The nearby Palatine hills were where the Roman aristocracy and later, the emperors, lived. Those two emotions were pretty much the theme of the next few stops. The Colosseum seemed both awe-inspiring and tragic at the same time. Countless little holes in the walls served as a reminder of the marbles that were fastened to the walls by metal poles. However, virtually half of the walls had collapsed from an earthquake, got destroyed by invaders or were “repurposed” into other structures. The genius of Roman engineering was still evident in the design of the entrance gates (on which the modern stadium/theatre entry system is based), the enormous rings of seats and the underground labyrinth beneath the sanded arena that housed the wild animals, slaves, prisoners and gladiators. The enormous structure in front of my eyes was both a record of what was, and of what was lost. I was so giddy with excitement that I was almost in tears. This piece of history happened over 2000 years ago, which meant that on June 24 th, 2012, I got to witness and touch one of the ultimate monuments of Imperial Roman power that happened to be over 2000 year old. The Colosseum was built at the site of thedrained artificial lake near Nero’s house, and was named after the giganormous, colossal golden statue of Nero. The Flavians “generously” staged such big parties out of a desire to be loved by the Romans (all together now….”aNero was a lunatic of an emperor who built a giant golden royal palace, erected a giganormous golden statue of himself, bathed in goat’s milk with his various wives and husbands (hmm……), and according to rumours, stood on his roof and laughed after setting Rome on fire. When it first opened, there were 100 days of “entertainment” held in the arena, including gladiator fights, mock sea battles, fake hunts, executions, etc. The colosseum was built by the Flavian emperors, Vespasian and Titus, as a gift to their people. Actually, scratch that, I’m pretty sure it’s bigger than a lot of stadiums around the world. Guys, that’s almost like a modern football stadium. The ruins just towered above me, and made me feel absolutely TINY as I looked up from the ground. Il Colosseo was every little bit as amazing in person as it looked in pictures. I did end up making it on time, but it took me some 45min before I got there. What ended up happening was a bizarre replay of my visit to the Rodin museum on my first day in Paris (where I also just had to walk straight). The nice gentleman at the concierge table told me to turn left and walk in a straight line. As it turns out, my hotel was actually supposed to be 10min away from the Colosseum. I woke up extra early on Sunday, to be absolutely sure I wouldn’t miss my morning tour. My Eyewitness guide was not needed at all. It’s an EXCELLENT book that gives good historical background AND serves as a great guidebook. I also read “Rome from the ground up” by James McGregor. To make sure I wasn’t going to be a complete idiot about all the different Roman emperors, and could at least tell the difference between Marcus Aggripa and Marcus Aurelius, I re-watched Gladiator (haha, I know), that Peter o’Toole film about Augustus, and the BBC documentary on the epic bromance between gladiators Verus and Priscus (I kid, the film is called “Colosseum, a gladiator’s story). Long before I even booked my tickets, I was already much excited by my trip to the ancient Roman ruins. To me, a Chinese descendant of another proud ancient civilization, the glory and fall of Rome has been a fascinating and tragic story, and one to which I have always been able to relate. Weakened by corruption and fear, the city was sacked by the “Barbarians” numerous times –its marbles and treasures looted, its monuments destroyed, its mausoleums violated, and its people humiliated. Once proud and almighty, the city crumbled into a ruinous chaos after power – the foundation upon which the glory of the city was built – was pulled from under her feet by the emperor Constantine. As it happens, Rome was not at all unconquerable. These were the words on the coins in the ancient Imperial Rome. That quote in the title is, of course, quite ironic.
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