Vespasian’s decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero’s lake can be seen as a gesture of returning a part of the city to the people which emperor Nero had appropriated for his own use. Ironically, the modern name for Vespasian’s great amphitheater is one that makes it more of a memorial to Nero than to the dynasty that replaced him. The word Colosseum is derived from the colossal statue of Nero (the Colossus) that stood nearby, commissioned by him for his Golden House.