We all have our memories of first impressions – of people, of feelings, of almost every activity we undertake or situation we encounter.
For me, the first impression of an historical site is always something that is seared onto the memory of my heart and mind. Some sites leave more of an impression while the memories of others linger for a short time before melting away to form part of my broader perception of a period or place.
Back in 2000, one such site that left a titanic, long-lasting impression upon me was the Colosseum in Rome.
I remember it vividly, walking along the thick paving stones of the via Sacra from the Forum Romanum, past the arch of Titus. I was busy talking with my wife when I looked up to find that most famous of Rome’s monuments staring down at me.
It literally stopped me in my tracks.
Prior to that, I had read much about Rome and the Colosseum, but nothing can really prepare you for the moment you come face-to-face with such a creation.
It reached to the sky, arch upon arch, dominating the entire area. The moment I looked upon it, I could hear the cheering and jeering of the crowds, the clang of gladii, and the roar of wild beasts.
This monument of stone and bloody memory came to life, no…exploded into life!…before my very eyes.
It was at that moment that many parts in my books Children of Apollo and Killing the Hydra began to take shape. In fact, my first visit to Rome to see the Colosseum, and indeed the vast ruins of the Forum Romanum and the Palatine Hill, helped me to truly understand the might and majesty of the Roman Empire.
I explored that ruin as much as I could from the outside to the interior corridors and sloping walls of the inside where upwards of 50,000 ancients once sat. I was ignorant of the masses of tourists, the myriad foreign languages being spoken, or the hucksters in cheap ‘Roman’ armour who charged unsuspecting tourists for a photo op while groping them.
It was the Colosseum that had us spell-bound.
It was a true wonder to me, and that first impression set me off on a journey into the past that has led me on many an adventure, both creative, cerebral and physical.
In a way, that first meeting made the world of ancient Rome my home.
Model of Ancient Rome
A couple of months ago, I was reminded of my first impression of the Colosseum when reading another work inspired by this magnificent relic of history.
I was reading from the works of that father of American Gothic poetry and literature, Edgar Allan Poe, and came across his poem The Coliseum published on October 26, 1833, in the Baltimore Saturday Visiter.
I hadn’t read the poem before. In truth, I didn’t even know about it.
Of course, I read it and, well, it made me realize that the Colosseum has likely left an impression on everyone across time who has come across it since the inaugural games of A.D. 80.
I’m not going to analyze the poem here, but rather leave you to read it for yourself and experience a first impression through the eyes of Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar Allan Poe
I hope you enjoy…
The Coliseum
By Edgar Allan Poe
Type of the antique Rome! Rich reliquary
Of lofty contemplation left to Time
By buried centuries of pomp and power!
At length- at length- after so many days
Of weary pilgrimage and burning thirst,
(Thirst for the springs of lore that in thee lie,)
I kneel, an altered and an humble man,
Amid thy shadows, and so drink within
My very soul thy grandeur, gloom, and glory!
Vastness! and Age! and Memories of Eld!
Silence! and Desolation! and dim Night!
I feel ye now- I feel ye in your strength-
O spells more sure than e’er Judaean king
Taught in the gardens of Gethsemane!
O charms more potent than the rapt Chaldee
Ever drew down from out the quiet stars!
Here, where a hero fell, a column falls!
Here, where the mimic eagle glared in gold,
A midnight vigil holds the swarthy bat!
Here, where the dames of Rome their gilded hair
Waved to the wind, now wave the reed and thistle!
Here, where on golden throne the monarch lolled,
Glides, spectre-like, unto his marble home,
Lit by the wan light of the horned moon,
The swift and silent lizard of the stones!
But stay! these walls- these ivy-clad arcades-
These moldering plinths- these sad and blackened shafts-
These vague entablatures- this crumbling frieze-
These shattered cornices- this wreck- this ruin-
These stones- alas! these grey stones- are they all-
All of the famed, and the colossal left
By the corrosive Hours to Fate and me?
“Not all”- the Echoes answer me- “not all!
Prophetic sounds and loud, arise forever
From us, and from all Ruin, unto the wise,
As melody from Memnon to the Sun.
We rule the hearts of mightiest men- we rule
With a despotic sway all giant minds.
We are not impotent- we pallid stones.
Not all our power is gone- not all our fame-
Not all the magic of our high renown-
Not all the wonder that encircles us-
Not all the mysteries that in us lie-
Not all the memories that hang upon
And cling around about us as a garment,
Clothing us in a robe of more than glory.”
The Coloseum c.1870 (Wikimedia Commons)
Isn’t that wonderful?
If you have had the chance to visit the Colosseum yourself, please do tell us what your own first impressions of it were in the comments below.
Thank you for reading.
I have visited the Forum twice, , in 1997 and again in 2012. My reaction to this amazing historical bit of earth was the same both times. Where did all the public buildings and temples go ? If you are schooled in Roman history you might find stone footings, place there by leading citizens, upon which stood buildings of great wonder; where western history was made and preserved. The buildings held once mosaics and sculptures, telling of great deeds and recorded the deeds of founding fathers; all gone to, , , where? It was, and still is, beyond my ability to understand the reasoning behind using this ancient city as a stone quarry. The one lesson I learned while walking the corridors of the colosseum is that your own people, your neighbors, civic leaders, family and friends are capable of destroying the history of anything and everything for the sake of the next shinny thing.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Robert. It is sad but true that most do not respect the remains of history. Perhaps it is due to ignorance of the past. It does indeed blow my mind too that the remains of the forum and other buildings of ancient Rome were used as a quarry. Hadrian’s wall was the same and countless other monuments. I also can’t fathom people thinking it’s ok to chisel pieces off of the stones at Stonehenge or to carve names in the t Parthenon back in the days when one could walk into it. When I first walked through the Forum, I felt the ancient might of Rome was right in my face, and that was just from the few ruins that remain. Imagine the impression were the buildings still intact! Sadly, you are right – the glories of one generation are too often destroyed by the successors. But that’s why we have to keep up the good fight and educate others about history so that they come to respect the past. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I appreciate your response and insightful comments. What bothers me the most, ,in an age where information is readily available, the ignorance continues. Lemmings have no appeal to me.
Have a great Holiday and Christmas.
I hear you, Robert. You too, have a brilliant Holiday and Christmas 🙂