The heritage of the mosaics from Roman Africa is very rich in representations of venationes, thereby demonstrating the strong appeal that the amphitheater spectacles exerted on African society of the imperial age. On the contrary less attention is devoted to the images of gladiators, which are a really rare subject on mosaics of Africa: in the territories actually in Tunisia, the heart of the African mosaic school, we find in fact only three mosaics with figures of gladiators, always commented by short inscribed texts. This paper aims at analyzing this sparse but interesting documentation too often overlooked by the recearches on behalf of more striking images, by studying it on the double line of the iconography and the epigraphy. From these arguments arises a frame where vivid and real personalities are moving, whose specialties within the gladiatorial classes we can now understand: these personalities were the heroes of the crowds in majestical buildings for spectacles, which we are finally able to locate and of which, in many cases, impressive ruins remain still today.

Munera gladiatoria. Mosaici ed iscrizioni dall’Africa romana / Ibba, Antonio; Teatini, Alessandro. - (2019), pp. 395-423.

Munera gladiatoria. Mosaici ed iscrizioni dall’Africa romana

Ibba, Antonio
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
Teatini, Alessandro
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
2019-01-01

Abstract

The heritage of the mosaics from Roman Africa is very rich in representations of venationes, thereby demonstrating the strong appeal that the amphitheater spectacles exerted on African society of the imperial age. On the contrary less attention is devoted to the images of gladiators, which are a really rare subject on mosaics of Africa: in the territories actually in Tunisia, the heart of the African mosaic school, we find in fact only three mosaics with figures of gladiators, always commented by short inscribed texts. This paper aims at analyzing this sparse but interesting documentation too often overlooked by the recearches on behalf of more striking images, by studying it on the double line of the iconography and the epigraphy. From these arguments arises a frame where vivid and real personalities are moving, whose specialties within the gladiatorial classes we can now understand: these personalities were the heroes of the crowds in majestical buildings for spectacles, which we are finally able to locate and of which, in many cases, impressive ruins remain still today.
2019
978-84-16202-24-9
Si bien es cierto que el patrimonio musivo del África romana nos ofrece frecuentemente escenas de venationes, documentando de esta manera la intensa fascinación que por los espectáculos anfiteatrales sentía la sociedad africana de época imperial, menos atención se dedica a las escenas de gladiadores, una temática ciertamente poco habitual en los mosaicos africanos: en los territorios del actual Túnez, centro neurálgico de la escuela musiva africana, encontramos solo tres mosaicos con escenas de gladiadores comentados por breves inscripciones. Este artículo pretende analizar, desde la iconografía y la epigrafía, esta escasa, aunque interesante, documentación, que con demasiada frecuencia ha sido dejada de lado en nuestros estudos al privilegiar representaciones más llamativas. De este examen se desprende un contexto en el que emergen personalidades vivas y reales, de las que ahora podemos entender sus relativas especialidades dentro de las distintas clases de gladiadores: estas personalidades fueron los héroes de las multitudes congregadas en majestuosos edificios de espectáculos, que por fin somos capaces de localizar y cuyas impresionantes ruinas en muchos casos permanecen aún en pie.
Munera gladiatoria. Mosaici ed iscrizioni dall’Africa romana / Ibba, Antonio; Teatini, Alessandro. - (2019), pp. 395-423.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11388/232353
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