Mircea Marciu (Marcius)
Official Tour Guide
Colloseum Tour
Colosseum why ?
Prior to the building of the Flavian amphitheatre, gladiatorial combat would have taken place ,in temporary wooden theatres either in the forum Romanum, forum Boarium or Circus Maximus.
In fact, the oldest extant stone –built amphitheatre in the Roman World is in Pompeii around 70 BC.
To understand the history of the Colosseum , first we need to understand the history of the emperor who preceded it- Nero.
I’ll make it short in here, because during the tour, we’ll have enough time for telling the story properly .
The Great Fire of Rome, occurred in 64 AD, …..the Domus Aurea, means, even the ornamental lake, where later it will be built the ……the furious plebs, ……the Nero’s death, ……the Jewish rebellion and the siege of Jerusalem with the destruction of the second temple, ……..the next 60 years old emperor, Vespasian, putting the base of a new dynasty, ( Flavian),……well ….all this will converge straight to the construction of the Flavian Amphitheatre, later called THE COLOSSEUM.
What is the Colosseum ?
Is the skyscrapers of the time with a height of 52 meters, a Velarium …. the first retractable roof , more than 100 drinkable fountains , latrines, the Hypogeum or the “ Underworld”, more than 50.000 spectators , just to stay short and modest, Venationes, ….. beast fights, the lunch time with the Executions and the afternoon the main event of the day …. Gladiatorial Fights.
Why all this ?
A simple and strong word available even for our days: Political Propaganda. Panem et Circenses.
Come and join the tour!
I’m not the kind of guide to read the Wikipedia for you!
No,no,no! ☺
I will built, create, develop, parallels between the Past and the Present, … to understand how was the human mind was set 2000 years ago in the context of an Empire, … and to see if nowadays the violence has completely disappeared being only an attribute of the Romans.
Join me to tell you so much about the warriors in the arena, even woman who fought against the dwarves, about Commodus , the bad guy from “ The Gladiator”.
Come to find out the history and origins of the gladiators, who were they, the training and the life expectancy, their sex lives, the gladiatorial type, the proper fights, …. well, … I have photos with me, to help you understand through the images …, in a way, ….the scenery, armours, blood and other more.
You’ll have stories about Naumachia, …. The naval battles inside the Arena….
Oh …Yes!
Come to find out about the relationship in between the Church and the pagan sites as Colosseum, the Palatine Hill , forum Romanum in the dark Middle Age.
I’ll bring the Past to the Present through the magnifying glass but with the utmost objectivity as a historian has to do it .
Let’s have it !
