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Damnatio ad Bestias Mosaic
Roman mosaic depicting damnatio ad bestias where two condemned men are being thrown to the beasts. The arena is littered with spears and splashes of blood. Numerous animals can be seen, including five bears and six big cats. In the two surviving corners of the mosaic, wild felines very graphically attack two male victims. In the centre stands a trophy-decorated structure, possibly indicating that the spectacle was associated with a military victory. The mosaic dates to the beginning of the 3rd century CE.
El Jem Museum, Tunisia.
Questions & Answers
Where did the gladiators fight?
- Gladiators fought in oval-shaped amphitheatres, specially designed for gladiatorial combats. The most famous amphitheatre was the Colosseum (or Flavian Amphitheatre), built in the 1st century CE in Rome. The massive arena could hold about 50,000 spectators. However, until the 1st century CE, gladiators fought in the Forum Romanum, the Circus Maximus, and other arenas with stands made of wood.
What was the venatio?
- The venatio was a form of gladiator entertainment in Roman amphitheatres, which included the hunting and slaying of wild animals, such as lions, bears, elephants, leopards, tigers, boars, and many others. The lion was extremely popular in venationes. Julius Caesar (l. 100-44 BCE) is said to have celebrated the consecration of his forum in Rome with the slaughter of 400 lions in one venatio.
Were there female gladiators?
- Historians believe that women also fought as gladiators until it was outlawed in the 3rd century CE. The Roman historians Cassius Dio (l. 155-235 CE) and Suetonius (l. 69-130 CE) mention female gladiators in their writings. Archaeological evidence includes a marble relief found at Halicarnassus (now in the British Museum), which depicts two female gladiators facing each other and holding swords and shields.
License & Copyright
This image was first published on Flickr.
Original image by Carole Raddato. Uploaded by Carole Raddato, published on 26 June 2024. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
