blog for Oct 8 THE GREATEST ROMAN EXTRAVAGANZA

In The Deadliest Hate, Miriam tells us what it was like to go to the games:

What a sight! Thousands filled the four tiers of the stadium. The rows of sandstone seats, freshly washed and smelling of lemon and thyme, wrapped around all but the west side so spectators, should they weary of the butchery, could stretch their eyes across the arena to a simmering sea melting into the horizon.

Miriam does not tell us, however, about a naumachia, the grandiose celebration started by Julius Caesar, when the Romans filled an arena with water to stage a sea battle. Naumachiae translates to “naval combats,” a scaled up gladiator event held in an enormous pool with competing fleets of oarsmen and fighters. Men awaiting execution loosely reenacted a historical battle improvising with their own brutality. The naumachia was a centerpiece that also involved music, horse-racing, infantry and cavalry combat, and a few low-key elephant battles.

Only one took place during Miriam’s lifetime. In 52 CE, Claudius staged his own naumachia on a lake involving 19,000 “soldiers” and 100 ships meant to represent rivals Rhodes and Cecily. When the prisoners refused to fight, he sent down his imperial guard to instigate some blood shedding.

So, Miriam will not be able to take you to a naumachia, but you can experience the thrill of the games anyway in The Deadliest Hate. Just click here.