Fighting with Gladiators (or wild beasts) in Ephesus

Smithsonian Magazine recently published this fascinating video about the discovery of a mass grave of gladiators in northern England. A key to this story and the identification of the grave sites is the recognition of parallels to a similar grave site for gladiators that was discovered near the theater in Ephesus and that was reported on over a decade ago (a Google search for Ephesus and gladiators will bring up further stories about that site).

In 1 Corinthians 15:32 Paul claims he "fought with wild animals at Ephesus." It is very unlikely that Paul, a Roman citizen, would have been forced to fight wild animals in an arena or other context. Fighting wild beasts is probably a metaphor for contending with dangerous opponents. But one may suspect that Paul, who was nearly dragged into that very theater (Acts 19:29-31), was counting on a certain awareness of the the mortal dangers associated with the activities in the theater in Ephesus (and others like it around the Roman empire) for the interpretation of his metaphor.

For a bit more on the gladiators in Ephesus, see here.

Note: A whole episode on "Secrets: Headless Gladiators of York" will air (in the US, at least) on the Smithsonian channel tomorrow, January 30.