Have you ever been to Italy?! Let’s discover five cool facts about the Colosseum.

The Colosseum Facts for Kids Fact Number 1: The Colosseum Is The Largest Amphitheatre in The World

The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in the world, measuring at around 620 by 513 feet.  The Colosseum was huge and it could seat 50,000 people. The Colosseum was made from stone and concrete and was built by over 60,000 slaves. It has a surface area of roughly 6 acres.

The Colosseum Facts for Kids Fact Number 2: Where You Sat in The Colosseum Was Determined by Roman Law

Seating in the Colosseum was determined by Roman law. The best seat in the Colosseum was given to the Emperor, which is not surprising considering he paid for the games that were held. This seat was called the Emperor’s Box.

The Senators got the second best seats in the Colosseum and they used to engrave their own names into the marble seats, just to make sure nobody sat in them. The higher up the amphitheatre a person sat the poorer they were. Plebeians and slaves sat in the upper section, called the summum.

The Colosseum Facts for Kids Fact Number 3: The Colosseum Had an Underground Area

Below the Colosseum was an underground area called the hypogeum. The hypogeum consisted of a series of connected corridors, tunnels and passageways that lead into and out of the Colosseum and  allowed quick access to the middle of the arena.

Animals, actors, and gladiators would use trap doors to suddenly appear in the arena during performances. The underground area was also a storage area for props and it is where animals would be kept in cages. There were also around 36 trap doors in the arena, used for props and by actors and gladiators.

The Colosseum Facts for Kids Fact Number 4: The Colosseum Took 8 Years to Build

Emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty commissioned The Colosseum in 72 AD and it took a total of eight years to complete. In 80 AD Titus, the son of Vespasian, opened the Colosseum.

When it opened the Colosseum was officially known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was built as a place where the public could enjoy gladiatorial combat , acting performances and other forms of entertainment.

The Colosseum Facts for Kids Fact Number 5: There Was a Festival to Celebrate The Opening of The Colosseum

In 80 A.D, the first games were held in the Colosseum, under Emperor Titus. To celebrate the opening of the Colosseum, 100 days of games were held inside it. This just marked the beginning of what would be century long games held in the Colosseum. There was no entry fee for the Colosseum so everyone could enjoy the fights and performances for free.

We hope you enjoyed learning more things about the Colosseum as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic this landmark is, you can move on to learn about other famous places and statues like: Chichen Itza, Niagara Falls, Eiffel Tower, Egyptian Pyramids, Egyptian Statues, Heka, Sobek, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, Mount Everest, Giant’s Causeway.

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The post The Colosseum Facts for Kids – 5 Cool Facts About The Colosseum first appeared on Learning Mole.