Animals Required

[caldrail]

A day at the Colosseum began with beast hunts in the morning. Firstly predators are set loose against prey. Possibly a pair of dangerous animals are pitted against one another. Perhaps a bear and a bull are chained to one another then goaded into displays of anger. Then the bestiarii walk into the arena and are set loose against the predators, or any other creatures wandering the sand. There might be interesting diversions, like circus tricks performed by exotic animals. By midday, animals are set against criminals, who are often wheeled into the arena tied to a stake.

 

The scale of these performances was frightening. The largest recorded event, Trajans celebration of the Dacian victory, is said to have resulted in the slaughter of eleven thousand animals. There were at least ten arenas in the empire seating more than thirty thousand people. There were more than a hundred amphitheatres of all sizes in Italy alone, never mind the the rest of the empire. All of these places staged some beast hunts during games. The supply of these beasts from all corners of the empire and beyond was a massive industry in itself.

 

First these animals needed to be caught. Hunters were frequently found in frontier regions, and more often than not they were ordinary legionaries, soldiers whose specialist skills brought welcome revenue to the legion. One such legion was said to boast 'Ursarii', or bear-hunters. A record from Cologne mentions that fifty bears were netted in six months.

 

The dangers of capturing these animals must be fairly obvious. An animal is often at its most dangerous when cornered.

 

During the empire, there were huge animal depots in the trading cities of Rome, Carthage, Lepcis Magna, Cyrene, Alexandria, and Antioch. Like an exotic market a person could wander along cages of all manner of beasts and buy them. In fact, these depots were a sort of slave market for animals. Expert trainers could be hired, something for which alexandria was noted for.

 

From these cities the animals were usually transported by ship to a port nearest the destination, which often meant Ostia (for Rome). A ship might carry four or five elephants. Each of these creatures by modern standards requires a lot of care. An adult elephant each day requires three bales of hay, twenty five kilo's of fruit and veg, twenty five kilo's of concentrated dry food, and two hundred litres of water. Thats a lot of space on board set aside for provisions on a sea voyage!

 

The animals would be treated carefully. Angry elephants aboard a sea vessel must have been a terrifying prospect, and experts believe that ships were lost for that very reason. Most creatures were carried in wooden or metal crates, kept dark so the animal remained placid. Cages for hippo's and rhino's must have weighed several tons and needed a lot of manpower to move around. We know it was possible for roman sailors to load and unload such cargoes because they also did so for marble and granite blocks of considerable size and weight.

 

Of course, we can't forget the potential of weather to send ships to the bottom with the loss of its valuable cargo. Not only that, the privations and stress of capture and transport were very hard on sensitive animals and expert analyses suggest as many as 50% died before the performance.

 

There is a large mosaic in a sicilian villa belonging to a wealthy politician (name unknown) that shows the various stages of animal performance. From this source its clear that less dangerous species were herded on and off ships along the gangplank.

 

The scale of this operation is hard to comprehend. In Ostia, street mosaics depict animals and clearly there were shipping agents who specialised in this lucrative but risky trade. Animal reserves, called vivaria, were set aside to hold animals before the games got underway.

 

Ultimately, the depridations of these events made an impact on the enviroments in which they were hunted. On the positive side, it meant that huge areas were rendered safe for agriculture. On the negative side, the animals were hunted to near extinction. A 4th century writer mentions that there were no more elephants in Libya, no more lions in Thessalay, nor hippopotami in the swamps of the nile.

 

In typically roman style the beast hunts of the empire were organised to the last detail, from which huge profit and loss could be made. The psychological need of Rome to display their mastery over nature came at a heavy price.

[Publius Nonius Severus]

fascinating post caldrail...laudes to you!

[caldrail]

Its a fascinating subject. What comes across is the regret of thinking romans for the loss of these fine animals yet the total inability of roman culture to conserve them. The animals had to be wild - ferocious - for real. Tame cats in a park would not do. During the inaugral event at the colosseum, emperor titus had a beast trainer executed because the terrified lions refused to fight and slunk away back to the cages, leaving an emperor in politically insecure position somewhat embarrased and concerned for his own future. Titus was not a man to suffer fools.

[Bryaxis Hecatee]

I currently got a colleague doing his end of studies disertation on the subject, and his studies show that not all beast were killed and that sometimes they were even cured in case of wound because they were costly and precious.

[Pertinax]

I currently got a colleague doing his end of studies disertation on the subject, and his studies show that not all beast were killed and that sometimes they were even cured in case of wound because they were costly and precious.

Does your colleague have any suggested reading on vetrenarian skills or medication in regards to this topic please?

[caldrail]

I currently got a colleague doing his end of studies disertation on the subject, and his studies show that not all beast were killed and that sometimes they were even cured in case of wound because they were costly and precious.

 

Correct. There's one case of a bear that became a total star for its displays of ferocity. Also, please note that not all carnivores were killed because they needed some to kill criminals. The value of animals increased toward the end of imperial beast hunts, simply because they were becoming scarce. I'm not sure if the supply actually dried up because there may well have been trade across frontiers for animals, but I do think one of the reasons for the decline in these performances was the increasing cost. It appears to be an economic bubble that deflated rather than burst. The late imperial era doesn't seem to have laid on lavish games.

[Nephele]

Correct. There's one case of a bear that became a total star for its displays of ferocity.

 

Caldrail, I would enjoy reading the story of the gladiatorial bear -- might remind me of Ursus, here, although "bear" only in name. Would you please cite your source? Thank you!

 

-- Nephele

[caldrail]

Correct. There's one case of a bear that became a total star for its displays of ferocity.

 

Caldrail, I would enjoy reading the story of the gladiatorial bear -- might remind me of Ursus, here, although "bear" only in name. Would you please cite your source? Thank you!

 

-- Nephele

 

I've never read about, it was mentioned during a DVD interview with a leading roman historian. I'll have a poke around though.

[Ludovicus]

Fascinating posts! What about Constantinople in regard to animal shows? My limited knowledge of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire tells me that chariot races were the only public spectacles that were performed in the hippodrome there. What about animal fights? Did the Christian founders of the city prohibit cruelty to animals as well as to prisoners and criminals?

[caldrail]

Fascinating posts! What about Constantinople in regard to animal shows? My limited knowledge of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire tells me that chariot races were the only public spectacles that were performed in the hippodrome there. What about animal fights? Did the Christian founders of the city prohibit cruelty to animals as well as to prisoners and criminals?

Animal shows seem to be a western thing, although the east certainly staged them. However, chariot racing was always more popular than the games so I'm not really suprised that the hippodrome at Constantinople featured little else. The christian influence is possible. However I get the impression that the humanitarian side of christian culture was slow to develope. Rome was Rome after all, and Constantinople its child.

 

Regarding that story of the famous bear I've come across a vague reference to a female bear by the name of Innocentia that had a reputation for ferocity, plus it appears that there were famous lions that had killed venators in the ring.

 

According to the research gathered by Eckhart Kohne and Cornelia Ewigleben, venatores were the arena hunters, usually spear wielders apart from a brief fashion for dressing and equipping themselves like gladiators, whom they were considered inferior to.

 

The same research suggests that bestiarii were assistant beast fighters who performed the more mundane tasks of feeding, cleaning, and goading the animals into combat.

 

Confectores were men who finished off wounded animals unable to continue when the fight had finished. Sometimes animals were granted missio for their impressive displays. A venator could ask but if refused had to continue.

 

Women too served as venatores, assuming the role of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt. As far as I'm aware the prohibition by Septimus Severus against females fighters in the arena applied to venatores also.

 

One thing that hasn't seen much attention is how these people trained. Animals must have been imported for these people to gain real experience of fighting them albeit in smaller numbers than large scale munera. Venatores were often taught weapon skills by barbarians who used them in their native land. The Ludus Matutinas was a specialist school for beast hunting.

 

Some of the more extravagant skills attributed to venatores must be treated with some suspicion, since in one case the venator despatched bears by choking them with his arm down their throat. Bit hard to believe that one.

 

As for capturing animals in the wild, its important that the beasts are not harmed. We know nets were used, even on large creatures like bears, but a popular technique was to distract the creature with multiple opponents and tire it out. It wasn't without risk. Mosaics have sometimes portrayed men hiding under shields from big cats. A cruder and almost daft idea is simply to herd animals into a funnel of reinforced netting regardless of species.

 

Performing animals were prized exhibits and definitely not slaughtered. Elephants, being intelligent creatures, were commonly trained in circus tricks. Chimps tea parties were also staged, and at least one ape was trained to drive a chariot.

 

Taurocentae (Bull-Wrestlers) wrestled these large animals to the ground in displays similar to rodeo's but its not clear whether the bulls were allowed to live afterward. Taurarii (Bull-Fighters) were men who fought bulls to the death.

[Northern Neil]

I used to have an excellent book called 'Arena', and it was, of course, the story of Roman entertainment, in particular the amphitheatres. The author's name eludes me, as I unfortunately lent this book out some years ago (like many others!) and havent got it back. Anyway, the writer here makes an interesting point. According to him, animals such as lions and leopards were quite common in mountainous areas of Greece, Sicily and Spain, and also Egypt. It was the need for animals in the arena that rendered them extinct north of the Sahara.

[caldrail]

Originally animals were caught purely to parade them in fron of an urban audience who might never have seen these beasts for real. Of course, having got them and transported them to the arena, what can you do with them afterward? Many of these animals are large and potentially dangerous. So inevitably it was decided to stage a hunt to entertain the audience and rid the owners of their problem in one fell swoop. This quickly became an expected norm, hence the demand for animals.

 

To begin with, animals were gathered locally simply because it was easier. later, the hunters must have gone further to find them, or since the novelty value was important then agents sent to provinces to secure exotic beasts there. In any event, the available animals are getting further and further afield, until the empire is to all intents and purposes dependent on spending large amounts of cash for 'foreign' animals. Another reason for economic and arena decline toward the end (not the only one of course!)

 

PS - I referred earlier to chimps tea parties. That was a mistake on my part because I don't think the romans came across any chimpanzees. Ape tea parties would be more accurate, and especially funny for roman audiences given the antics of their betters!

Edited February 25, 2007 by caldrail

[caldrail]

I know pretty much how river vessels were laid out, but does anyone know anything about sea-going vessels suitable for trading across the med? The reason I ask is I've come across text that suggests these vessels were rowed across when carrying animals, but I'm not so sure. The logisitics of it are a little hard on animals and crew. Roman sailors may not have been the greatest but then surely they had some savvy about loading those big crates aboard when dealing with masted vessels with rigging? Anybody know?