Yet another small and beautiful hall of the Bardo Museum, which has many mosaics with inscriptions dedicated to venationes—a type of entertainment in Rome involving the hunting of wild animals.
Above is a lion prepared for a venatio. The caption reads:
Oleo praesumpsisti, expedisti, dedicasti. “Oiled, prepared, dedicated”.
This is a traditional formula that confirms the animal’s readiness to enter the arena.
Bears and boars trained to participate in venationes:
- Nilus (‘Nile’), who’s looking back;
- pole-climbing Fedra (‘Phaedra’),
- grinning Alecsandria (‘Alexandria’),
- Simplicius (‘Simpleton’) and
- Gloriousus (‘Glorious’), who wants to bite Simpleton’s back;
- Braciatus (‘Strong-Armed’?) throwing himself at the ostrich.
Over the members of the sodalitas (trade association) of Telegenii (organizers of venationes) sitting around the arena, their drinking remarks:
[N]os nudu[s][v]enimus. ‘We came naked’ (in a simple way, ‘no show-offs’.)
Iam multu[m] loquimini. ‘You talk too much!’
Avocemur! ‘Let’s digress!’
Nos tres tenemus. ‘The three of us are staying.’
Over the bulls, there’s a replica of the servants on the arena:
Silentiu[m], dormiant tauri. ‘ Quiet, the bulls are sleeping’.
