The Roman Coliseum and Why You Should Vote for It

Have you ever heard of the Wonders of The World. If you have, you know they are all truly amazing. Now their's exciting news... ...there are going to be a new, second set of wonders! The people will vote for the 7 wonders they think should be elected. Here is a list of the candidates:
Chichen Itza
Colosseum
Great Wall of China
Machu Picchu
Petra
Pyramids of Giza
Taj Mahal
Acropolis
Alhambra
Angkor
Christ Redeemer
Eiffel Tower
Statues of Easter Island
Stonehenge
Hagia Sophia
Kiyomizu Temple
Kremlin / St. Basil
Neuschwanstein Castle
Statue of Liberty
Sydney Opera House
Timbuktu
This report will tell you why The Colleseum should be have of your votes. After all, you don't want to waste them!

The Colosseum was a truly amazing structure in Rome, Italy. It can still be seen today and some tourists even camp out in it for fun. It is symbolic to the power of the Romans.

The construction of the Colosseum started in 70 AD. It was originally called the Flavian Amphitheater because that was the family name of the 2 emperors who built it. when it was finished in 80 AD, it had 3 stories. The Flavian Amphitheater was separated into 80 sections. Each Section had an Arched Entrance. Each level had pillars which separated the arches. 79 of these sections were for the people, but 1 was just for the emperor. From the ground level Entrance you could walk up to higher levels to find a seat. It was Probably Renamed the Colosseum because nearby there was a huge statue of the emperor Nero.

The Colosseum was essentially a Theater. But it didn't hold plays or concerts, it held fights. Gladiators would battle for their lives for the pleasure of spectators. Gladiators were lawbreakers and prisoners of war who were trained into fighting warriors. There were many types of gladiators, and each one had a certain amount of armor and a weapon or 2. They would fight until one was at the mercy of the other. The crowd would shout and give a thumbs down (which probably derived from a dagger stabbing down into the opponent) if they thought the loser should die, or a thumbs up and cheers if they thought the loser fought well and deserved to live.

The Colosseum held 50,000 spectators. Because of the ingenious architecture and the invention of assigned seats as well as tickets by the romans, the colosseum could fill up in just 15 minutes. Senators had their own reserved seats. Their seats were carved with the senators name. Therefore, they only needed tickets for middle and lower class citizens.

In 230 AD, the Colosseum was somewhat renovated. The Colosseum had deteriorated by earthquakes and pillaging. Popes would pillage the colosseum and steal marble for their own buildings. When it was refurbished, the emperor had a 4th level built. This level was a solid wall with windows; it didn't have arches. The Pillars of the 4th level were filled in by 40 rectangular windows. That's 3,200 windows on just the 4th level

The Architecture of the colosseum is amazing. On Each level the pillar style is different. The pillar styles have intricate designs and are prisms of different shapes. Each pillar is connected to the wall behind it, so they survived very well over the nearly 2000 years it is old.

VOTE Colosseum!
To Vote, Click the linked text "VOTE Colleseum!" or paste this link into your browser: http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=409 Hope you vote for the Colleseum!!!