Inaugurated1 in A.D. 80 by the emperor Titus, the Roman Colosseum is the earliest prototype of the modern superdome. With a perimeter of 527 meters, 80 entrances, and the capacity to hold between 50 and 70,000 spectators, it rivals even the most advanced sports stadiums in size and utility of design, while greatly surpassing them in architectural grandeur.

Inaugurated in A.D. 80 by the emperor Titus, the Roman Colosseum is the earliest prototype of the modern superdome. With a perimeter of 527 meters, 80 entrances, and the capacity to hold between 50 and 70,000 spectators, it rivals even the most advanced sports stadiums in size and utility of design, while greatly surpassing them in architectural grandeur.

The Colosseum was constructed with tens of thousands of tons of a type of marble called travertine and held together with 300 tons of iron. When completed, it rose up 57 meters in four levels. The lower three provided seating for the spectators and were surrounded by magnificent arcades and 80 perfectly symmetrical arches, each embellished with a statue. The attic story contained brackets which could suspend a canopy for shade.

In spite of its glorious design, the Colosseum was built largely for the distraction of the masses in a cynical age, providing dramatic and often gruesome entertainments. Armies of slaves fought for their lives in horrific recreations of famous battles. Gladiators fought wild animals and one another to the death in return for their continued survival, the glory of victory, and precious gifts from their benefactors.

These spectacles of gratuitous violence may seem a little anachronistic, but they are also analogues in many ways to professional sports today. Perhaps the Colosseum is not really such an "ancient" artifact after all.

公元前80年由提多書大帝宣布落成的羅馬競技場，可謂是超級穹頂的最早原型。羅馬競技場周長527米，有80個入口，可容納五至七萬名觀眾，其規模及多用途的設計堪與最先進的體育館媲美，其建筑之宏偉壯麗，更是后者望塵莫及的。

羅馬競技場是由數萬噸名為“石灰華”的大理石加上300噸的鋼鐵鑄建而成。完工后，有四層樓57米高。底下三層是觀眾席，環繞著巨大的環狀拱廊，還有80座完全對稱的拱門，座座都刻有雕像。頂層部份有托架用以懸掛罩篷，可以遮蔭。

盡管設計得金碧輝煌，建造羅馬競技場的主要目的是，在憤世嫉俗的時代中，供人們忘情娛樂，演出戲劇張力十足、不時令人毛骨悚然的娛樂節目。在以著名戰役為背景的駭人節目中，成群奴隸為生存而戰。戰士們與猛獸搏斗或自相殘殺，至死方休，換來的除了繼續生存的權利、勝利的榮耀、還有贊助者饋贈的厚禮。

這些暴力場面或許有些過時，然而類似的場景在現今職業運動中仍屢見不鮮?；蛟S是羅馬競技場畢竟不是一座真正的“古跡”。