Mammoth sports stadiums and venues are always a sight to behold when you're sitting in them, but what if you're looking at them from space? That's a whole new perspective that we rarely see, but our friends at NASA and GeoEye have eyes in the sky that allow for us to gain a new appreciation for these architectural and natural landscapes that are more just hulking steel structures or sand traps by the sea.

Indeed, looking at these monuments of sport from above makes you think differently when you're visiting down below. Here are 12 notable venues that stretch across all periods of history to show us that times may change but our societal love of sports is endless.

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The emperor Vespasian not only brought stability and order to a dysfunctional Roman Empire during his 10-year reign, but he also commissioned what would become the lasting inspiration for so many sports stadiums built milleniums afterwards. The Colosseum took eight years to build and was finished by his son Titus, but this behemoth was unlike any structure of its kind. (Still, it was nowhere as big as the Circus Maximus, which held more than 150,000 spectators and more closely resembled modern-day horse racing venues than circular sports stadiums.) Now a popular Roman tourist attraction, the Colosseum held 55,000 fans who came to see gladiators, public executions and theatrical performances.

Image: GeoEye (high-res version)