Naumachia: The Gladiatorial Naval Battles of Ancient Rome

The gladiator games were a gory spectacle beloved by the Roman public. Thousands of spectators watched and cheered for violence and death between slave combatants. The games became increasingly elaborate over the years, eventually including “naumachia,” faux naval battles. Initially, starting in the 1st century BCE, these were spectacles that a Roman citizen could expect to see once in a lifetime. But naumachia became increasingly common as amphitheaters were built that could accommodate these grandiose shows. But despite having the technology, naumachia all but disappeared at the end of the Flavian era (96 CE).

While gladiatorial games began in the 3rd century BCE, the first naumachia only occurred in the second half of the 1st century BCE, when the technology allowed it. As aqueducts were constructed—specifically the Aqua Appia, Marcia, Tepula, and Anio Vetus—the flow of water was improved through Rome. This provided the opportunity to channel it into basins within or around the city called “signum.”

The earliest Naumachia basin built in the city was constructed under Julius Caesar in 46 BCE in the Campus Martius. A grander basin was built under Augustus for the dedication of the Temple of Mars Ultor in 2 BCE. It reportedly measured 536 x 357 meters and had a depth of 1.7 meters. During the Augustan spectacle, thousands of captured prisoners of war were forced to fight to the death in a recreation of the Greek Battle of Salamis. For more ambitious Naumachia, spectators would have to travel away from Rome. One famous stagnum was at Lake Fucine, which was more than 70 miles to the east of Rome.

The efforts required to stage these events were immense, not least creating an artificial lake big enough to reasonably imitate the sea. Then there were the combatants. Prisoners taken in the course of the campaigns, particularly during the late Republic era, were crucial to the celebrations. Over time, jailed criminals from abroad became alternative show fodder. Thousands of lives would be spent in these naval arenas in just one sitting.

Julius Caesar’s Triumphs and Naval Battle 

In April 46 BCE, Julius Caesar, having defeated Pompey in the civil war and successfully concluded a number of other campaigns, hosted a series of triumphs to burnish his reputation. Over a decade of constant campaigning, Caesar returned to Rome with numerous victories. His successes contributed greatly to the Roman Empire, acquiring riches, territory, and slaves, the last of which would be spent on entertainment.

Caesar’s triumphs unfolded over the entire month of April. Seutonius wrote that in his Life of Julius Caesar that “he sponsored spectacles of various kinds: gladiatorial contest, plays in all regions of the city, and performed by actors in every language, as well as circus performances, athletic contests, and a sea-battle” (39). Caesar put in special effort to create a space for the naval performances. “For the naval battle a pool was dug in the lesser Codeta and there was a contest of ships of two, three, and four banks of oars, belonging to the Tyrian and Egyptian fleets, manned by a large force of marines” (39). The mentioned “lesser Codeta” was a district of Rome located alongside the river Tiber. Here, basins were dug alongside the river, deep enough that ships might stay afloat and even maneuver.

The attractions brought with them an influx of tourists. The crowds proved as mortally dangerous as some of the games. Seutonius stated that “the crowds were so great on a number of occasions that many people were crushed to death, even including two senators” (39). The frenzy was stoked by the opportunity to witness the parade of victorious soldiers and their booty. “It is said that money to the amount of 60,500 silver talents was carried in the procession and 2,822 crowns of gold weighing 20,414 pounds, from which wealth Caesar made allocations immediately after the triumph, paying all that he had promised and more” (39).

Augustus imitated the extravagance of Caesar’s naumachia in the games he held in 2 BCE. The sources claim that 3,000 men, not including rowers, fought in 30 vessels in his show.

By the time of Emperor Claudius (41-54 CE), naval battles had reached immense size. Rather than digging basins along the Tiber near Rome, Claudius looked east toward Lake Fucine to hold a large naval display in celebration of his triumph in Britain. In 52 CE, spectators were drawn to Lake Fucine to witness this 19,000-man naval battle.

Before the battle commenced, according to Suetonius’ Life of Claudius (21), a bizarre scene took place between the emperor and the combatants. When the fighters called out: “Health attend you, noble Emperor! We, who are about peril our lives, salute you.” Claudius replied: “Health attend you too.” The response caused confusion among the fighters since they believed the emperor had “spared” them. A comical development then followed. Claudius attempted to ameliorate the problem he created by running around the lake, “offering a mixture of threats and encouragement, compelling them to fight.” Soon afterward, the combatants, whether prompted by the actions of the emperor or not, proceeded with the battle.

The Colosseum

Two decades after Claudius’s reign, Vespasian and then his son, Titus, oversaw the completion of the Colosseum in 80 CE. The Colosseum provided a new and innovative setting to host the bloody events, and the monument to Rome’s favorite pastime was inaugurated with 100 days of games. The new structure could accommodate between 50,000 and 70,000 people, who sat around the circumference of the arena floor. The pit was mostly comprised of sand but could be transformed into an aquatic setting.

The Colosseum typified Roman architectural innovation. The enormous structure was designed to efficiently traffic spectators in and out. As people entered the Colosseum, they would take stairs into one of the 159 passages to the stands, known as “vomitoria.” Spectators then took their seats among the “Gradins of the Cavea,” surrounded by an outer wall, the height of which stretched 50 meters from top to bottom. To provide shade from the sun, a massive awning supported by 240 timber poles was erected.

So that naval games could be hosted, the Colosseum was built to allow the flooding and draining of the arena floor. The main water source was the Arcus Neroniani, a branch of the larger aqueduct known as the Aqua Claudia. The Aqua Claudia stretched 38 miles east of the city, where it collected its water from the Anio Mountains. The aqueduct’s carefully calibrated incline allowed the natural forces of gravity to bring water across this great distance. The water then entered a hydraulic system located beneath the Colosseum, and within an hour, the arena would be ready for ships. When the games were concluded, the water would drain through four main pipes in as little as 15-45 minutes.

To celebrate the completion of the Colosseum, Titus held, among other spectacles, a naumachia that re-enacted a historical Greek naval battle from the Peloponnesian War in 434 BCE.

By around the beginning of the 2nd century CE, naval games were no longer held within the Colosseum. Alterations made to the building during the reign of Titus’s successor, Domitian, made them impossible. These additions included the “Hypogeum,” which included hidden trap doors and underground pathways for the movement of animals and gladiators. Seutonius states that Domitian continued to host the naval games but did so outside the Colosseum. Similar to the approach taken with Caesar’s triumphs, Domitian created an area near the Tiber River to host his naval games. Seutonius, in his Life of Domitian (4), states that “he put on the naval fights with fleets of almost regular size on the lake which he had dug out beside the Tiber and surrounded by seating, and he watched these even in the most severe rainstorms.”

The naumachia’s popularity waned following the reign of Domitian. The reasons included changing the setting from the Colosseum to a location where spectators would be more exposed to inclement weather. Naumachia shows were also extraordinarily expensive. They required the construction of ships and for thousands of prisoners to fight on them. The cost likely grew increasingly prohibitive as internal strife grew within the empire. Lastly, the gladiatorial games fought on the arena floor became more popular, particularly during the reign of Emperor Commodus (177-192 CE), who loved the games so much he fought as a gladiator. Commodus’ fixation on the games consequently diverted his attention away from his responsibilities as emperor. As a result, problems once handled promptly and effectively by emperors in the past began to plague the empire.

Following the tumultuous period under Commodus, the business of killing on the arena floor became less and less intriguing. By the 4th and 5th centuries, the spread of Christianity changed many Roman attitudes towards the games. Much of the population began to view the gladiatorial contests less as a form of entertainment and more as a setting for human sacrifice. By 404 CE, Emperor Honorius recognized the Christian perspective and officially banned the games. What had once been a prized and valued tradition came to an abrupt halt. Both naumachia and battles on the sandy arenas across the Roman empire were outlawed, bringing a 600-year Roman tradition to an end.

Sources

Coleman, K.M. (1993) “Launching into History: Aquatic Displays in the Early Roman Empire,” Journal of Roman Studies, 83, pp. 48-71.

Deutsch, Monroe E. (1926) “Caesar’s Triumphs,” Classical Weekly, 19:13, pp. 101–106.

Grout, James, “Naumachia,” SPQR Encyclopedia Romana.

McElduff, Siobhán (2020) “Naumachiae and Land Battles,” Spectacles in the Roman World.

“Mock Battles.” Travels through Greco-Roman Antiquity, Villanova University

Staccioli, Romolo Augusto (2006) Ancient Rome: Monuments Past and Present, Vision

Steltenpohlová, Lucia (2018) Theatricality of Naumachia, Thesis: Masaryk University