Quote:
|
Originally Posted by ObieX
I don't think the Romans would put these animals against each other because they were rather rare and expensive at that time and place. Putting them up against the unarmed christian is one thing, they wont suffer much damage. Cat vs cat would get rather ugly.
|
According to contemporary sources, they weren't rare at all. Thousands and thousands of lions, elephants, panthers, bears, tigers etc are reported to have been killed for entertainment in the venationes (animal hunts). Dio mentions a game celebrated by Trajan in when some eleven thousand animals were slain. They did both animals vs. animals and animals vs. humans fights, not only those sentenced to death, but also special bestiarii (beast fighters). They were mostly untrained though, and ran a high risk of injury. Seneca tells a story of a bestiarius who rather than going out on the arena and fight chose to choke himself to death with a sponge on a stick, a Roman version of toilet paper. Ripped to pieces by a lion or choking on an assbrush? Tough choice.
Can't find anything specific on lion vs. tiger though. Methinks it would depend on how many of each there was, and their general state. Romans weren't too fond of pitting fair fights imo. They wanted blood, and lots of it.