Animals in the Arena
This 3rd century mosaic from Smirat in Tunisia records a venatio given by Magerius. In the centre stands a steward with bags of money to pay the costs of the hunt (1,000 denarii or 4,000 sesterces); the inscription recalls the cheers of the audience.
Media Attributions
- Sousse museum Smirat-retouched © Photo by Pascal Radigue is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
definition
Beast hunts, sometimes in staged settings. A wide range of domestic and exotic animals were hunted. Although dangerous, a venatio was not necessarily fatal for the hunters, who were given weapons and had some protection.
