What were Roman Naval Gladiator Battles like? Find out in our animated history documentary on these ancient Naumachia!
The episode begins with a recap of the history of gladiators. These first began as private religious ceremonies meant to commemora…
What were Roman Naval Gladiator Battles like? Find out in our animated history documentary on these ancient Naumachia!
The episode begins with a recap of the history of gladiators. These first began as private religious ceremonies meant to commemorate the passing of great leaders with a duel between slaves. However once the public got a look at them, it was not long before they became captivated by this new form of entertainment and the politicians discovered a new form of propaganda. By the end of the Republican Period, Gladiator battles had gone mainstream with hundreds of fighters and thousands of animals being featured in spectacles that lasted days.
Julius Caesar however would bring things to the next level by pioneering a new dimension of entertainment. This would be the Naumachia, or the Naval Gladiator Battles. The first one was reportedly held in a lake dug in the campus martius and featured dozens of ships manned by thousands of fighters. Such was the popularity of these first naval gladiator battles that many spectators and even several senators died in the stampeding crowd that flocked to see them. The Roman world had a new obsession. Over the next centuries the Julio-Claudian Emperors and the Flavian Emperors would go on to host ever more elaborate Naumachia. This would ultimately culminate in the construction of the Colosseum which was purpose built to be flooded and drained. We cover the engineering works behind flooding the colosseum and recount the many tales from this Golden Age of the Gladiators.
Sources and Suggested Reading
“The Annals” by Tacitus
“Roman History” by Cassius Dio
“The Aqueducts of Rome” by Sextus Julius Frontinus
“Life of Titus” by Suetonius
“Naumachia Augusti” by F. Coarelli
“A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome” by Alberto Angela
“Daily Life in the Roman City” by Gregory S. Adrete
Credits
Research = Chris Das Neves
Script = Chris Das Neves
Narration = Invicta
Created by Invicta
https://www.youtube.com/@InvictaHistory/featured
For more info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naumachia
-- This is shared without profit for educational and historical purposes ---
