only in Rome itself, but in almost every Roman
settlement, from Silchester to Verona, are found traces of their
amphitheatres, and the mother-city can claim the possession of the
most stupendous fabric of the kind that was ever erected--the
Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheatre, which was commenced by Vespasian
and finished by his son Titus. An amphitheatre is really a double
theatre without a stage, and with the space in the centre unoccupied
by seats. This space, which was sunk several feet below the first row
of seats, was called the arena, and was appropriated to the various
exhibitions which took place in the building. The plan was elliptical
or oval, and this shape seems to have been universal.

The Colosseum, whose ruins still remain to attest its pristine
magnificence--

"Arches on arches, as it were that Rome,
Collecting the chief trophies of her line,
Would build up all her triumphs in one dome"[21]--

was 620 ft. long and 513 wide, and the height was about 162 ft. It was
situated in the hollow between the Esquiline and Caelian hills. The
ranges of seats were admirably planned so as to enable all the
audience to have a view of what was going on in the arena, and great
skill was shown both in the arrangement of the approaches to the
different tiers and in the structural means for supporting the seats,
and double corridors ran completely round the building on each floor,
affording ready means of exit. Various estimates have been made of the
number of spectators that could be accommodated, and these range from
50,000 to 100,000, but probably 80,000 was the maximum. Recent
excavations have brought to light the communications which existed
between the arena and the dens where the wild animals and human slaves
and prisoners were confined, and some of the water channels used when
mimic sea-fights were exhibited. The external facade is composed of
four stories, separated by entablatures that run completely round the
building without a break. The three lower stories consist of a series
of semicircular arched openings, eighty in number, separated by piers
with attached columns in front of them, the Doric order being used in
the lowest story, the Ionic in the second, and the Corinthian in the
third; the piers and columns are elevated on stylobates; the
entablatures have a comparatively slight projection, and there are no
projecting keystones in the arches. In the lowest range these openings
are 13 ft. 4 in. w