““ The Sporting Arena Rome’s Colosseum, which opened in A.D. 80, was built specifically for sporting competitions. About fifty thousand spectators sat on terraced marble benches that formed an oval. Below the arena were dressing rooms and holding chambers where animals were kept. Most of the competitions held in the Colosseum involved deadly combat. Sometimes, fighters called gladiators would battle each other, and sometimes they would battle animals. In both cases, the participants fought to the death. Today, visitors to the ruins of the Colosseum can look down on the arena and imagine the cheers of the audience, the snarls of the angry lions, and the moans of the anguished losers.””
