Naval Gladiator Battles - What Were they Like? DOCUMENTARY

The gladiatorial games of ancient Rome were spectacles we today can barely imagine. While modern media have certainly made a valid attempt, these only reveal the tip of the iceberg. For instance, they fail to capture the sheer enormity of men, animals, and elaborate props which filled the fighting pits for days, weeks, and even months on end. Worse yet, they somehow completely ignore the naval battles fought in the Colosseum and in the massive artificial lakes which reportedly featured tens of thousands of combatants and upwards of 100 ships. Today, let us explore the fascinating and often overlooked world of Rome's Namaci. Despite all the glory of the arena which makes its way onto the big screens, it's quite incredible for me to think that reality was even more fantastical than fiction when it comes to these naval gladiator battles. You can learn much more about the intersection of film and history through our sponsor Wondrium. 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I highly recommend that you take a look at what they have to offer and dive into the material that you are most interested in. Enjoy. Gladiatorial combat had its humble beginnings in the funerary games practiced by the elites of the early Roman Republic. Here games were private, religious events which featured just a handful of fighters who clashed over a matter of minutes. But as soon as word got out, the tantalizing nature of this bloodsport quickly drew an audience. The populace had a new form of entertainment, and the politicians had a new form of propaganda. Thus gladiators were now catapulted to the forefront of the Roman world. At every turn, event organizers now dreamed up new ways to wow the crowds and outdo their competitors with ever more extravagant spectacles. By the late Republic, this meant having hundreds of duelists and exotic animals fighting it out amidst elaborately decorated stages over the course of days, weeks, and even months. It is during this era that a young Julius Caesar would first make a name for himself, not on the battlefield, but in the arena. For instance, as Aedol in 65 BC, he organized games on such an unprecedented scale and expense that it would skyrocket his career. But he didn't just stop there. The entrepreneurial showman soon pioneered new ways to outperform his rivals by bringing the games to a whole new dimension, the sea. This ambitious plan to host the first ever Namaquia would be unveiled for the celebration of his quadruple triumph in the year 46 BC. This, of course, was a monumental task. Caesar wished to bring the full spectacle of naval battles to the people of Rome. No expense was to be spared. For example, rather than relying on miniature or prop vessels, his plans called for the use of actual full-scale warships. Such biremes, triremes, and quinqueremes could be as long as 45 meters and required even more space to effectively maneuver. Thus, their arena would have to be even larger than this. The natural choice would have been to simply let the ships fight it out at sea. However, the shore lay around 25 kilometers from the city and would have been relatively inaccessible to the majority of the population. Something closer to home would have to do. Unfortunately, the Colosseum had not yet been built, and the only existing facilities that might be large enough to hold such an event would be the Circus Maximus. Yet it did not have the necessary features to accommodate flooding and was likely being reserved for other events. Ultimately, then, it was decided that a brand new facility would be built next to it in the field of Mars, adjacent to the Tiber from which it drew its water. Suetonius describes the scene, quote, For the naval battle, a pool was dug in the lesser Condetta, and there was a contest of ships of two, three, and four banks of oars representing the Tyrian and Egyptian fleets, manned by a large force of fighting men. Such a throng flocked to all these shows from every quarter that many strangers had to lodge in tents pitched in streets or along the roads, and the press was often such that many were crushed to death, including two senators. We can only imagine the insanity of such an event that reportedly featured some 2,000 combatants and 4,000 rowers. Staffed by prisoners of war, these were disposable forces, meant to be smashed against one another for the entertainment of the crowds. Thus, as cheers echoed across the waters, the trapped victims were left to fight for their lives in what became a very real battle where ships rammed, boarded, and shot each other to pieces. The event unquestionably set a new benchmark for the pinnacle of Roman entertainment. Yet despite its apparent success, the new naval arena would quickly fall into disrepair as the Republic once again fell into civil war following the assassination of Julius Caesar. Its memory, though, would endure. When Augustus emerged as the ultimate master of Rome, he would finally bring back stability to a battered realm. Much of this involved new building projects to push imperial propaganda, glorifying his victories, and appeasing the people. Among these would be the construction of a temple to Mars the Avenger. Finally inaugurated in 2 BC, it would be a great monument which was to house the legendary Eagles of Crassus, which had recently been recovered from the Parthians. In commemoration of this event, Augustus would revise the Namaquis with the planned reenactment of a naval battle between the Greeks and the Persians. But rather than attempt to reuse the now drained and dilapidated remains of Caesar's naval arena, Augustus had a new basin dug along the Tiber with an island in the center for VIP seating. The details are recounted in his autobiography. Quote, I gave the people a spectacle of a naval battle in the place across the Tiber, digging 1800 feet in length and 1200 in width, in which 30 beak ships, biremes or triremes, but many smaller, fought among themselves. About 3000 men fought in these ships, in addition to the rowers. Once again we are left to imagine the sheer spectacle of this event, which appears to have been even grander than that of Caesar's some 40 years earlier. Not only were there more reported combatants, but the infrastructure behind the entire project was more impressive. For instance, the later Roman engineer Frontius describes how an entire aqueduct was built to fill the naval arena at a moment's notice. This Aqua Augusta found its source in the Alciatina lake in Etruria and ran over 30 kilometers to the city of Rome. Here, its non-potable water could be diverted into nearby gardens, fountains, and irrigation works when not needed for the Namaquia. Over the years, this basin and the surrounding area would come to be known as the Grove of the Caesars. While naval games could still be held there, it slowly transformed into a popular leisure spot. The vast gardens provided refuge from the hubbub of the city and soon attracted a regular crowd. These in turn drew in numerous merchants and vendors who began to set up shop along its outskirts. Naturally, a large number of brothels were also set up, with prostitutes now becoming as common as the geese which made their home upon the artificial lake. The next major Namaquia would again take place roughly 50 years after its predecessor. It was hosted in 52 AD by the Emperor Claudius in commemoration of a great drainage project set to begin regulating the levels of the Great Falken Lake. This engineering marvel was the product of a decade's worth of labor by some 30,000 workers and was well worth celebrating. Thus it was decided that the naval games would be set upon the lake itself. This had the advantage of vastly increasing the scope of the Namaquia since the Falken Lake is estimated to have had Thus unshackled by space limitations, Claudius was said to have deployed 100 ships and 19,000 combatants for his games in an attempt to recreate combat between Sicilian and Rhodian forces. If these numbers are even remotely true, then the Maqu fleets would have dwarfed most actual combat fleets of the era. Tacitus sets the scene as follows. But he still left full space for the strength of the crews, the skill of the pilots, the impact of the vessels, and the usual operations of a sea fight. On the rafts stood companies of the Praetorian cohorts and cavalry with the breastwork in front of them from which catapults and ballistas might be worked. The rest of the lake was occupied by marines on decked vessels. An immense multitude from the neighboring towns, others from Rome itself, eager to see the sight or to show respect of the emperor, crowded the banks, the hills, the mountaintops, which thus resembled a theater. The emperor, meanwhile, with Agrippina seated near him, presided. He wore a splendid military cloak, she a mantle of cloth of gold. The criminal gladiators forced to staff the ships, and now surrounded by an entire army, likely had a pretty good idea of the fate which awaited them. It is thus understandable why they are reported to have raised their swords to the emperor with the famous line, Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you. Such an extreme declaration is not reported in any other games, and for good reason. The gladiatorial land battles were often fought between expensive professionals meant to put on highly performative shows with relatively low mortality rates. Gladiatorial naval battles, on the other hand, appear to have been staffed by cheap criminals whom the Romans had no qualms about killing. Thus, combat itself was wildly unregulated, with no referees to separate combatants between bouts, and no real way to surrender or retreat. Even if your ship did manage to win or evade boarding action, it could at any moment be rammed from the side and sunk to the bottom of the lake, with survivors unable to swim or escape the carnage around them. Great anticipation must therefore have swept through the crowds of spectators who lined the stands and surrounding hills awaiting the main event of the day. Finally, the warm-up acts of theater groups and pontoon fighters were concluded, and the real battle could commence. Suetonius tells us that this was marked by the blowing of a silver horn from the middle of the lake. However, to the dismay of the Romans, it seems that the participants were none too eager to charge to their own death and remained in place. As a result, Tacitus mentions that imperial guards on rafts were sent out to force the two sides to engage. Yet even when these did advance, they harmlessly sailed past one another. At this point, the crowd must have begun to boo at such boring cowardice. Tacitus Dio reports that the emperor remedied this situation by forcing the gladiator fleets to continuously repeat their maneuvers until they inevitably destroyed one another. Finally, Tacitus tells us the fleets engaged with a great fighting spirit. Undoubtedly, this was a spectacle of epic proportions met with the raucous cheers of the crowd. In the years ahead, such fervor would only increase as the golden age of the gladiators ensured that namaquia appeared in ever greater frequencies. We next hear of additional namaquia during the reign of Claudius' successor Nero. He was certainly an extravagant emperor, and there should be no surprise when this attitude manifested in the form of additional naval games. We were told for instance that these were hosted on two occasions, in 57 and 64 AD within a newly constructed wooden amphitheater built on the campus Martius, close to where Julius Caesar had hosted the first such games. While the artificial nature of this event meant that it was smaller than that of Claudius, the controlled environment allowed for far more flexibility and diversity in the way the entertainment played out. Here is how Cassius Dio describes it, quote, in the course of producing a spectacle at one of the theaters, he suddenly filled the place with seawater so that fishes and sea monsters swam about in it, and he exhibited a naval battle between men representing the Persians and Athenians. After this, he immediately drew off the water, dried the ground, and once more exhibited contests between land forces who fought not only in single combat, but also in large groups equally matched. Unfortunately, it seems that these facilities were even shorter lived than Nero, and appear to have been lost in the great fire of Rome which wracked the city in 64 AD. The civil war which followed shortly thereafter further stymied any attempts at holding naval games. However, when peace once again returned under the new Flavian dynasty, there would be a chance to build back better than ever before. The prime example of this would be the construction of the brand new Colosseum starting in 70 AD under Vespasian and completing in 80 AD under Titus. Evidence suggests that it was purpose built to host both land and naval gladiator battles. Though the exact engineering details are somewhat elusive, we can share some basic points regarding its construction. The first point to be made is that the site of the Colosseum had actually once been its own artificial lake. This was drained, excavated, and a deep foundation set. At the center of it all was left the pit of the arena, roughly six meters deep. Its initial design called for land-based fighting to take place at the bottom of this cavity, with the more extensive galleries seen today being added at a later date. Thus, with the basement or hippogeum of the Colosseum essentially empty, it would have served as the perfect bathtub for naval battles. This was made possible by the fact that the hippogeum was lined with tightly packed stone and waterproof mortar. Based on the fact that service galleries were set at about 1.5 meters above the basement floor, researchers believe that this was the intended flood depth for the Colosseum. Using some rough math, that means it was engineered to hold about 17,000 cubic meters of water. But where exactly did all of this water come from, and where did it all go? The answer lies with the extensive plumbing which was built into the Colosseum. Water, for instance, primarily came from the 70 kilometer long Aqua Claudia aqueduct. A branch of it had previously been used to feed the artificial lake of Nero, and is believed to have been similarly plugged into the Colosseum. This appears to have been done by way of around 30 to 40 conduits, which have been found leading into the pit of the arena. At the time of their construction, these would have contained lead pipes for suitable water control. The Roman engineer Frontius tells us that the Aqua Claudia had a volumetric flow of 2.12 cubic meters per second. Assuming a full diversion of this flow, it would therefore have taken about 2 to 3 hours to fill the Hypogeum. To assist in the process, and to alleviate the shutdown of other water services, some researchers believe that a nearby cistern was available for the emergency infusion of water. Not only could this have helped speed up the process, but it also could have helped supply the numerous fountains and misters meant to keep the crowds cool and hydrated. As for draining the Colosseum, we have evidence of four large sewers which leave the structure along its radial axes. These were more than capable of draining the Hypogeum of its 17,000 cubic meter contents, as well as its more regular bouts of rainwater and other waste. All of it was carried away into the city's main sewage system, which in turn made its way out to the Tiber and the surrounding countryside. The process of draining the Colosseum was likely faster than filling it, and was probably accomplished in an hour or less. Once all of this intricate plumbing and infrastructure had been put in place, the rest of the Colosseum was slowly built up to accommodate the crowds of Rome. This would finally be completed in 80 AD, at which point enormous games were said to be held to commemorate this achievement. We are told that these lasted 100 days, featuring hundreds of fighters and thousands of wild animals. Here the Namaki made their glorious return, with one being held in the basin of Augustus, and another being held in the Colosseum itself. Cassius Dio reports the following, quote, He also brought in people on ships who engaged in a sea fight there, impersonating the Corcyans and Corinthians. And others gave a similar exhibition outside the city, in the Grove of Gaius and Lucius, a place where Augustus had once excavated for this very purpose. Both experiences must have been distinct in their own way. The Namakia of the Augustan basin appears to have featured several thousand fighters with full-sized ships performing actual maneuvers, as had occurred in the earlier naval fights of the Julio-Claudians. The Namakia of the Colosseum meanwhile was far more constricted, likely featuring just a handful of boats which were not at full size or capable of much maneuvering. Nonetheless, these still had all the advantages of the arena's attention to detail, with various staged props of rocks, shipwrecks, and islands being used to up the level of entertainment. The next emperor, Domitian, further invested in the Colosseum, adding a fourth level, additional seating, and new galleries in the basement. Namaki were once again held in the Colosseum in 85 AD, but perhaps owing to the complications of construction, were then moved to a new basin dug along the Tiber for the Namakia of 89 AD. Here, Dio recounts that quote, there was a naval battle between three thousand men, followed by an infantry battle. The Athenians conquered the Syracusans, made a landing on the islet, and assaulted and captured a wall that had been constructed around the monument. Based on this description, it seems that this was a return to form for the grand outdoor spectacles of old. However, we should also mention that this was the beginning of the end for the naval gladiator games. Few sources make mention of Namaki beyond the Flavian period, with the notable exception of Trajan, who is said to have built a new basin with bleachers to the northwest of the Tiber. It was reportedly just one-sixth the size of the Augustan basin, and only capable of hosting rather small games. This speaks to the overall decline of the Namaki, which appear to have begun to have lost their novelty and grandeur. Over the years, it is assumed that various naval games continued to be held outside of our written records, but that eventually, these would simply peter out with the end of the golden age of the gladiators. Nonetheless, their legacy would live on among the provincial theaters which hosted their own Namaki, as well as among the powers of the medieval era and beyond, who also celebrated their own mock naval battles. We hope you've appreciated this foray into the untouched world of naval gladiator battles. It's a fascinating spectacle to imagine, especially when you begin to consider the insane works of logistics and engineering which went into making them a reality. What are your thoughts on the matter, and if you could choose, which of the great land or naval battles would you have liked to witness at the time? A big thanks to the patrons for funding the channel, and to the researchers, writers, and artists for making this episode possible. 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