Performing in the Roman arena, whether as a gladiator, a beast-hunter, or some other kind of violent entertainer was mostly a man’s job, but that doesn’t mean women never took part. The poet Martial celebrated a woman (or women, Martial is vague on the details) who slew a lion as part of the games put on the emperor Domitian.
Warlike Mars, unconquered in arms, serves you, Caesar,
but this is not enough: Venus herself serves you, too.Martial, On the Spectacles 7
Fame used to sing the tale of how great Hercules
laid low the lion in Nemea’s wide valley.
Enough of that old legend: now after your games, Caesar,
we have seen such things done by women’s hands.Martial, On the Spectacles 8
(My own translations)
Some scholars think these are two separate poems, others that they were originally one poem and the first two lines got accidentally split off at some point when manuscripts were being copied out. In any case, it seems pretty clear that women also took up arms to perform for the crowds in Rome.
Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.
Co-Geeking 