 Executions were a common feature of the Roman games . They took place around midday as an interlude between the animal entertainments of the morning sessions and the gladiatorial combat in the afternoon . Although the executions were seen as symbolizing Rome 's power , the higher classes normally took advantage of this interval to leave the arena to dine ; the Emperor Claudius was criticised by some authors for not doing so , so it is unlikely that Titus would have watched this part of the show . The executions of deserters , prisoners @-@ of @-@ war , and criminals from the lower classes were normally crucifixions or damnatio ad <unk> in which they would face wild animals . Scipio Aemilianus had been the first to execute criminals in this way when he had deserters from his army exposed to wild beasts in 146 BC . These executions often took the form of the re @-@ creation of some tragic scene from history or mythology with the criminal cast in the role of the victim killed by wild beasts . Martial records one such execution , a version of the mime <unk> by Catullus , in which a notorious bandit was executed by crucifixion . For the games this was adapted as a version of the legend of Prometheus , who each day would have his liver devoured by an eagle . The element of crucifixion from Catullus ' mime remained , but a wild bear was substituted for the eagle from the Prometheus legend : 
