THE MARTYRS OF THE COLISEUM is a history of that famous arena in Rome where thousands of early Christians met a cruel and bloody end but much more than that it is also the story of many well known saints and heroes of Christ who went willingly to their deaths in testimony of the truth of the Catholic faith In fact it reads like a veritable lives of the early saints and martyrs For here are recounted the passion of such notable martyrs as St Ignatius of Antioch St Prisca Sts Chrysanthus and Daria Pope St Stephen St Vitus and companions Sts Abdon and Sennen the Persian kings St Eleutherius the young bishop St Alexander St Hippolytus St Marinus St Martina and many others Designed by a Christian and built in the first century by the labor of the Jews enslaved after the fall of Jerusalem the renowned Roman Coliseum was the site not only of incredible cruelty but also of equally incredible miracles and conversions So sacred is the earth of