WEEK 4 - Understanding Creativity Better

Look at people and times to understand creativity better................

--What traits made them?

--What environmental conditions existed?

--What was the process of creativity?

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     Do you know who is he?

     Dunno leh?

     Let me tell you who is he.......

     He is Vespasian....

     This week blog I would like to say about his handsome guy -- Vespasian....

     

About him ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Reign :-- 1 July 69 - 23 June 79

Full Name :-- Titus Flavius Vespasianus ( from birth to accession )

                      Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus ( as Emperor )

Born :-- 17 November 9

Birth Place :-- Falacrina, Italy

Died :-- 23 June 79 ( aged 69 )

Buried :-- Rome

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Do you know what building is it?

Yup, this building is Colosseum......

About Colosseum ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Location :-- IV Templum Pacis ( Latin : " Temple of Peace " )

Built in :-- ca. 70 - 80 AD

Built by / for :-- Vespasian , Titus

Type of Structure :-- Amphitheatre

Related :-- List of Ancient Monuments in Rome

Rome Plan

      The Colosseum or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, built of concrete and stone. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

     Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD, under the emperor Vesparian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign ( 82 - 96 ). The name " Amphitheatrum Flavium " derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name ( Flavius , from the gens Flavia ).

     Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles , and dramas based on Classical Mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine.

     Although in the 21st Century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchilt " Way of the Cross " procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum. 

     The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the Five-cent Euro coin.

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History ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ancient :--

A map of central Rome during the Roman Empire, with the Colosseum at the upper right corner

Medieval :--

Map of medieval Rome depicting the Colosseum

Modern :--

     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 lire ($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 color 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, or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. 

     Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold when capital punishment was abolished in the American state of New Mexico in April 2009.

     Because of 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), Paul McCartney (May 2003), Elton John (September 2005), and Billy Joel (July 2006).

The Colosseum in a 1757 engraving by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Interior of the Colosseum, Rome. Thomas Cale, 1832. 

Note the Stations of the Cross around the arena and the extensive

 vegetation, both removed later in the 19th century.

Between 1993 and 2000, parts of the outer wall 

were cleaned ( left ) to repair the Colosseum from

 automobile exhaust damage ( right ).

Today, the Colosseum is a background to 

the busy metropolis that is modern Rome

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Physical Description ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Exterior :--

The exterior of the Colosseum, showing the partially intact

 outer wall ( left ) and the mostly intact inner wall ( right )

Original facade of the Colosseum

Entrance Lll of the Colosseum, with Roman numerals still risible

Cross-section from the Lexikon der Gesamten Technik ( 1904 )

This painting by Gioranni Paolo Panini depicts a 

fanciful reconstruction of the Colosseum.

 The Walters Art Museum

Interior Seating :--

Side view of Colosseum seating

Interior of the Colosseum

Arena and Hypogeum :--

The Colosseum arena, showing the Hypogeum

Detail of the Hypogeum

Supporting Building :--

The Coloseum - a view from the Oppian Hill

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Uses :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

     The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called Munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. 

     Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or Venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, aurochs, wisents, Barbary lions, panthers, leopards, bears, Caspian tigers, 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, 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 hoe 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 ).

     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, and animals would then be introduced. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the bankdrop 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 one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.

Pollice Verso by Jean Leon Gerome

A panorama of the interior of the Colosseum in 2011

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