VĒNĀTĬO

hunting, was the name given among the Romans to an exhibition of wild beasts, which fought with one another and with men. These exhibitions originally formed part of the games of the circus. Julius Caesar first built a wooden amphitheatre for the exhibition of wild beasts, and others were subsequently erected; but we frequently read of venationes in the circus in subsequent times. The persons who fought with the beasts were either condemned criminals or captives, or individuals who did so for the sake of pay, and were trained for the purpose. [ Bestiarii . ] The Romans were as pa ionately fond of this entertainment as of the exhibitions of gladiators, and during the latter days of the republic, and under the empire, an immense variety of animals was collected from all parts of the Roman world for the gratification of the people, and many you sands were frequently slain at one time. We do not know on what occasion a venatio was first exhibited at Rome; but the first mention we find of any thing of the kind is in the year B.C. 251, when L. Me tell us exhibited in the circus 142 elephants, which he had brought from Sicily after his victory over the Cart hag in i ans. But this can scarcely be regarded as an instance of a venatio, as it was understood in later times, since the elephants are said to have been only killed because the Romans did not know what to do with them, and not for the amusement of the people. There was, however, a venatio in the later sense of the word in B.C. 186, in the games celebrated by M. Fulvius in fulfilment of the vow which he had made in the Aetolian war; in these games lions and panthers were exhibited. It is mentioned as a proof of the growing magnificence of the age that in the lud i cir censes, exhibited by the curule aediles P. Cornel i us Scipio Nasica and P. Lentulus B.C. 168, there were 63 African panthers and 40 bears and elephants. From about this time combats with wild beasts probably formed a regular part of the lud i cir censes, and many of the curule aediles made great efforts to obtain rare and curious animals, and put in requisition the services of their friends. Elephants are said to have first fought in the circus in the curule aedileship of Claudius Pulcher, B.C. 99; and twenty years afterwards, in the curule aedileship of the two Luculli, they fought against bulls. A hundred lions were exhibited by Sulla in his praetorship, which were destroyed by javelin-men sent by king Bocchus for the purpose. This was the first time that lions were allowed to be loose in the circus; they were previously always tied up. The games, however, in the curule aedileship of Scaurus, B.C. 58, surpa ed anything the Romans had ever seen; among other novelties, he first exhibited an hippo pot a mos and five crocodiles in a temporary canal or trench ( euripus ). At the venatio given by Pompey in his second consulship, B.C. 55, upon the dedication of the temple of Venus Victrix, there was an immense number of animals slaughtered, among which we find mention of 600 lions, and 18 or 20 elephants; the latter fought with Gaetulians, who hurled darts against them, and they attempted to break through the railings ( clathri ) by which they were separated from the spectators. To guard against this danger Julius Caesar surrounded the arena of the amphitheatre with trenches ( euripi ). In the games exhibited by J. Caesar in his third consulship, B.C. 45, the venatio lasted for five days, and was conducted with extraordinary splendour. Cameleopards or giraffes were then for the first time seen in Italy. The venationes seem to have been first confined to the lud i cir censes, but during the later times of the republic, and under the empire, they were frequently exhibited on the celebration of triumphs, and on many other occasions, with the view of pleasing the people. The pa ion for these shows continued to increase under the empire, and the number of beasts sometimes slaughtered seems almost incredible. Under the emperors we read of a particular kind of venatio, in which the beasts were not killed by bestiarii, but were given up to the people, who were allowed to rush into the area of the circus and carry away what they pleased. On such occasions a number of large trees, which had been torn up by the roots, was planted in the circus, which thus resembled a forest, and none of the more savage animals were admitted into it. One of the most extraordinary venationes of this kind was that given by Probus, in which there were 1000 ostriches, 1000 stags, 1000 boars, 1000 deer, and numbers of wild goats, wild sheep, and other animals of the same kind. The more savage animals were slain by the bestiarii in the amphitheatre, and not in the circus. Thus, in the day succeeding the venatio of Probus just mentioned, there were slain in the amphitheatre 100 lions and 100 lione es, 100 Libyan and 100 Syrian leopards, and 300 bears. IMG:6459379820872971714_ill409.jpg: Venationes. (From Bas-reliefs on the Tomb of Scaurus at Pompeii.)