Summary
Peacock’s new historical dramaThose About to Dieprovides an in-depth look at the underworld of gladiatorial combat at the time of the opening of Rome’s famous Colosseum ofthe Flavian Dynasty, and features one of the most incredible and violent events in the arena’s history. In the context of the gladiatorial games, it was a miniaturized version of a real sea battle, complete with full armies and dozens of ships. It was this type of battle that supposedly produced the famous line “those who are about to die salute you” from its combatants.
Those About to Dieprovided a glimpse of what the water-filled Colosseum looked like, although in that instance the water-filled arena was used for a particularly bloody and inventive method of execution.The trailer forGladiator 2provides a brief tease that a full-scale naval battle might be involved in the movie’s action, breaking new ground for a gladiator-related movie or TV show. BothThose About to DieandGladiator 2glamorize the action and engineering feats behind the arena sea battles, but the real affairs in Ancient Rome were anything but glamorous.
Those About To Die Ending Explained: Who Sits On The Throne Of Rome?
Those About To Die introduces the political intrigue and machinations of Ancient Rome, and the series' ending shows how anyone can rise and fall.
They occurred in arenas and specially-designed water basins
WhileThose About to Dieonly shows an execution via crocodiles, the Colosseum did in fact feature full naval battles known asnaumachia.Naumachiatranslates literally to “naval combat”, and featured all the hallmarks of a real battle fought between armies at sea.The first known naumachia was hosted by Julius Caesar in 46 AD, more than thirty years before the events depicted inThose About to Die. He had a basin dug near the Tiber River for the exact purpose of hosting a staged sea battle, and his base concept was improved upon and expanded over the following years.
Per the Roman historian Suetonius, the largest-scalenaumachiaever held occurred on Fucine Lake, andreportedly included as many as 100 ships and over 19,000 “soldiers.“Most of the time, the combatants in anaumachiawere prisoners of war or criminals due for execution, the latter of which is depicted inThose About to Die. It’s unknown if anything as outside-the-box as filling the arena with crocodiles ever occurred, but it was common for exotic animals to be introduced to gladiatorial games to elevate the action and excitement, so it’s certainly plausible.
Naumachiae Were Even More Violent Than Gladiatorial Fights
Far larger groups were involved, with far less training
Gladiatorial fights were obviously bloody and violent, but oftentimes they didn’t end in death. As opposed to the cut and sinewy gladiators depicted inGladiator 2andThose About to Die, real gladiators were often overweight, with an extra layer of fat providing protection for muscles and organs, allowing for blood without death. The small-scale fights, often between two gladiators or small groups, frequently ended in submission rather than guaranteed death.Naumachiae, on the other hand, werefar more deadly given the conditions in which they were foughtand who the combatants were.
Innaumachiae,the combatants were typically only in the arena as a method of eventual execution, with some entertainment squeezed from their deaths as opposed to a formally-set execution. That meant that there was no submission; each battle was designed to be to the death. The fighters also had little to no gladiatorial training, meaning that there was no interest in putting on a show or forcing an opponent to submit. Every second of the battle was a desperate struggle to survive, ensuring death on a massive scale.
Those About To Die’s Titus Was The First Roman Emperor To Hold A Naumachiae In The Colosseum
His brother hosted another several years later
Those About to Dieshows Tom Hughes' Emperor Titus Flavianus featuring the water-filled arena as a spectacle for the opening of the Colosseum, which is true to history. In addition to the arena-held battle for the inauguration,Titus also held a second battle on a much larger scale in the nearby Augustinian water basinthat supposedly featured several thousand men. The arena at the Colosseum was not particularly large, and as a result the scale of the battles was far smaller, with virtually no room for actual naval maneuvers.
Naumachiaewere held, under far less deadly circumstances, at important events in Europe in the 1500s and 1600s, and even as recently as2009 at the Queens Museum of Artas an art installation.
As impressive as the engineering was to flood the arena with water, by the sheer nature of the spacethere was barely enough water to allow the ships to float. There is no record of how the Colosseum was flooded and drained in Titus' time, and modifications have since been made to the lower structure that make physical evidence impossible. His brother Domitian heldnaumachiaein 85 AD and 89 AD, and it’s possible thatThose About to Diedepicts some of those later contests now thatseason 2 has seemingly been confirmed by Roland Emmerich.
Those About To Die
Cast
Set in the year 79 AD in Rome, “Those About to Die” dives into the brutal and complex world of gladiatorial combat. The series explores the dark underbelly of Roman entertainment, where the promise of free food and blood-soaked spectacles keep the restless population in check. The narrative focuses on various characters from all corners of the Roman Empire, whose lives intersect in the grand arena.
