The Roman Forum was the center of downtown ancient Rome. It was where the Senate killed Julius Caesar, changing Rome from a Republic to an Empire, pretty powerful! Now it is just a bunch of ruins and huge columns and arches, really, really tall arches.
Today it was rainy and cloudy but still crowded at the Colosseum. It was more crowded than usual because the week we were in Rome it was culture week and so all museums and sites were free including the Colosseum. The Colosseum was a place where men would slaughter each other or animals, like dogs or lions. If one fell on the ground, the other would ask the emperor whether or not to kill the fallen. The emperor would ask the people in the stadium. If their thumbs went up, kill it was. If their thumbs went down, they would spare his life. People who were poor loved going to the colosseum because it was free er... entertainment, and they felt empowered when they chose whether the person would live or die. That is one way the emperors maintained power. Things haven't changed much.
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