A third century mosaic lost during World War I likely depicted a gladiatorial scene that challenges widespread assumptions about gender dynamics in ancient Rome. After reexamining notes first compiled in 1860, University of California sports historian Alfonso Mañas believes artwork excavated in Reims, France, showcased the first known illustration of a venatrix—a woman beast-fighter.
Ancient Roman gladiatorial games weren’t restricted to brutal spectacles between male pit warriors. They featured a diverse (and frequently rotating) cast of professional combatants, criminals, enslaved citizens, and even wild animals facing off against one another. Only a handful of primary sources reference female gladiatrix fighters, and even fewer mention women squaring off against captured predators like big cats or bears. The earliest example dates to the reign of Nero (54–68 CE), while other documents mention venatrix matches at the Colosseum’s opening in 80 CE. Most historians have long believed women beast-fighting events fell out of favor by around 100 CE, while gladiatrix warriors occasionally appeared through the next century
In 1860, archaeologist Jean Charles Loriquet uncovered a massive mosaic in the town of Reim in northern France that depicted different forms of gladiator fights. Measuring around 36-by-29 feet, the intricate tilework included 35 medallions featuring various arena scenes.
“Loriquet already understood that the different images were related among themselves. Thus, two adjoining gladiators…meant a fight between those two gladiators, and likewise an animal next to a person meant a hunt,” Mañas explained in a study recently published in The International Journal of the History of Sport.
Tragically, a World War I bombing campaign destroyed the artwork in 1917. Only a single medallion from the mosaic remained and is now housed in Reims’ Musée Saint-Rémi. All wasn’t lost, however. After its excavation, Loriquet took the time to sketch out a detailed illustration of the entire mosaic in his notes. After comparing the surviving museum medallion’s figure to Loriquet’s accurate rendition, it’s clear the archaeologist took great pains to ensure the overall accuracy. And one scene in particular stood out from all the others.
While nearly every combatant depicted on the mosaic appeared fully clothed and bearded, an individual chasing a leopard stood out for both their garments and physical anatomy. Based on his writings, even Loriquet seemed to think that something about this fighter was different.
“Loriquet initially did not identify the person as a female, but he probably had doubts, because he did not define it as a man either, preferring the neuter term ‘personnage,’” wrote Mañas.
The French archaeologist also made sure to highlight the person’s beardless face, but the most striking and obvious difference is visible in the warrior’s proportions. The mosaic’s creator intentionally left the subject’s chest bare to illustrate their breasts and emphasize that, unlike the other fighters, she was a woman. Armed with a whip and possibly a dagger, she is also depicted chasing the leopard.
It would take over 165 years for the anonymous woman to receive her due. For decades, scholars claimed she must have performed as a clown known as paegniarius tasked with agitating the beasts. Although such roles did exist in gladiatorial games, Mañas makes clear that she isn’t wearing traditional paegniarius garments, nor is she armed with the right equipment. Instead, Mañas argues the woman was a trained female hunter, or venatrix.
“The term that best defines what the woman is doing in the image is that of succursor (helper), a type of venator who helped in the development of the venatio (hunt), in this case by pushing the beast towards another venator,” he wrote. “Thus, the woman is a venatrix, of the succursor type (a succursora, she-helper).”
If true, the reexamination doesn’t only give credit where it’s due—it both rewrites the timeline of gladiatorial combat and recontextualizes ancient Roman gender norms. At roughly 1,800 years old, the artwork depicts women fighting animals long after the empire banned them from performing as gladiators.
“The identification of the sole known visual source depicting a Roman female beasts-huntress alone is very important,” explained Mañas. “But, additionally, since the mosaic dates to the third century, it adds a whole century to the history of those female arena huntresses.”
