Munera: these were the main kind of tournament, in which gladiators fought one against the other: the winner of a match challenged the winner of another match, and so on until only one among many competitors was the winner. The gladiators were in most cases enslaved war prisoners, who fought for the prime purpose of earning enough money to buy their freedom back from their owners. The name 'gladiator' comes from the gladius, i.e. a short pointed sword with two blades that some of them used. In fact, they were divided into several categories, each of which had its own fighting attitude, according to the weapons they wielded and the protections they wore. Furthermore, not all categories existed at the same time, some of them having developed from earlier schemes.
These were the most common types of gladiators:

the Secutores ("chasers") wore a globe-shaped helmet, shin guards and carried a rounded shield with his left arm, while the right arm was padded and in the hand he carried a sword called sica, even shorter than a gladius; the Hoplomachi ("those who fight like the Oplites", the latter being the Greek heavy infantry soldiers) wore a helmet, shin guards and carried a shield and a short sword with his left arm, while the right arm was padded and held a spear; the Thraeces were fighters of small build who wore a leather corset, a helmet decorated with a griffon or with feathers, shin guards, and carried a curved sica and a round shield; the Murmillones wore a large helmet with a grill to protect the face and shin guards, and held a typical gladius and a long rectangular shield, similar to the one carried by the Roman infantry; the Retiarii had no protection except a metal guard on their left arm, ending with a shoulder plaque that guarded their neck; they carried a net, a trident and a dagger with a large blade (pugium); these weapons mimicked the equipment of a fisherman, likely in connection with the cult of Neptune, god of the seas.

Several other categories are mentioned by literary sources, but they were less common.
Usually specific categories fought one against the other: the Retiarii were matched against the Secutores or the Hoplomachi, while the fast Thraeces fought against the Murmillones, whom their heavy equipment made rather slow.

Fights very often ended with the death of the loser: a gladiator could die killed by his opponent, but if he was floored still alive, the last word was left to the emperor, who usually attended the tournament. If in his own opinion (sometimes partly influenced by the roaring crowd) the loser had fought bravely, he would spare the gladiator's life; otherwise he would have him definitively killed on the spot by the winner (gladiators also received a specific training on how to kill a floored opponent without hesitation).
In addition, each emperor had his own sympathies for one category or another. For instance, Titus was particularly fond of Thraeces, while his brother Domitian fancied the Hoplomachi. Instead nobody partied for the Retiarii, who were held in lesser consideration, basically because they wore no helmet and their net was also looked at as 'less manly' than a sword.

Nowadays this kind of entertainment would be considered unacceptable for its brutality, but this was also the opinion of a number of cultured Romans. However, the large majority of the people really enjoyed such gruesome shows.

Venationes (hunts): another blood-shedding type of show consisted in hunting and killing wild and exotic animals, such as elephants, crocodiles, lions, tigers, buffalos, zebras, hippos, camels, ostriches, and several other species, taken to Rome in great quantity for this purpose, from the empire's territories in northern Africa and the Middle East. This show took place in an exotic setting that recreated the wildlife environment, obtained by arranging painted backgrounds all around the arena. Some bones of these animals were found in the sewage system that ran below the arena. The fighters who took parto to 'hunts' were called bestiarii and were looked down at by the real gladiators. They too, though, shared the same social rank. During the events for the opening of the Colosseum, which according to historical sources lasted 100 days, some 5,000 wild animals were killed. This also happened every time games were held for special events, such as a military victory, or an important anniversary.

The public accessed the building from eighty gates; all of them were numbered, because many spectators had what today would be called a card, or pass, consisting of a badge with a symbol in relief, similar to the ones shown below, whose design differred according to the entrance and to the tiers' sector. The Colosseum could hold up to about 70,000 spectators, most of which seated. The seats were in wood and bricks, except the ones of the imperial box, that were in marble. The few people left without a seat could stand in the uppermost section of the building.

The arena's floor was made of wooden planks, covered with sand. Below the floor was a complicated system of galleries and chambers, whose remains can be seen today, since the floor has completely disappeared. They were used as deposits for weapons, tools and scenery. There also was an underground passage that connected the Colosseum with the nearby Ludus Magnus, i.e. a training school for gladiators, shaped as a small arena, whose remains can still be seen. Also the wild animals were kept there in cages; at the right time, they were led onto the arena's floor either along slopes or by using a number of elevators. The fights between gladiators were stopped in year 404 by emperor Honorius, who was a fervent Christian, while the animal hunts ended about one century later. Therefore, at the beginning of the Middle Ages, the Colosseum was left in a state of abandonment. Year after year, decade after decade, the arena became a huge swamp, filled with mud, until during the 11th century the noble Frangipane family turned the building into their own private stronghold, which included, among other remains, also the nearby arch of Titus. The fortress reached in height the second order of arches; today no trace of it is left.

About 200 years later it became the property of another noble family, the Annibaldi, and finally it ended up in the hands of the popes: this caused the Colosseum to fall once again into oblivion; the monument was even plundered of several marble fragments, used either for producing lime, or directly recycled for the making of other buildings. The aforesaid fragments were already lying on the ground, as a consequence of a series of earthquakes that struck Rome particularly during the 14th century. Also metal parts of the Colosseum were taken away and reused; the many large holes visible today (picture below) are the ones left by stolen hinges that once held the blocks together.

Between the late 16th and the early 17th centuries, the popes' interest turned again upon the Colosseum, following the belief that this arena had been a place of martyrdom for many Christians. The site was therefore cleared from the many thieves and prostitutes, who had chosen these ruins as a shelter, and closed by means of gates. A number of Christian symbols, and a small church, were set among the ancient remains.

When the papacy fell (1870) a real restoration campaign was carried out upon the building: the whole central area had to be cleared of trees and wild vegetation that had been growing over the arena for over one thousand years, and some modern additions were removed. Following excavations unearthed the underground galleries. Among the curious remains found on the spot are several fruit stones, thrown away by spectators after having nibbled on peaches and olives during an event, almost two thousand years ago.

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