Lamoni, Iowa.
When was the Colosseum at Rome built, and for what purpose? What were its dimensions; what is its present use, and who owns it?
E. B. T.
Answer.—The Colosseum, or Coliseum, as it is sometimes spelled, was a colossal amphitheater constructed by the Emperors Vespasian and Titus. It was in the form of an oval, the longer diameter being 612 feet, the shorter diameter 515 feet, and the height of the walls from 160 to 180 feet. It contained seats for 87,000 persons, and standing room for 15,000 more. The arena, or oval in the center, where the gladiators fought and the deadly conflicts with wild beasts took place, was 281 feet by 176. The walls were of marble, the external face consisting of four stages, or offsets, adorned with engaged columns of the three orders of Grecian architecture, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The lowest three were arcaded, having each eighty columns and as many arches. Statues, sculptures, figures of chariots, metal shields, and other embellishments adorned the niches and salient points. What was the internal structure of this vast building is not fully understood. The tiers of seats above referred to only rose to one-half the height of the stupendous walls. Whether there were hanging galleries above these marble seats is now only a matter of conjecture. Over 2,000 wild beasts were killed in the dedicatory service. There were means by which, when the combats were ended, the immense arena could be filled with water for the exhibition of sea fights. During the various persecutions of the early Christians, many of these were thrown to the wild beasts in this amphitheater. One of the first of these was St. Ignatius, who was torn to pieces by lions. In the sixth century, when Christianity gained the ascendency, the church put an end to the use of the Colosseum. It still stood entire in the eighth century, but subsequently large quantities of the marble was used in the construction of public and private buildings. Pope Benedict XIV., in commemoration of the martyrs who had suffered within its walls, consecrated the Colosseum as a monument to them, erected crosses and oratorios within it, and so put an end to the process of destruction. Ever since it has been regarded as sacred to the martyrs and subject to the church.
WARMING ARCTIC DWELLINGS.
Johnsonville, Ill.
Do inhabitants of the Arctic regions use fire as a means of heating their ice or snow-block houses, and for cooking? If so, what kind of fuel do they use?
H. E. T.
Answer.—The ordinary means of lighting and warming Esquimaux igloos, or winter huts, is a large basin of oil furnished with moss wick. These basins are scolloped from soapstone or similar material. The oil is the product of the whale, seal, or other fish, or of the white bear, but usually the former. Igloos are huts usually a half or more underground, and finished above ground with stones, bones, turf, and moss, and finally with ice and snow. Sometimes they are constructed of blocks of ice and compact snow, with transparent ice windows. The igloo is reached by a long tunnel-like entrance, is unventilated, and soon after the great lamp is lit the heat from this and the warmth from the bodies of the inmates render the mephitic air almost suffocating. These people, generally, eat their food raw or but half cooked.