How did the Romans Capture Animals for the Colosseum?

Polar bears from the Arctic. Tigers from India. Giraffes from the Serengeti.

The Romans brought animals thousands of miles for the beast hunts and shows staged in the Colosseum. Find out how they did it in this first episode of Questions about Ancient Greece and Rome (you were afraid to ask in school).

Photo Gallery

A man condemned "ad bestias" (to the beasts). From a mosaic in the Archaeological Museum of El Djem, Tunisia.

Another criminal, in this case being devoured by a bear. From the Roman villa in Nennig, Germany.

Beast combats: an elephant attacks a lion. From the Great Palace Mosaic Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.

A lion subdues a leopard in this magnificent mosaic from Pompeii (now in the Naples Archaeological Museum).

The beast hunts. This is the famous Magerius Mosaic, which shows venatores (hunters) killing named leopards. Now in the Sousse Archaeological Museum, Tunisia.

Venatores take on a tiger. From the Great Palace Mosaic Museum, Istanbul.

A venator kills many leopards. From the Galleria Borghese, Rome.

Many of the animals that appeared in the arena, like these bears, were chased into netted enclosures. From the Getty Villa, Los Angeles.

A tigress pounces on a mirror, mistaking her own reflection for one of her cubs. In the meantime, a hunter escapes with the real cub. From the Villa Romana del Casale, Piazza Armerina, Sicily.

A cart with boxes for transporting animals. From Piazza Armerina.

Ostriches and an antelope are brought up a gangway to a ship bound for Italy. From Piazza Armerina.

The antelope from the previous picture is loaded onto a boat, which has transport boxes on the deck.

Another Piazza Armernia mosaic showing an elephant being hauled on board.

The arena of the Colosseum rested on a dense network of halls, cages, and elevators. All but the largest animals were kept here before the games and entered the arena via trapdoors.

A reconstruction of one of the Colosseum's 28 slave-powered elevators.

Suggested Reading

George Jennison, Animals for Show and Pleasure in Ancient Rome (Manchester, 1937)

Jerry Toner, The Day Commodus Killed a Rhino (Baltimore, 2014)

J.M. C. Toynbee, Animals in Roman Life and Art (London, 1973)

How did the Romans Capture Animals for the Colosseum?

Questions Home