Fed to the Beasts? Another Tunisian Mosaic

[sulla felix]

The men top left and top right appear to be bound with their hands behind their backs and are being held by another man behind them whilst Leopards savage them. I am also intrigued by the structure in the centre with what appears to be four military trophies, or is this depicting a gladiator training school?

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t15/ ... ge0102.jpg

[sulla felix]

And here is a close up of the grisly scene bottom left:

[Medusa Gladiatrix]

This mosaic was also mentioned at the conferece in Chester esp. this close-up you show in your second post. That definitely shows a scene of a person condemned ad bestias. His hands are bound and he's pushed by an attendant towards the leopard which already jumped onto him and bites into his face. So a dangerous job for the attendant as well.

This scene was compared to another where the damnatii are bound on a pole which is placed on a cart which is pushed into the arena by the attendants but from a much safer spot. Unfortunately I don't know the exact name and place of that mosaic right now.

Unfortunately there was no discussion on the whole mosaic as showin in your link, Sulla Felix. Therefore I cannot give you an explanation what it really shows. But it definitely does not depict a gladiator or venator training school since it obviously shows damnatii ad bestias as explained above.

[sulla felix]

Hi Medusa,

So this is a criminal of some description condemned to death, presumably whilst the public looked on. As you say the man pushing the condemned man forward really did have a very dangerous job!

Was this type of thing carried out during galdiatorial games, or is this a seperate event?

[Medusa Gladiatrix]

At least from the reform of Augustus on a munus (pl. munera) consisted of the following:

* venationes (beast hunts) in the morning, i.e. beast against beast or beast against venator (professional beast fighter), hence the name of the Imperial school of the venatores in Rome was "ludus matina" (the Morning School).

* executions in different ways - the Romans had loads of fantasy to enact executional plays - at noon time. This could have been a scene depicted in the mosaic where people were condemned to death by wild beasts.

* the highlight of the munus being the gladiatorial combats held in the afternoon, this means professional fighters fighting only against other men. Please don't mistake professional now for being volunteer, no gladiators could be either prisoners of war, criminals condemned ad ludus (to the gladiator school), slaves sold by their masters to a ludus (this was forbidden later on), or volunteers. All had to vow their lanista the gladiatorial oath that they will endure to be beated, enchained, burned and delivered to the iron, even the volunteers. But it was a chance esp. for the prisoners and criminals and slaves to fight for their lives and freedom.

[sulla felix]

Thanks Medusa,

Laudes for that detailed information.

[john m roberts]

The man bound to a pole on a chariot is in the Zliten mosaic from Libya.

[Titus Martius]

AVETE!
I would like to know which Roman authors decribed the executions of condemned criminals in arena and if these sort of executions were mentioned in law. Thanks.

By the way, the Zliten mosaic shows man who is pushing criminal (and has whip) too.