The Colosseum
People on their way to work or wheresoever they are heading go around the Colosseum, the most well known wonder of Ancient Rome. In the good ole days gladiators faught one another or even exotic animals for the crowds' pleasure. Politicians sponsored "Bread and Circus" programmes during campaign season - give the people the two most important things: food, and entertainment. The marble which once cased the Colosseum and many of the decorations have been striped, in true Roman fashion, to adorn other structures throughout the city and Italy.
The Colosseum Floor
This picture shows the floor and some of the seating area of the Colosseum. The wood flooring (roughly in a T shape here) would have coved the entire oval of the bottom. This wood was then covered with sand to soak up the blood. Beneath the wood you can see various chambers. These housed either gladiators or animals. The floor had trap doors in many locations, which gave the ability to add surprise opponents. Every now and then, someone would get the brilliant idea to stage a mock sea battle in the Colosseum. When this happened, water was lugged from the Tiber to flood the stadium. In the top-middle-left there are some white seats, made of marble. That is where the Emperor, or whoever was presiding over the games, would have sat. They are also general examples of what the seats would have appeared like throughout the Colosseum.
Approaching the Forum
Imagine the Colosseum is located near the bottom right corner of this photo. You are now standing on the Via Sacra, or Sacred Way, walking up to the Forum Romanum. The stones on the ground are thousands of years old, and it is a magical experience to walk there.
The Forum Romanum
This is a view of the Forum before you enter it. As you can see, it was a very crowded place, and even though the ruins all come from different stages of the Forum's life, imagine how busy and jammed full it would have been with full buildings there and a bustling populace!
Closer Up
Same thing as the above picture, only much closer - now standing inside the Forum.
Some rocks
Well, what did you expect from a Latin freak who was in Rome? Pictures of people?? Get out. Rocks are interesting. Rocks are great. Rocks are vital to our existence.... Okay, I'll stop now.
Temple of Staurn
These eight columns and the inscription above are all that remain of the Temple of Saturn. Saturn was considered to be one of the father gods - not as high up as Jupiter in the Romans' rankings, but he was still a major figure in the religion, partly because he was the god of the harvest, a very important thing to any agricultral society. The festival of Saturnalia was held in late December in his honour to celebrate the end of the harvest. At this time, slaves would be master for a day and boss around their owners.
Rome: Sub Terra
Believe it or don't, but at one point this almost this entire structure was burried in ground. Only recently was it excivated. The doors belonged at one point to the Senate House (Curia).
A Big Rock
Columns
Can you find any lovelier columns? I didn't think so.
Detail of an Arch
This is a detail from one of the many triumphal arches in the Forum. When someone completed a great military act, or had the money/political power to errect a public monument in his own honour, it was most commonly in the form of an arch. I forget which this is from, but you can see the names of Marcus Aurelius and Antonius Augustus in the inscription.
Temple of Vesta
If any of you have read Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series, you are probably familiar with the Vestal Virgins. They were women who pledged their lives - or at least 30 years of it - to the service of Vesta, a goddess. They began their service at a young age, and often continued after their 30 years of service. The key to being a Vestal was that you had to keep your virginity. Any Vestal who broke this vow had a very nasty death awaiting her.
Who Says Size Doesn't Matter?
Along with arches, columns were the other most popular monuments of Rome. This is Trajan's Column, carved elaborately up and down with images of his accomplishments. It stands rihght outside of - you guessed it - Trajan's Market. The statue on top is a modern addition; it depicts Saint Peter with the keys to heaven. Anyone else think it's no coincidence how they placed a guy holding the keys to eternal bliss ontop of what is surely a phallic symol?
The Pantheon
The Pantheon, or temple for "all the gods," is most well known for its round design and dome, which has an occulus (round hole resembling an eye) at its top. The doors of the Pantheon are huge!! Standing inside is very awe-inspiring. I wanted to stay there for a long time just to see the shadows change as the sun altered its position in relation to the occulus.