Interesting facts about Animals:
Animals in The Arena:
In ancient Rome, an interesting and alternative form of entertainment was gladiatorial fights against animals. There were a few famously known fights, like when lions were let loose in the arena by Sulla in 219 BC. Also, In 695 BC a Hippopotamus and 5 Crocodiles were first seen in Rome by Scaurus and by the time of 698 BC, Pompey had 500 Lions killed. The Colosseum and Roman Arenas were known for holding gladiatorial fights staring animals in which animals were forced to fight specialized gladiators, prisoners and even other animals, although gladiators would rarely get involved. Only “venatores” and “bestiarii” would be able to fight animals and were known as a special class of warrior. Most of the animals that appeared in the roman arena consisted of Bears, Rhinos, Tigers, Hippopotamuses, Elephants, Giraffes, Ostriches, Lions, Deer, Crocodiles and Ravenous dogs. |
Bestiarii
Not only did the gladiators fight other humans, but they also specialized in fighting wild animals. These types of gladiators were referred to as Bestiarii (beast fighters). Bestiarii’s only competitors were wild animals such as leopards, lions, and tigers. Most of the time it was actually designed so that the Bestiarii would win.The Bestiarii were trained to fight these wild animals and it was there fighting with animals was their main focus. The only times where there was a bigger chance of a animal win, was when the fighters were put there to do without weapons. The clothes they wore was often Canvas Loincloth or subligaculum. It was a cloth put around their waist, and sometimes they would wear cloth that covered their chest and waist. The weapons they used was a spear or a knife and occasionally a whip. |
Fun Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykibVdroVEY (A short scene between gladiators and a tiger from BBC), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4UIYP2A1WA (10 Cruel facts), and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQn5OEN65qM (Animal Gladiator short documentary).