Colosseum
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The Colosseum is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is the largest standing amphi
Looking east from the Piazza di Santa Francesca Romana, 2020
Interior of the Colosseum by late nineteenth century photographer Francis Frith
Sestertius of Titus celebrating the inauguration of the Colosseum (minted 80 AD).
The Colosseum in the 1530s, sketched by Maarten van Heemskerck, and used as the model for his later Self-Portrait with the Colosseum and Octo Mundi Miracula.
Damnatio ad bestias
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Damnatio ad bestias was a form of Roman capital punishment where the condemned person was killed by wild animals, usually lions or other big cats. This form of execution, which first appeared during t
Leopard attacking a criminal, Roman floor mosaic, late 2nd century AD, Archaeological Museum of Tunisia
Gladiators in the circus arena, Zliten mosaic, 1st century AD
Gladiators fighting a barbary lion
Christian Dirce by Henryk Siemiradzki (National Museum, Warsaw) shows the punishment of a Roman woman who had converted to Christianity. At the Emperor Nero's wish, the woman, like mythological Dirce, was tied to a wild bull and dragged around the arena.