What was the Colosseum used for?

The Colosseum was ancient Rome's giant public arena, used for gladiator contests, animal hunts, staged battles, and other shows. Leaders paid for these events to entertain huge crowds and win public support, even though many of the spectacles were violent and deadly.

The building was as clever as it was harsh. Workers used underground passages, lifts, trapdoors, shade cloths, water systems, and crowd routes to make shows run smoothly for tens of thousands of people sitting together in the Roman heat.