End of Amphitheater Games

Summary

During Late Antiquity, the spectacles that could be witnessed in Roman amphitheaters consisted of gladiatorial combats (munera) and wild beast hunts (venationes). By the 4th century, munera had become a declining form of entertainment throughout the Empire. As they were extremely costly to organize, cities facing financial difficulties ceased to host them. Consequently, by the late 4th century, Rome was the only city where such spectacles could still be seen, and only for 10 nonconsecutive days during the month of December. These events were funded and offered by the quaestors (Roman magistrates who, from the beginning of the 4th century onward, were responsible only for financing the spectacles held in the amphitheater) upon assuming office, or by fiscal agents acting in their stead when the quaestors were absent. Once the story of the monk Telemachus had been rejected as a historiographical myth (according to this story, the disappearance of munera was the result of an imperial ban and, therefore, a triumph of Christianity), it became evident that the last attestations of munera in Rome date to the 430s. There was no official prohibition; rather, their disappearance resulted from a combination of factors, among which economic causes were particularly decisive.

With regard to venationes, during Late Antiquity, shows in which acrobats demonstrated their skill and agility by evading the attacks of ferocious beasts in various ways enjoyed particular popularity, as can be seen in numerous consular diptychs from the 5th and 6th centuries. Nonetheless, alongside these acrobatic performances, the traditional hunts carried out by professional hunters also persisted. In the Latin West, venationes survived until the first half of the 6th century, especially in the Vandal and Ostrogothic kingdoms. In the Byzantine Empire, they enjoyed a final period of splendor during the 6th century, but declined rapidly after the reign of Justinian (527–565). The last attestations of venationes in Constantinople date from the 12th century. In this case as well, their disappearance was primarily due to economic reasons.