123 days Saturday, Oct 24 2026 

Uncategorized , , , , kennethbow 5:51 am

123 days of games sponsored by the Roman Emperor Trajan

The 123 days of games sponsored by the Roman Emperor Trajan were among the most extraordinary—and bloodiest—public spectacles in the history of the Roman Empire.

They took place around AD 107–109, during the same general period in which Christianity was spreading throughout the Roman world and Ignatius of Antioch was serving as a bishop.

1. Why did Trajan hold 123 days of games?

Trajan ruled Rome from AD 98 to 117. He was one of Rome’s most successful military emperors.

He had conquered Dacia, a wealthy kingdom located largely in modern-day Romania.

After defeating the Dacian king Decebalus in AD 106, Trajan returned to Rome with enormous riches and thousands of captives.

To celebrate his victory, he sponsored 123 days of public entertainment.

This was not simply entertainment. It was a demonstration of Roman military power, imperial wealth, and the emperor’s generosity.

2. The staggering numbers

The Roman historian Cassius Dio recorded the following figures:

123

Days of spectacles

10,000

Gladiators who fought

11,000

Animals slaughtered

Ancient figures reported by Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 68, chapter 15.

These numbers are astonishing, although historians cannot independently verify their exact accuracy.

Importantly, 10,000 gladiators participating does not mean 10,000 gladiators died.

3. What happened during the games?

The spectacles included several forms of entertainment.

  • Gladiatorial combat: Trained fighters battled one another with swords, shields, spears, and other weapons.
  • Wild animal hunts: Lions, leopards, bears, and other animals were brought into arenas to fight hunters or be killed.
  • Public executions: Condemned criminals could be put to death before spectators, sometimes by wild animals.
  • Imperial celebrations: Processions and public ceremonies emphasized Rome’s conquest and the emperor’s glory.

The Colosseum was a principal venue for such spectacles, although we do not have a complete daily schedule of Trajan’s games.

4. What did the Roman people think?

Imagine being a Roman citizen during this period.

For months, the city was celebrating. Crowds gathered for public spectacles, cheering for their favorite fighters and marveling at exotic animals brought from distant provinces.

Some gladiators became celebrities. Successful fighters could gain considerable popularity.

But behind the excitement was a terrible reality: enslaved people, prisoners of war, and condemned criminals could be forced into deadly spectacles for the amusement of others.

The games helped strengthen the emperor’s popularity and demonstrated the power of Rome over conquered peoples.

5. The connection to Ignatius of Antioch

This is where the history becomes particularly interesting from a Christian perspective.

Ignatius of Antioch was an early Christian bishop traditionally believed to have been martyred in Rome during Trajan’s reign.

According to early Christian tradition, Ignatius was condemned to be thrown to wild beasts.

In his letter to the Romans, Ignatius wrote:

“I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”

— Ignatius, Epistle to the Romans, chapter 4 (traditional English translation)

There is an important historical distinction:

We cannot establish that Ignatius was executed during Trajan’s particular 123-day celebration. His traditional martyrdom date is approximately AD 107, but the precise date and circumstances remain uncertain.

Nevertheless, Ignatius lived in the same Roman world in which such spectacles were celebrated.

6. What does this reveal about Christianity in the Roman Empire?

Consider the contrast.

Rome celebrated military conquest, public violence, and the power of the emperor.

Christians such as Ignatius proclaimed a crucified and risen Jesus Christ and were willing to suffer rather than renounce their faith.

The Colosseum became a powerful symbol of that contrast, although many later stories associating particular Christian martyrs with the Colosseum cannot be historically verified.

One further historical point is worth remembering: Trajan was also the emperor who instructed Pliny the Younger on how to handle accusations against Christians, around AD 112. Christians were not to be actively hunted down, but those formally accused who refused to recant could be punished.

That correspondence gives us unusually direct evidence of the dangerous position Christians occupied during Trajan’s reign.

I think you would find one particular subject fascinating: the correspondence between Emperor Trajan and Pliny the Younger concerning Christians around AD 112.

It reveals how Roman authorities questioned Christians, demanded that they worship the Roman gods, and punished those who refused. It is one of the most important surviving documents about Christianity outside the New Testament during the early second century.

 

Ignatius Friday, Oct 23 2026 

Uncategorized , , , , kennethbow 5:42 am

A story of passion for Christ.

Passion: The story of Ignatius.

Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius was a bishop of Antioch in Syria, the city where the disciples were first called Christians. He died around AD 107–117. We know very little about his early life. According to tradition, he was a convert who was taught by the Apostle John alongside Polycarp. Eusebius says Peter and Paul arranged for Ignatius to follow Evodius as bishop, and that he served for about forty years.

He called himself “Theophorus,” meaning “God-bearer.” A later legend said he was the child Jesus placed among the disciples in Matthew 18, and that story grew out of this name.

Arrest and sentence

Under Emperor Trajan, Ignatius refused to worship the Roman gods. According to the account of his martyrdom, Trajan ordered that he be “bound by soldiers, and carried to the great [city] Rome, there to be devoured by the beasts, for the gratification of the people”. When he heard the sentence, he reportedly thanked God for being chained “after the example of your holy apostle, Paul”.

The journey and seven letters

Ten soldiers took him overland across Asia Minor. He called them “leopards”. Christians came out to meet him along the way, and he wrote letters back to their churches:

  • From Smyrna, where Polycarp was bishop, he wrote to the Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians and Romans.
  • From Troas he wrote to the Philadelphians, the Smyrnaeans, and Polycarp himself.

The letters cover a few main themes:

  • Church order: -They give the earliest clear evidence of a single bishop leading each city church, with elders and deacons under him.
  • The Incarnation: He defends the real, physical flesh of Christ against the Docetists, who taught that Jesus only seemed to be human.
  • The Eucharist: He calls it the “medicine of immortality”.
  • The word “Catholic”: His letters are the earliest surviving writing to call the Church “Catholic”.

His letter to the Romans is the most moving. He begs them not to try to save him: “I am God’s wheat, ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found pure bread”. He saw martyrdom as sharing in Christ’s Passion, and through that, in Christ’s glory.

His death

Tradition says he reached Rome on December 20, the last day of the games that had lasted 123 days. He was taken straight to the Flavian Amphitheater, where two lions were released and killed him at once. Some accounts say only a few of his larger bones were left, and Christians gathered them up.

History versus legend

Scholars separate the parts we can trust from the later additions. The seven letters are widely accepted as genuine. The details of his trial before Trajan and of his death are considered more legendary.