Parthenon sculptures represent a high point in the period of Greek experminentation with carving in marble (Gilbert 370). The elliptical-shaped Colosseum, taking ten years to build, was the largest structure of its type. It stood 160 feet high with four stories of windows, arches, and columns. The Colosseum was planned under the Emperor Vespasian and dedicated as an amphitheater for gladiator games and public entertainment (Gilbert 378). The Colosseum was enourmous in size, allowing over some 50,000 people to attend any given game. A view of the Colosseum can be seen at: http://www.kent.wednet.edu/curriculum/soc_studies/rome/Colosseum.html I think when this place was built that had it well planned out. Especially when I was reading the fact that they had these extensive system of sewers under the Colosseum to drain away the blood and guts of the dead and wounded. The Colosseum had many bloody fights and wars with the gladiators and animals. Even in its ruined state this structure displayed the genius of the Romans as builders (Gilbert 377). The Colosseum was very important in that time, it was one of their greatest achievments. It still fascinates people today, the size, the myths and stories behind this huge colosseum, it's certainly something that is not seen in architecture today.I think the Greeks opened a new world of architecture for themselves as well as the followers of the great architectural structures built in the Roman and Greek days. I found that the Panthenon was suberbly created and masterfully constructed. It's so hard to believe that structures like these took so many years to construct, yet when they were done it certainly showed why it took so long to create these masterpieces of architecture. The extras that adorned these structures is what I think made them so wonderfull and appealing to the eye. The true craftsmenship of the statues, paintings and carvings that were in these structures are what made these places s...
