The Amphitheatre of Pompeii

The Amphitheatre of Pompeii was once capable of holding up to 20,000 spectators. Central to the life of the city, it featured animal hunts, chariot races, and gladiatorial bouts. The surrounding area developed with taverns and eateries to provide pre- and post-game refreshments for the spectators.

Miriam receives the news that her brother Binyamin, a famous gladiator, was killed there. Here’s how she tells it in The Deadliest Sport:

The indelible despair came in the wake of the visit three days ago from Sergius, Binyamin’s manager. With his brows rammed together and his voice scraping my ears, he told me what I suppose was inevitable, that death had claimed Binyamin two weeks ago in the Amphitheatre of Pompeii and that the ship bearing his body had just docked in Alexandria. And so, I prepared a splendid funeral for him at the Great Synagogue and commissioned Sergius to see to the monument.

But eight years later, Binyamin reappears in The Deadliest Returns and tells us what really happened: “I was severely injured in the arena,” he said.

But there’s more. Much more. You can find it all out in “The Bodyguard”, the first story in The Deadliest Returns. Just click here.