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Ancient History Ancient History Forum - Greece, Rome, Carthage, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and all other civilizations of antiquity, to include Prehistory and Archaeology discussions
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March 9th, 2015, 07:52 AM
Stuart Citizen
#1 polar bears in Ancient Rome?
Hey,
Joined: May 2010 Posts: 17
I'm reading an interesting book called 'Environmental Problems of the Greeks and Romans' by J. Hughes. In the book, on page 57, Hughes mentions that Nero "flooded an arena and displayed polar bears catching seals." My question is, would this have been possible? How did the Romans know about polar bears? Were they sold by people from the north of Europe as young cubs?
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March 9th, 2015, 10:01 AM
#2
It was mentioned in Siculus' texts that bears were used by Nero to hunt seals. Given that the only bears that hunt seals are polar bears, it's likely that if this record is accurate, that they were polar bears. Note by a zoologist here. It's mentioned in numerous modern texts as well, including Gladiators: Violence and Spectacle in Ancient Rome, by Dunkle. Excerpt here. There's an extensive thread on this site about polar bears and exotic animals in the amphitheatre in Rome: here.
Ben Kane Lecturer Joined: May 2011 From: Nr. Bristol, UK Posts: 290
To answer your question, would this have been possible: yes. We know that other kinds of bears, tigers, lions, elephants, hippos and other large, savage beasts were captured live and shipped thousands of miles to Rome for the circus. They were captured as adults - and this is depicted in the imagery. There are even instances - e.g. Villa del Casale in Sicily, where the mother tiger is portrayed being captured, while the cub is left behind. I suspect that raising a cub or baby anything would have been beyond the ability of most ancients. Capturing and transporting the adult was more dangerous, but more profitable at the other end, with no need to raise the beast to adulthood. The animals would have been trapped by Eskimos or similar peoples, and shipped to places where Roman traders operated, which could have included northern Germany, and perhaps even Denmark and Scandinavia, where many Roman artefacts have been found. As ever, the mind boggles at the difficulties involved in doing so - but we know it was done for so many other animals, so it's likely that polar bears may have been used in the amphitheatre too. Last edited by Ben Kane; March 9th, 2015 at 10:03 AM.
March 9th, 2015, 10:48 AM
#3
starkodder
Quote:
Historian
Originally Posted by Ben Kane It was mentioned in Siculus' texts that bears were used by Nero to hunt seals. Given that the only bears that hunt seals are polar bears, it's likely that if this record is accurate, that they were polar bears. Note by a zoologist here.
Joined: Aug 2011 From: Sweden
It's mentioned in numerous modern texts as well, including Gladiators: Violence and Spectacle in Ancient Rome, by Dunkle. Excerpt here.
Posts: 1,497
There's an extensive thread on this site about polar bears and exotic animals in the amphitheatre in Rome: here. To answer your question, would this have been possible: yes. We know that other kinds of bears, tigers, lions, elephants, hippos and other large, savage beasts were captured live and shipped thousands of miles to Rome for the circus. They were captured as adults - and this is depicted in the imagery. There are even instances - e.g. Villa del Casale in Sicily, where the mother tiger is portrayed being captured, while the cub is left behind. I suspect that raising a cub or baby anything would have been beyond the ability of most ancients. Capturing and transporting the adult was more dangerous, but more profitable at the other end, with no need to raise the beast to adulthood. The animals would have been trapped by Eskimos or similar peoples, and shipped to places where Roman traders operated, which could have included northern Germany, and perhaps even Denmark and Scandinavia, where many Roman artefacts have been found. As ever, the mind boggles at the difficulties involved in doing so - but we know it was done for so many other animals, so it's likely that polar bears may have been used in the amphitheatre too. I find it hard to believe that the Romans got hold of live adult animals from the Arctic ice. Last edited by starkodder; March 9th, 2015 at 11:51 AM.
March 9th, 2015, 12:38 PM
#4
@starkodder: firstly, it wouldn't have been the Romans - we have no descriptions in the texts of the Romans going much further north than Scotland. Secondly, why couldn't it have been possible? We know that tigers, which are just as ferocious, were transported all the way to Rome, and over similar, or greater distances. So too were elephants, for goodness' sake, and rhinoceroses! I think it's entirely possible.
Ben Kane Lecturer Joined: May 2011 From: Nr. Bristol, UK Posts: 290
March 9th, 2015, 02:24 PM
Azarius Balios Historian
#5
Did roman standard bearers also worn polar bear hide while being stationed in Britannia or northern Gaul?
Joined: Jan 2013 From: Anywhere Posts: 1,086
March 9th, 2015, 02:46 PM
#6
In a word, no.
Ben Kane Lecturer Joined: May 2011 From: Nr. Bristol, UK Posts: 290
March 9th, 2015, 03:38 PM
#7
R5 plus
Quote:
Historian
Originally Posted by Ben Kane ...We know that other kinds of bears, tigers, lions, elephants, hippos and other large, savage beasts were captured live and shipped thousands of miles to Rome for the circus...
Joined: Apr 2013 From: Home of Ringing Rocks Posts: 3,781
I thought that said "hippies" at first. I had this mental image of wild, long-haired barbarians in tie-dye... --Interesting topic, OP
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March 9th, 2015, 04:06 PM
#8
My opinion of this is that it is most likely untrue. Polar bears only inhabit an area well inside the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle. I live in Arctic Norway and the closest polar bears are in the Svalbard Archipelago. The Inuit and other related peoples in close contact with polar bear were not seafaring peoples and lacked the ocean-going vessels capable of making the journey from these regions to more southern climes capable of being reached by Roman traders. And I severely doubt that Roman vessels were capable of reaching the upper reaches of the Arctic to reach polar bear territory, let alone bring one back.
Smith Citizen Joined: Mar 2015 From: Norway Posts: 48
If Siculus' account of bears versus seals as a spectacle is correct I think it far more likely to be one of the more common Eurasian species of bears which were already used for public games with one of the seal species which could already be found within or close to Imperial Roman territory. As for polar bears being the only to bear to hunt seals, if you starve a carnivore for long enough (as was often the habit with animals in the games) and then plonk it in a confined space with another animal it is inevitable that hunger will lead it to attack anything. It's a great idea but one which I think is at best, unlikely.
March 9th, 2015, 04:29 PM
#9
The source is the 7th Ecologue of Calpurnius Siculus, identified with the Games of Emperor Nero at Rome in 57 AD. The relevant part is highlighted.
Moros Historian Joined: Jun 2012 Posts: 2,971
Beasts of every kind I saw; here I saw snow-white hares and horned boars, here I saw the elk, rare even in the forests which produce it. Bulls too I saw, either those of heightened nape, with an unsightly hump rising from the shoulder-blades, or those with shaggy mane tossed across the neck, with rugged beard covering the chin, and quivering bristles upon their stiff dewlaps. Nor was it my lot only to see monsters of the forest: sea calves also I beheld with bears pitted against them and the unshapely herd by the name of horses, bred in that river whose waters, with spring-like renewal, irrigate the crops upon its banks. The argument that polar bears naturally eat seals and therefore it must have been polar bears in the arena, is assuming that the Romans were trying to recreate what would have happened naturally in the wild. But that was not their aim. They wanted entertainment, not a wildlife documentary. The more bizarre and spectacular the better. Bears pitted against tigers, elephants pitted against rhinos, giraffes pitted against bulls, etc. It didn't have to be a 'natural' pairing, and the Romans could easily breed aggression into the animals so that the 'hunt' need have nothing to do with natural instinct or food chain.
Last edited by Moros; March 9th, 2015 at 04:33 PM.
March 10th, 2015, 02:19 AM
#10
starkodder
Quote:
Historian
Originally Posted by Smith My opinion of this is that it is most likely untrue.
Joined: Aug 2011 From: Sweden
Polar bears only inhabit an area well inside the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle. I live in Arctic Norway and the closest polar bears are in the Svalbard Archipelago. The Inuit and other related peoples in close contact with polar bear were not seafaring peoples and lacked the ocean-going vessels capable of making the journey from these regions to more southern climes capable of being reached by Roman traders. And I severely doubt that Roman vessels were capable of reaching the upper reaches of the Arctic to reach polar bear territory, let alone bring one back.
Posts: 1,497
If Siculus' account of bears versus seals as a spectacle is correct I think it far more likely to be one of the more common Eurasian species of bears which were already used for public games with one of the seal species which could already be found within or close to Imperial Roman territory. As for polar bears being the only to bear to hunt seals, if you starve a carnivore for long enough (as was often the habit with animals in the games) and then plonk it in a confined space with another animal it is inevitable that hunger will lead it to attack anything. It's a great idea but one which I think is at best, unlikely. I agree with these arguments, mostly regarding that the ice bear distribution was well separated from any ocean going ships at the time. Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >
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