Thenineteenth-centuryhistorian W.E. H.Leckygives the
followingaccountofthedevelopmentoftheRomangames
from their beginning as a combat between two gladiators:
Thesimplecombatbecameatlastinsipid,andeveryvariety
ofatrocitywasdevisedtostimulatetheflagginginterest.At
onetimeabearandabull,chainedtogether,rolledinfierce
combatacrossthesand;atanother,criminalsdressedinthe
skins of wild beasts were thrown to bulls, which were
maddenedbyred-hotirons,orbydartstippedwithburning
pitch.Fourhundredbearswerekilledonasingledayunder
Caligula....UnderNero,fourhundredtigersfoughtwithbulls
and elephants. In a single day, at the dedication of the
ColosseumbyTitus,fivethousandanimalsperished.Under
Trajan, the games continued for one hundred and twenty-
threesuccessivedays.Lions,tigers,elephants,rhinoceroses,
hippopotami, giraffes, bulls, stags, even crocodiles and
serpentswereemployedtogivenoveltytothespectacle.Nor
wasany formofhumansufferingwanting....Tenthousand
menfoughtduring thegamesofTrajan.Neroilluminedhis
gardensduringthenightbyChristiansburningintheirpitchy
shirts. Under Domitian, an army of feeble dwarfs was
compelledtofight....Sointensewasthecravingforblood,
that a prince was less unpopular if he neglected the
distribution of corn than if he neglected the games.^5
The Romans were not without any moral feelings. They
showed a high regard for justice, public duty, and even
kindness to others. What the games show, with hideous
clarity,isthattherewasasharplimittothesemoralfeelings.
If a beingcame within this limit,activities comparable to
whatoccurredatthegameswouldhavebeenanintolerable
outrage; when a being was outside the sphere of moral