Carnelian intaglio of a gladiator fighting a lion

Gems
The Met
Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, 1941
41.160.710
H. 9/16 in. (1.5 cm)
Roman
Carnelian

Details

In the Early Imperial period, a popular part of the gladiatorial games was the morning program in which armed gladiators called venatores (hunters) were pitted against wild animals. The Romans also liked to see different kinds of animals fighting each other.