. These particular materials were used to build these specific components of the structure because marble, a slightly difficult material to get was used to make the seats, whereas travertine, which is available readily in that region, was used to make the much larger section of the building. Prioritising the comfort of the people, there were 110 drinking fountains, two large restrooms and a retractable roof, velarium to provide shade from the sun.^[6] 

There were two levels built beneath the ground level called the ‘hypogeum’.^[7] It contained rooms for the gladiators, massive cages for wild animals. There were makeshift elevators that brought the participants to the arena. In addition to this, trap doors were built in the floor of the arena through which participants would suddenly appear surprising the opponent.^[8] This shows that to what heights Romans went to incorporate creativity and genius in this project.

Moreover, Romans’ obsession with innovation and violence was such that the floor of the arena was flooded and mock naval battles in proper vessels were fought. For this, they built a labyrinth of water channels beneath the Colosseum, which was connected to storage tanks, sewer and aqueducts.^[9]

The Romans came much later than other civilisations, therefore they already had sufficient knowledge about different disciplines and fields. However, the reason behind why they are called one of the advanced civilizations in the world is that they brought innovation in the techniques brought by the people before them, used them in a way that suited them best and ended up producing some highly skilled monuments, artworks, political frameworks and concepts.

Architecture of a building defines the desires and interests of its architects and occupants. Through a suitable architecture, the desires get a platform to materialize, which eventually end up being eternalized within the occupants and the ones who get inspired by it and take to a certain amount of appreciation for that architecture or the desires that it promotes.

The very fact that 50,000 people gathered around the main arena to watch sheer brutality to amuse themselves speaks volumes about their own desires. They fulfilled their want of blood by going to the Colosseum. Moreover, talking about the creators of this monument, they erected a building that promoted violence for the people to seek entertainment. This leads to the deduction that this want of blood was deeply imbedded in the Roman society.

Looking at another aspect of its influence, the way the Colosseum was designed, the stage was placed in the center while the seating area surrounded the stage. For everyone to view the performances, the seating was arranged in four tiers. The gaze of half a million people set on the proceedings of the floor had massive influence on the performance of the performers. Reversing this phenomenon and building a connection with Jeremy Bentham’s ^[10] idea of a panopticon penitentiary^[11] in which, the watch tower is in the center while the prison cells are around it. The prisons cannot see the officers but are fully aware of being watched therefore they themselves maintain appropriate behaviour.