NAUMACHIA TRUTH BEHIND ROME'S GLADIATOR SEA BATTLES

In their quest for evermore novel and bloody entertainment, the Romans staged enormous naval fights on artificial lakes

- MURRAY DAHM

The term naumachia was used in the ancient world for staged naval combats and the structures that were built to host them. Naumachia were in many ways an inevitable progression of Roman blood sports which, by the late first century BCE, had become increasingly violent. The most famous of these spectacles was, of course, gladiatorial combat - where pairs of warriors were pitted against one another in an arena. The earliest gladiatorial combat dates back to the First Punic War in 264 BCE. On that occasion only three pairs of gladiators fought, to honour a dead general's father. They were a munus - a gift to the departed. Throughout Rome's history the numbers of combatants grew larger and larger in 216 BCE games lasted three days, with 22 pairs of gladiators, and by 183 BCE there were 120 pairs fighting. Julius Caesar crippled himself with debt in 65 BCE to show 320 pairs of gladiators. Under the empire, the numbers of gladiators continued to expand - Trajan had 10,000 gladiators fighting over 123 days in the early second century CE.

There were other similar entertainments for the bloodthirsty Roman audiences, including contests between men and animals (these gladiators were known as venatores), as well as the public executions of condemned criminals. In many ways, such entertainments peaked in the first and second centuries CE, but they remained popular long after that with well over 100 days of games every year.

They were free for audiences, the bill footed by politicians looking to be seen favourably or, later, emperors wanting to indulge their subjects. There were also chariot races which, while not a blood sport per se, could also be violent and often resulted in crashes; they were also immensely popular and more than one riot broke out between the supporters of rival chariot teams. Chariot races were held in the Circus Maximus - a structure which dated back to the seventh century BCE (chariot races were far older than gladiatorial combats).