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STEPHEN BRUNET
in fact, if Manius was an obscure term and therefore unfamiliar to
many Romans. Echion's other comments in the same passage reveal him
to be a fan of gladiatorial shows and well versed in the arcane terminology
of the arena. It is unlikely then that Petronius' imaginary spectacle
included both dwarfs and female gladiators. Yet even if we were to accept
Scheffer's emendation, the text cann t be taken to mean that
Petronius envisioned the dwarfs being matched against the woman
scheduled to fight as an essedarius.
2. Juvenal's conclusion that the natural order of the world had been
overturned because a woman named Mevia was in the habit of killing
Tuscan boars and holding spears in her right hand with her breast uncovered
(1.22-23). Juvenal's example of a Roman matron gone wild cannot
be traced to any particular incident. Juvenal certainly envisaged this
woman being costumed like an Amazon. as may have been the women
who participated in Domitian's Saturnalia. Those women. however,
fought as gladiators, while Mevia appeared as a venator. Also unprovable
is Ville's proposal that Juvenal had directly modeled Mevia on
the women who appeared in the arena during the reign of Nero. 43 Ville
may be right, but we possess no evidence that Nero required these
women to adopt the bare-breasted costume that made Mevia's performance
so distinctive. Nor do we know if these women even fought
venatores. Given what little Dio and Tacitus say on the subject. it is
equally likely that they performed as gladiators. Finally, Dio (66.25.2) is
quite clear that the status of the female venatores in Titus' games was
not particularly high, and so Titus' use of female gladiators was unlikely
to have sparked Juvenal's indignation. Yet, while we may not be
able to trace the events that inspired Juvenal's Amazonian huntress, we
can say with some certainty that Juvenal did not believe that Roman matrons
appeared in the arena on a regular basis. One must keep in mind
that all of Juvenal's statements in this section are characterized by extreme
hyperbole. Thus. in Juvenal's opinion, it was as unlikely that a
woman like Mevia would become a venator as that a eunuch would
marry or the lowly Crispinus rise to a position of wealth (1.22-29). Of
course. such aberrations happened. but they were rare and extreme
events.
3· Juvenal's complaint that Roman matrons practice wrestling and play
at being gladiators, going through their gladiatorial training in full armor
and a heavy helmet (6.246-267). Unlike 1.22-23. Sat. 6 is not concerned
with women who appeared in the arena. Juvenal, in fact. consid-
tyricon(RomeI975)on45·7.
43 Ville (above. n. 7) 259 n. 69. 263.