Roman Beast Hunts

<p>Among <a class="mw-redirect" title="Ancient Romans" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Romans">Ancient Romans</a>, <em><strong>bestiarii</strong></em> (singular <em><strong>bestiarius</strong></em>) were those who went into combat with beasts, or were exposed to them. It is conventional<sup id="cite_ref-Cyclopaedia_1-0" class= "reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestiarius#cite_note-Cyclopaedia-1">[1]</a></sup> to distinguish two categories of <em>bestiarii</em>: the first were those condemned to death via the beasts (see <em><a title="Damnatio ad bestias" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnatio_ad_bestias">damnatio ad bestias</a></em>) and the second were those who faced them voluntarily, for pay or glory (see <em><a title="Venatio" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venatio">venatio</a></em>).<sup id="cite_ref-Smith_2-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bestiarius#cite_note-Smith-2">[2]</a></sup> The latter are sometimes erroneously called <em><a title= "Gladiator" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladiator">gladiators</a></em>; to their contemporaries, however, the term <em>gladiator</em> referred specifically to one who fought other men. The contemporary term for those who made a career out of participating in arena "hunts" was <em><a title= "List of Roman gladiator types" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_gladiator_types#Venator">venatores</a></em>.<br /> <br /> Content Warning: Cruelty to animals.<br /> <br /> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Our theme song was written and performed by Anna Bosnick. If you’d like to support the show on a per episode basis, you can find</span> <a href= "https://www.patreon.com/citationpod"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">our Patreon page here</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">.  Be sure to check</span> <a href= "http://citationpod.com/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">our website</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">for more details.</span><br /> <br /> <br /></p>