31 A Face-Off in the Colosseum

The Colosseum is in Rome. It is now in ruins, but once it was a great arena. It looked like our football stadiums. It could seat about 45,000 people. It was mainly used to watch gladiators fight. Most gladiators were prisoners of war. They were made to fight with swords and other weapons. They fought until one was killed. Then the winner was set free.

The Colosseum was also used for another spectacle. An unarmed man would be thrown into the arena. A hungry wild lion would be released, and the spectators would watch the man being torn and eaten. Here’s an account of one such event.

The cage was opened. A starved, almost crazed lion sprang forth. The prey was in the center. The man stood with only a rock in one hand. In the other was a fist-full of sand. That’s all he had. The lion never paused. It made long and powerful bounds. With each leap, its claws set forth showers of sand.

The stands were silent. People held their breaths. With one more leap, the lion would be on the man. But that last leap never came. The lion skidded in the soft sand. It stopped a mere step away. The lion raised its head. It looked at the man and licked his hand. It seemed like a miracle.

Who was the man? He was Androcles. And he remembered. Years before he had saved that lion. He lifted its right paw and saw the scar. Then he wrapped his arms around the lion’s neck. Together, like partners, they walked around the whole arena. The crowds had never seen such a miracle. They cheered uncontrollably. It was the greatest show they had ever seen.

31 競技場中的對決

羅馬競技場位於羅馬。它現在已成廢墟，但曾經是一座宏偉的競技場。它看起來像我們的足球體育場，可以容納約四萬五千人。它主要用於觀看角鬥士搏鬥。大多數角鬥士是戰俘，他們被迫用劍和其他武器戰鬥，直到其中一人被殺死，然後勝利者會獲得自由。

競技場也曾用於另一種奇觀。一個手無寸鐵的人會被扔進競技場，一隻飢餓的野生獅子會被放出來，觀眾們會看著這個人被撕碎並吃掉。以下是其中一次事件的記述。

籠子打開了。一隻飢餓的、幾乎瘋狂的獅子跳了出來。獵物就在場中央。那個人站著，一隻手裡只有一塊石頭，另一隻手裡則抓著一把沙子。這就是他所有的東西。獅子毫不遲疑，它做出長而有力的跳躍，每一次躍起，它的爪子都揚起陣陣沙塵。

看台上一片寂靜，人們屏住了呼吸。再一跳，獅子就會撲到那人身上。但那最後的一躍並沒有發生。獅子在鬆軟的沙地上滑了一下，在僅一步之遙的地方停了下來。獅子抬起頭，看著那個人，並舔了舔他的手。這簡直像個奇蹟。

這個人是誰？他是安德羅克勒斯。他想起來了。幾年前，他救過這隻獅子。他抬起它的右爪，看到了那道疤痕。然後他用雙臂環抱住獅子的脖子。他們像夥伴一樣，一起繞著整個競技場走了一圈。人群從未見過這樣的奇蹟，他們失控地歡呼起來。這是他們見過最精采的表演。