andabates

Updated: May 2, 2025

Usually a spectacle was begun by hunts of wild beasts, in which various Northern and Southern barbarians excelled; but this time they had too many beasts, so they began with andabates, that is, men wearing helmets without an opening for the eyes, hence fighting blindfold.

Henryk Sienkiewicz - Quo Vadis: a narrative of the time of Nero