The Roman Colosseum is a very important part of the Gladiator games. Without it, there would be no games at all. It was built nearly two thousand years ago. It's only purpose was hosting the violent gladiator games. The Colosseum was made by Vespasian after Emperor Nero committed suicide. The Colosseum was then named after a nearby statue of him, the Colossus. After Vespasian died, his son Titus finished the construction project. It was finally open in 80 C.E., after 8 years. The Colosseum was made out of stone blocks. It an oval shaped amphitheater with a circumference of 527 meters! Now that's big! There are 80 entrances total so that people could get in and out as fast as possible. It is 4 stories tall and has 45,000 seats. There are also 5,000 areas to stand. They needed a whole lot of places so that everyone could see the Gladiators fighting. Where you sat was very important to the Romans. Each row representde a different social class. The first section of seating was reserved for important Romans; like the Emperor, priests, priestesses, and senators. These seats were the best because they were comfertable, you had a great view, and you can be seen by those attending. Right above that section is the area for the average citizens. The knights and other noblemen sat in the first few rows. The Roman citizens sat in the rows behind them. The other people (the poor, slaves, foreigners, etc.) would squeeze in on the highest level. Women needed to sit under a shelter. The last level was called the hypogeum. However, it was not seating. It was full of under ground tunnels where they kept the Gladiators, animals, and slaves. There were doors that led directly into the arena for the Gladiators and the beasts so that they could get there easily. The Colosseum was in use for about 450 years. There was a fire in 217 C.E. and there needed to be major repairs. It was finally done in 240 C.E. There were also a few earthquakes that made a little damage in 443 and 484 C.E., but no major repairs were needed. Even after all these repairs were made, the Colosseum was still very much the same. The games started to become less common in lives of the Romans during the 3rd century, and the last recorded game wsa in 435 C.E. After that, people started taking apart the Colosseum to sell the blocks, but later it was banned. Today, the Colosseum is a very famous tourist attraction. It is definitely a great part of Rome's history and the Gladiators.