A Lesson From Roman History

“IF, LIKE men, I have fought with wild beasts at Ephesus.” Some think that those words, recorded at 1 Corinthians 15:32, mean that the apostle Paul was sentenced to fight in a Roman arena. Whether he did or not, fights to the death in arenas were common during that time. What does history tell us about the arena and the events occurring there?

You may ask, ‘Who were the gladiators?’ Well, they might have been slaves, criminals condemned to death, prisoners of war, or free men drawn by excitement or the hope of fame and wealth. All were trained in prisonlike schools. The book Giochi e spettacoli (Games and Spectacles) reports that gladiators in training “were always watched by guards and subject to rigid discipline, the severest of rules, and particularly harsh punishments . . . This treatment often led to suicide, mutiny, and revolt.” Rome’s largest gladiatorial school had cells for at least a thousand inmates. Each man had a specialty. Some fought with armor, shield, and sword, others with net and trident. Still others were trained to face wild beasts in another popular type of show, the hunt. Might Paul have been referring to just such an event?

Mornings at the arena were dedicated to hunts. Wild beasts of all kinds might be forced into the arena. The audience particularly appreciated the pairing of a bull and a bear. Often the two were bound together to fight until one died, then the survivor was finished by a hunter. Other popular matches set lions against tigers, or elephants against bears. Hunters displayed their skill in slaying exotic animals brought from every corner of the empire, with no expense spared​—leopards, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, giraffes, hyenas, camels, wolves, boars, and antelope.

Scenic effects made hunts unforgettable. Rocks, ponds, and trees were used to mimic forests. In some arenas, beasts appeared as if by magic, delivered by underground elevators and trapdoors. Unpredictable animal behavior added interest, but what seems to have made hunts especially fascinating was cruelty.