The Colosseum

The Colosseum was Imperial Rome's monument to warfare. Like a cathedral of death it towered over the city and invited its citizens, 50,000 at a time, to watch murderous gladiatorial games. It is now visited by two million visitors a year (Hitler was among them). Award winning classicist, Mary Beard with Keith Hopkins, tell the story of Rome's greatest arena: how it was built; the gladiatorial and other games that were held there; the training of the gladiators; the audiences who revelled in the games, the emperors who staged them and the critics. And the strange after story - the Colosseum has been fort, store, church, and glue factory.

Brilliant ... arguably the best so far in Profile's excellent Wonders of the World series ... it brings the Colosseum to life in all its gory splendour. Geographical
A work of scholarship written with the general reader in mind ... a pleasure to read. Spectator
What the authors have given us in the proverbial multum in parvo Sunday Telegraph
Revels in the accretions of detail and myth ... first-class scholarship and an engagingly demotic style Independent
Stirring stuff! This is a welcome and well-written book ... it reassesses myths, politely debunks many misconceptions about what we know- and what we don't know - to put the fabulous monument in context from its founding to the present. -- Lindsey Davis, author of the Falco series
A wonderful book, worthy of its subject: horrifying, impressive, blood-soaked, occasionally very funny and always entertaining -- Robert Harris

Keith Hopkins was Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge and Vice-Provost of King's College.

Mary Beard is Professor of Classics at Newnham College, Cambridge, and the classics editor of the TLS. Her books include the acclaimed The Roman Triumph and The Parthenon (in the Wonders of the World series of which she is general editor). She is also the award winning author of Pompeii.

'A wonderful book, worthy of its subject: horrifying, impressive, blood-soaked, occasionally very funny and always entertaining' Robert Harris The Colosseum was Imperial Rome's greatest monument, towering over the city. It originally held more than 50,000 spectators, the mass audience for its murderous gladiatorial games. It is now visited by more than 4 million visitors a year (and has attracted tourists for centuries, from Lord Byron, to Mark Twain and even Adolf Hitler). This fully revised edition tells the story of Rome's greatest arena: how it was built; the gladiatorial and other games that were held there; the training of the gladiators; the audiences who revelled in the games, the emperors who staged them and the critics. And it tells of its strange afterlife- the Colosseum has also been fort, store, church, botanical garden and glue factory.'Brilliant ... it brings the Colosseum vividly to life in all its gory splendour' Geographical

Award winning classicist, Mary Beard with Keith Hopkins, tell the story of Rome's greatest arena The Colosseum was Imperial Rome's monument to warfare. Like a cathedral of death it towered over the city and invited its citizens, 50,000 at a time, to watch murderous gladiatorial games. It is now visited by two million visitors a year (Hitler was among them). Award winning classicist, Mary Beard with Keith Hopkins, tell the story of Rome's greatest arena: how it was built; the gladiatorial and other games that were held there; the training of the gladiators; the audiences who revelled in the games, the emperors who staged them and the critics. And the strange after story - the Colosseum has been fort, store, church, and glue factory.

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