, 1st century AD The exact purpose of early forms of
damnatio ad bestias is not known. They might have been intended as religious sacrifices rather than as punishments, especially in regions where
lions existed naturally and were revered by the population. In northern Africa, during the
Mercenary War, Carthaginian general
Hamilcar Barca threw prisoners to the beasts, whereas
Hannibal forced Romans captured in the
Punic Wars to fight each other, and the survivors had to stand against
elephants. There were no wild lions in Italy and human sacrifice had been banned in the
Roman Kingdom since the 7th century BC, according to legends which attributed this ban to
Numa Pompilius. When
damnatio ad bestias appeared there later, it was as a punishment and spectacle rather than as a spiritual practice.
Terminology Whereas the term
damnatio ad bestias is usually used in a broad sense, historians distinguish two subtypes:
obicĕre bestiis (to throw to beasts) where the humans are defenseless, and
damnatio ad bestias, where the punished are both expected and prepared to fight. In addition, there were professional beast fighters trained in special schools, such as the Roman Morning School, which received its name by the timing of the games. These schools taught not only fighting but also the behavior and taming of animals. The fighters were released into the arena dressed in a tunic and armed only with a spear (occasionally with a sword). They were sometimes assisted by
venators (hunters), who used bows, spears and whips. Such group fights were not human executions but rather staged animal fighting and hunting. Various animals were used, such as
elephants,
rhinoceroses,
wild boars,
buffaloes,
hippopotamuses,
aurochs, bears, lions, tigers, leopards, hyenas, and wolves. The first such staged hunting () featured lions and panthers, and was arranged by
Marcus Fulvius Nobilior in 186 BC at the
Circus Maximus on the occasion of the Greek conquest of
Aetolia. The
Colosseum and other circuses still contain underground hallways that were used to lead the animals to the arena.
History and description (
National Museum,
Warsaw) shows the punishment of a Roman woman who had converted to Christianity. At the Emperor Nero's wish, the woman, like mythological
Dirce, was tied to a wild bull and dragged around the arena. The custom of submitting criminals to lions was brought to ancient Rome by two commanders,
Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, who defeated the Macedonians in 167 BC, and his son
Scipio Aemilianus, who conquered the African city of
Carthage in 146 BC. It was originally a military punishment, possibly borrowed from the Carthaginians. Rome reserved its earliest use for non-Roman military allies found guilty of defection or desertion. Such executions were also documented by
Seneca the Younger and
Lucretius.
Pompey used
damnatio ad bestias for showcasing battles and, during his second consulate (55 BC), staged a fight between heavily armed gladiators and 18 elephants. In a letter to a friend,
Cicero described these games as splendid but tasteless, noting that a "man of refinement" could find no pleasure in repeatedly seeing how "a weak man is torn by an extremely powerful animal". Fictitious instances are featured in
Petronius's
Satyricon and in
Apuleius's novel
The Golden Ass. Some convicts were killed in executions deliberately arranged to resemble scenes from mythology.
Martial, who wrote about the
Colosseum's opening games in his
Book of Spectacles, described how a man dressed as
Orpheus playing his
lyre was ripped apart by a bear. The most popular animals were
tigers, which were imported to Rome in significant numbers specifically for
damnatio ad bestias. Local municipalities were ordered to provide food for animals in transit and not delay their stay for more than a week. Some historians believe that the mass export of animals to Rome had a serious impact on wildlife numbers in North Africa.
Execution of Christians , by
Saint George Hare, depicts two naked Christian women on the eve of their
damnatio ad bestias with animals in the background. . Tying women to pillars or poles and stripping them of clothing in public was a common practice in the condemnation of Christian women. The use of
damnatio ad bestias against Christians began in the 1st century AD.
Tacitus states that during the first persecution of Christians under the reign of
Nero (after the
Great Fire of Rome in AD 64), people were wrapped in animal skins (called
tunica molesta) and thrown to dogs. This practice was followed by other emperors who moved it into the arena and used larger animals. Application of
damnatio ad bestias to Christians was intended to equate them with the worst criminals, who were usually punished this way. There is no conclusive evidence that Christians were ever executed in the
Colosseum in Rome, though it is quite plausible that some of them were. According to
Roman laws, Christians were: • Guilty of
high treason (majestatis rei) • For their worship Christians gathered in secret and at night, making
unlawful assembly, and participation in such
collegium illicitum or
coetus nocturni was equated with a riot. • For their refusal to honor images of the emperor by
libations and incense • Dissenters from the
state gods (άθεοι,
sacrilegi) • Followers of magic prohibited by law (
magi, malefici) • Confessors of a religion unauthorized by the law (
religio nova, peregrina et illicita), according to the
Twelve Tables). The spread of the practice of throwing Christians to beasts was reflected by the Christian writer
Tertullian (2nd century AD). He states that the general public blamed Christians for any general misfortune and after natural disasters would cry "Away with them to the lions!" This is the only reference from contemporaries mentioning Christians being thrown specifically to lions. Tertullian also wrote that Christians started avoiding theatres and circuses, which were associated with the place of their torture.
"The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and their Companions", a text which purports to be an eyewitness account, as written by Vibia Perpetua, of a group of Christians condemned to
damnatio ad bestias at Carthage in AD 203, states that the men were required to dress in the robes of a priest of the Roman god
Saturn, the women as priestesses of
Ceres. They were brought back out in separate groups and first the men, then the women, exposed to a variety of wild beasts. At the resistance of Perpetua, however, the tribune relented and the prisoners were allowed to enter wearing their own clothing. The two young women, Perpetua and a slave girl Felicitas, were reserved as a finale to the executions to face a wild cow. Since it was thought that public nudity would not cast doubt on their fidelity, further degradation was added by not only fully exposing them to the beast but using one of their own sex rather than the usual male animal. The implication was that the women were shown as not being women enough to commit adultery. After having all their clothing removed Perpetua and Felicitas were driven into the arena covered only in see-through netting. As this proved too much for the crowd, they were brought back to be clothed in plain loose garments before being sent in again to face the beast. This is also not the only instance of such treatment being used on Christian women, many also customarily subjected to other punishments and harsh tortures beforehand. More generally though, in contrast to their clothed male counterparts, women were tied fully naked to stakes or pillars with their hands behind their backs. Full body exposure of a female to a bull after being entirely stripped of all her clothing was one aspect of her shaming, the implications being that she was not regarded in the same way as attired male competitors and allowed to fight any "beast" but rendered helpless, and that being denuded in public would imply a charge of adultery on the part of the woman. Those who survived the first animal attacks were either brought back out for further exposure to the beasts or executed in public by a
gladiator. The persecution of Christians ceased by the 4th century AD. The
Edict of Milan (AD 313) gave them freedom of religion.
Penalty for other crimes Roman laws, which are known to us through the Byzantine collections, such as the
Code of Theodosius and
Code of Justinian, defined which criminals could be thrown to beasts (or condemned by other means). They included: • Deserters from the army This law was re-established in AD 357 by
Constantius II • Poisoners; by the law of
Cornelius,
patricians were beheaded,
plebeians thrown to lions, and slaves were crucified • Counterfeiters, who could also be burned alive • Political criminals. For example, after the overthrow and assassination of
Commodus, the new emperor threw to lions both the servants of Commodus and
Narcissus who strangled him. Even though Narcissus brought the new emperor to power, he committed the crime of murdering the previous one. The same punishment was applied to Mnesteus who organized the assassination of Emperor
Aurelian. •
Patricides, who were normally drowned in a leather bag filled with snakes (
poena cullei), but could be thrown to beasts if a suitable body of water was not available. • Those who kidnapped children for ransom, according to the law of AD 315 by the Emperor
Constantine the Great, Exception from
damnatio ad bestias was given to military servants and their children. The practice of
damnatio ad bestias was abolished in Rome in AD 681. ==Notable victims, according to various Christian traditions==