The Colosseum As an Enduring Icon of Rome: a Comparison of the Reception of the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus
The Colosseum as an Enduring Icon of Rome: A Comparison of the Reception of the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. “While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand; When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls - the World.”1 The preceding quote by Lord Byron is just one example of how the Colosseum and its spectacles have captivated people for centuries. However, before the Colosseum was constructed, the Circus Maximus served as Rome’s premier entertainment venue. The Circus was home to gladiator matches, animal hunts, and more in addition to the chariot races. When the Colosseum was completed in 80 CE, it became the new center of ancient Roman amusement. In the modern day, thousands of tourists each year visit the ruins of the Colosseum, while the Circus Maximus serves as an open field for joggers, bikers, and other recreational purposes, and is not necessarily an essential stop for tourists. The ancient Circus does not draw nearly the same crowds that the Colosseum does. Through an analysis of the sources, there are several explanations as to why the Colosseum remains a popular icon of Rome while the Circus Maximus has been neglected by many people, despite it being older than and just as popular as the Colosseum in ancient times. Historiography Early scholarship on the Colosseum and other amphitheaters focused on them as sites of death and immorality. Katherine Welch sites L. Friedländer as one who adopted such a view, 1 George Gordon Byron, “Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, canto IV, st. 145,” in The Selected Poetry of Lord Byron, edited by Leslie A.
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