The Emperor Vespasian “built” and finished the Colosseum in 80 A.D. It took around six to eight years to finish. The reason for building this gargantuan building is to try and take back the area that Emperor Nero used for his house. Emperor Vespasian wanted to use Nero's mistakes and personal greed for big buildings and try to use it for the people. The building was built over Nero's fake lake. The Colosseum got its name from Nero's statue at his fake lake (Colossal-Colosseum). Another name for the Colosseum that was used is the Flavian Amphitheater. The Colosseum is the biggest amphitheater in the world. The Colosseum can sit around 50 thousand to around 80 thousand people. The Colosseum can be seen by everyone but you would need a ticket to get in. The people who are the closest to the ground are the senators and soldiers guarding the watchers. The farthest people to the ground are usually peasants and slaves. The Colosseum was used for gladiator fights and dramatic plays. The gladiators would fight against each other or against animals. Over 400 thousand people and 1 million animals have died in the Colosseum gladiator battles. The Colosseum would stop being used around the 6th century. Some of the metal would be extracted out of it to be used for other construction works. That is why it has holes in it and looks like Swiss cheese.