Đấu trường La Mã

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Colosseo về đêm.

Đấu trường La Mã được biết đến đầu tiên dưới cái tên Amphitheatrum Flavium theo tiếng Latinh hoặc Anfiteatro Flavio tiếng Ý, sau này gọi là Colosseum hay Colosseo, là một đấu trường lớn ở thành phố Roma. Công suất chứa lúc mới xây xong là 50.000 khán giả. Đấu trường được sử dụng cho các võ sĩ giác đấu thi đấu và trình diễn công chúng. Đấu trường được xây dựng khoảng năm 70 và 72 sau Công Nguyên dưới thời hoàng đế Vespasian. Đây là công trình lớn nhất được xây ở Đế chế La Mã được hoàn thành năm 80 sau Công Nguyên dưới thời Titus, với nhiều chỉnh sửa dưới thời hoàng đế Domitian.^[1]

Đấu trường Colosseum vẫn được sử dụng gần 500 năm với những bằng chứng ghi chép được về trận đấu thế kỷ 6 - rất lâu sau khi Đế chế La Mã sụp đổ năm 476. Ngoài sử dụng làm nơi đấu của võ sỹ, nơi đây còn được dùng làm biểu diễn công chúng, tập trận giả trên biển, săn thú, kịch cổ điển. Công trình này dẫn dần thôi được sử dụng làm nơi giải trí thời Trung Cổ. Sau này, đấu trường được sử dụng làm nhà ở, cửa hàng, tôn giáo, pháp đài...Dù hiện nay bị hoang phế nhiều do động đất và nạn cướp đá, Colosseum vẫn từ lâu được xem là biểu tượng của Đế chế La Mã và là một trong những mẫu kiến trúc La Mã đẹp nhất còn sót lại. Đây là điểm tham quan hấp dẫn của Roma và vẫn còn nhiều liên hệ với Nhà thờ Cơ Đốc. Hằng năm vào thứ sáu Phục Sinh, Đức Giáo Hoàng vẫn có cuộc diễn hành cầm đuốc đến Colosseo.

[sửa] Lịch sử

[sửa] Cổ đại

Một bản đồ của Trung tâm La Mã dưới thời Đế chế La Mã với Colosseum ở góc trên bên phải.

Việc xây dựng Đấu trường Colosseum bắt đầu dưới thời Hoàng đế Vespasian^[1] vào khoảng năm 70-72 sau Công nguyên. Địa điểm được lựa chọn là một khu đất bằng phẳng trên một sàn của thung lũng giữa Đồi Caeli và Đồi Esquiline và đồi Palatine, mà giữa các đồi này có một dòng kênh chảy qua. Đến thế kỷ 2, khu đất đã có người ở dày đặc và bị bỏ hoang sau trận Đại hỏa hoạn thành Roma vào năm 64 sau Công nguyên tiếp sau đó Nero đã chiếm đoạt phần lớn đất của khu vực này làm lãnh địa riêng của mình. Ông ta đã cho xây dựng công trình Domus Aurea hoành tráng trên địa điểm này, phía trước nó ông ta tạo ra một hồ nhân tạo bao quanh bởi các sảnh đường, vườn và cổng. Công trình cống nước hiện hữu Aqua Claudia được mở rộng để cấp nước cho khu vực và Colossus of Nero đồng thiếc khổng lồ được xây gần cổng vào của Domus Aurea.^[2]

Khu vực này được chuyển đổi dưới thời Vespasian các vị kế nhiệm. Dù Colossus được gì giữ, phần lớn Domus Aurea bị hư hại. Hồ nước bị lấp và khu đất được tái sử dụng cho công trình Flavian Amphitheatre mới. Các trường dạy đấu sỹ và các tòa nhà phụ trợ khác được xây dựng gần đấy bên trong khuôn viên của mặt bằng Domus Aurea trước đó. Theo những văn bản chạm khắc được xây lại được tìm thấy ở khu vực thì "hoàng đế Vespasian đã ra lệnh cho dựng giảng đường (amphitheatre) này từ chiến lợi phẩm của dân chúng của ông". Người ta cho rằng điều này ám chỉ số lượng lớn gia tài mà những người La Mã đã cướp đoạt được sau khi chiến thắng ở Đại cách mạng Do Thái năm 70. The Colosseum can be thus interpreted as a triumphal monument built in the Roman tradition of celebrating great victories.^[2] Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can also be seen as a populist gesture — in effect, returning to the people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. It was built near the Roman Forum.

Colosseo đã được hoàn tất đến tầng thứ 3 đến thời điểm Vespasian mất năm 79. Tầng thượng được hoàn tất và công trình được con trai ông Titus khánh thành năm 80.^[1] Dio Cassius tính toán rằng 11.000 súc vật đã được giết thịt trong 100 ngày ăn mừng khánh thành công trình này. The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly-designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.

In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius^[3]) which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. An inscription records the restoration of various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian III (reigned 425-450), possibly to repair damage caused a major earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484 and 508. The arena continued to be used for contests well into the 6th century, with gladiatorial fights last mentioned around 435. Animal hunts continued until at least 523.^[2]

[sửa] Thời Trung Cổ

The Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use during the medieval period. By the late 6th century a small church had been built into the structure of the amphitheatre, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.

Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake of 1349, causing the outer south side to collapse. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century. The interior of the amphitheatre was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble facade) was burned to make quicklime.^[2] The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were prised or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

[sửa] Hiện nay

Interior of the Colosseum, Rome. Thomas Cole, 1832. Note the Stations of the Cross around the arena and the extensive vegetation, both removed later in the 19th century.

During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials sought a productive role for the vast derelict hulk of the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death.^[4] In 1671 Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry caused the idea to be hastily abandoned.

In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed as official Church policy the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who were supposed to have perished there (see Christians and the Colosseum). Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects, removing the extensive vegetation which had overgrown the structure and threatened to damage it further. The facade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827, and the interior was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The arena substructure was partly excavated in 1810-1814 and 1874 and was fully exposed under Mussolini in the 1930s.^[2]

The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lira ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices). In recent years it has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti-death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the colour of the Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released.^[5]

Due to the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002),^[6] Paul McCartney (May 2003)^[7] and Elton John (September 2005).^[8]

[sửa] Name

The Colosseum's name has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby.^[1] This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times and substituted with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

In the 8th century, the Venerable Bede (c. 672–735) wrote a famous epigram celebrating the symbolic significance of the statue: Quandiu stabit coliseus, stabit et Roma; quando cadit coliseus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world").^[9] This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

The Colossus did eventually fall, having probably been pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" (a neuter noun) had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Roma and Venus.^[2]

The name was further corrupted to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. Both names are frequently used in modern English, but Flavian Amphitheatre is generally unknown. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as le colisée (French), el coliseo (Spanish) and o coliseu (Portuguese).

[sửa] Đặc điểm của công trình

[sửa] Bên ngoài

Bên ngoài Colosseum, với vòng thành ngoài còn nguyên vẹn (trái) và phần thành gần như nguyên vẹn (giữa và phải).

Kích thước của Colosseo: cao 48, dài 189 m, rộng 156 m. Không giống như các đấu trường trước đó, công trình này là một cấu trúc đứng tự do, được xấy trên một mặt đất bằng phẳng chứ không phải dựa vào đồi hay chỗ lõm tự nhiên. Tường bên ngoài thoạt đầu có chu vi 545 m và cần phải dùng 100.000 m3 đá travertine được giữ với nhau bằng 300 tấn vòng kẹp sắt.^[2] Tuy nhiên, qua nhiều thế kỷ, nó đã bị hư hỏng do thiên nhiên tác động (động đất). Chu vi phía bắc của Đấu trường vẫn còn nguyên với dấu vết trùng tu của thế kỷ 19. Phần còn lại của Coloseo ngày ngày nay là bức tường gốc như lúc đang xây.

The surviving part of the outer wall's monumental façade comprises three storeys of superimposed arcades surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The arcades are framed by half-columns of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters.^[10] Each of the arches in the second- and third-floor arcades framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology.

Original façade of the Colosseum.

Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning, known as the velarium, that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center.^[1] It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby Castra Misenatium, were used to work the velarium.^[11]

The Colosseum's huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly. Its architects adopted solutions very similar to those used in modern stadiums to deal with the same problem. The amphitheatre was ringed by eighty entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators.^[1] Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase. The northern main entrance was reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides, whilst the other three axial entrances were most likely used by the elite. All four axial entrances were richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs, of which fragments survive. Many of the original outer entrances have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall, but entrances XXIII to LIV still survive.^[2]

Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via vomitoria (singular vomitorium), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit within only a few minutes. The name vomitoria derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit.

[sửa] Interior seating

Side view of Colosseum seating.

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society. Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or podium for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

The tier above the senators, known as the maenianum primum, was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights (equites). The next level up, the maenianum secundum, was originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebians) and was divided into two sections. The lower part (the immum) was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens. Specific sectors were provided for other social groups: for instance, boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries, scribes, heralds, priests and so on. Stone (and later marble) seating was provided for the citizens and nobles, who presumably would have brought their own cushions with them. Inscriptions identified the areas reserved for specific groups.

Another level, the maenianum secundum in legneis, was added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian. This comprised a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. It would have been either standing room only, or would have had very steep wooden benches. Some groups were banned altogether from the Colosseum, notably gravediggers, actors and former gladiators.^[2]

Each tier was divided into sections (maeniana) by curved passages and low walls (praecinctiones or baltei), and were subdivided into cunei, or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row (gradus) of seats was numbered, permitting each individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.^[12]

[sửa] Arena and hypogeum

The Colosseum arena, showing the hypogeum. The wooden walkway is a modern structure.

The arena itself was 83 metres by 48 metres (272 ft by 157 ft / 280 by 163 Roman feet).^[2] It comprised a wooden floor covered by sand (the Latin word for sand is harena or arena), covering an elaborate underground structure called the hypogeum (literally meaning "underground"). Little now remains of the original arena floor, but the hypogeum is still clearly visible. It consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath; larger hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like. It was restructured on numerous occasions; at least twelve different phases of construction can be seen.^[2]

The hypogeum was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside the Colosseum. Animals and performers were brought through the tunnel from nearby stables, with the gladiators' barracks at the Ludus Magnus to the east also being connected by tunnels. Separate tunnels were provided for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum without needing to pass through the crowds.^[2]

Substantial quantities of machinery also existed in the hypogeum. Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered scenery and props, as well as lifting caged animals to the surface for release. There is evidence for the existence of major hydraulic mechanisms^[2] and according to ancient accounts, it was possible to flood the arena rapidly, presumably via a connection to a nearby aqueduct.

[sửa] Supporting buildings

The Colosseum and its activities supported a substantial industry in the area. In addition to the amphitheatre itself, many other buildings nearby were linked to the games. Immediately to the east is the remains of the Ludus Magnus, a training school for gladiators, with its own miniature training arena which was itself a popular attraction for the Romans. Other training schools were in the same area, including the Ludus Matutinus (Morning School), where fighters of animals were trained, plus the Dacian and Gallic Schools.

Nearby were the Armamentarium, comprising an armory to store weapons; the Summum Choragium, where machinery was stored; the Sanitarium, which had facilities to treat wounded gladiators; and the Spoliarium, where bodies of dead gladiators were stripped of their armor and disposed of.

Around the perimeter of the Colosseum, at a distance of 18 m (59 ft) from the perimeter, was a series of tall stone bollards of which five remain on the eastern side. Various explanations have been advanced for their presence; they may have been a religious boundary, or an outer boundary for ticket checks, or an anchor for the velarium or awning.^[2]

[sửa] Usage

Pollice Verso ("The Turned Thumb") by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1872

The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstration of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilised a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippos, elephants, giraffes, lions, panthers, leopards, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days.

During the early days of the Colosseum, ancient writers recorded that the building was used for naumachiae (more properly known as navalia proelia) or simulated sea battles. Accounts of the inaugural games held by Titus in AD 80 describe it being filled with water for a display of specially trained swimming horses and bulls. There is also an account of a re-enactment of a famous sea battle between the Corcyrean (Corfiot) Greeks and the Corinthians. This has been the subject of some debate among historians; although providing the water would not have been a problem, it is unclear how the arena could have been waterproofed, nor would there have been enough space in the arena for the warships to move around. It has been suggested that the reports either have the location wrong, or that the Colosseum originally featured a wide floodable channel down its central axis (which would later have been replaced by the hypogeum).^[2]

Sylvae or recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor. Animals would be introduced to populate the scene for the delight of the crowd. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story — played by a condemned person — was killed in various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.

[sửa] Christians and the Colosseum

Martyrdom of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, often erroneously said to have taken place in the Colosseum. Note how the saint is framed by a stylized depiction of the Colosseum.

[sửa] Tham khảo

[sửa] Liên kết ngoài

   

Wikimedia Commons có thêm hình ảnh và tài liệu khác về:

Đấu trường La Mã

• Satellite view of Colosseum — at WikiMapia = Google Maps + Wiki
• LacusCurtius entry on the Colosseum
• Colosseum Information about the Colosseum and photo gallery on worldstadia.com
• The Roman Colosseum, Rome virtual reality movies and free audio guide for iPod or MP3
• The COLOSSEUM — a site on the Roman amphitheatre
• ArtLex Art Dictionary — a cross-section view of the colosseum
• Colosseum's Flora
• Photos Colosseum (Ipix panorama)

Tiêu bản:Rome landmarks

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