Rabbi Akiva was alive when Rome built the Colosseum
Rabbi Akiva was already a grown man when the Colosseum opened its gates in 80 CE. The same Flavian house that destroyed the Second Temple — the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus — raised that arena, and Rabbi Akiva lived on under emperor after emperor until his martyrdom under Hadrian roughly 55 years later.
How we know
Colosseum inaugurated by Titus in 80 CE; construction begun under Vespasian c.70–72 CE. Vespasian and Titus led the siege of Jerusalem (70 CE). Rabbi Akiva was martyred under Hadrian c.135 CE, about 55 years later. Many historians place his birth c.50 CE; the tradition that he lived 120 years (Sifrei Devarim 357) places it c.15 CE. Either way he was an adult in 80 CE. These are well-documented first-century dates, so traditional and academic chronology agree here.
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