THE COLOSSEUM.
PLATE XXII.
THE GRAFFITI,
Or Scratchings on Marble by the Workmen of the Second Century.
COLOSSEUM—GRAFFITI
A. AND B. ATHLETES
C. WILD-BEAST HUNT
Description of Plate XXII.
THE GRAFFITI,
Or Scratchings on Marble by the Workmen of the Second Century.
A. An athlete, commonly called a wrestler; but the athletes were more than merely wrestlers, they were often men of high rank, and fought with weapons also, sometimes with fatal results. This is a prize-man with his palm-branch in his hand.
B. Athletes.—On this fragment of marble the drawing is very indistinct, but there appear to be two figures only, with arms in their hands, and their heads bare, their helmets being on a table behind them. Inscriptions are scratched upon these, which are rather difficult to make out, but seem to be—on one, IVTOR (?); on another, LIMENI NIKÆ; on a third, OVIM. The rest are too indistinct to be read.