Английский язык. 11 класс (О. В. Афанасьева и др.)
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| 5. The Roman Colosseum is a tremendous amphitheater, the
embodiment of both the grandeur and cruelty of the great Roman Empire. Capable of seating at least 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum hosted spectacular games that included gladiator exhibitions, fights between animals, prisoner executions and – strangely enough – naval battles. Untold thousands of humans and animals met their ends within one of the most popular attractions in Rome. The Colosseum’s name is derived from a bronze colossus of Nero that once stood nearby, though it disappeared sometime during the Middle Ages and has largely been forgotten. The arena floor was covered with sand to soak up the blood shed by those humans and animals unlucky enough to find themselves in its centre. Its elliptical shape kept the players from retreating to a corner and allowed the spectators to be closer to the action than a circular arena would allow. Seating was divided into different sections. The first level of seating was restricted for Roman senators and included the emperor’s private box. The section above the podium was for lower Roman aristocrats. The third level was divided itself into three sections. The best of these seats reserved for wealthy citizens, the upper part for the poor and the third, wooden section was left for lower-class women. Eventually, Christian leaders ensured that humans were no longer executed within the Colosseum’s great walls, though the building was still used for animal hunts until around 524. Four major earthquakes took their toll on the structure though, and by the Middle Ages the Colosseum in Rome had been fully converted into a military fortress, before finally being relegated to existing as the world’s largest rock quarry. During the Baroque age the marble that originally covered the facade was redistributed by the ruling Roman families who used it as a source of marble for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica and their private palazzos. In the 18th century, Pope Benedict XIV eventually ended the use of the Colosseum in Rome as a giant quarry. The Roman Colosseum will forever remind visitors of an inhumane past, when thirst for blood could bring crowds from miles away and nothing was more thrilling than the taking of a life. жүктеу/скачать 0,65 Mb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
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