AD BESTIAS. — Among the Romans, *damnatio* or *datio ad bestias* was the penalty inflicted upon parricides, murderers, seditionists, arsonists, and sometimes prisoners of war. This penalty was often applied to Christians. Tertullian (*Apol.* 40), St. Cyprian (*ep.* 55), and Eusebius (*Hist. eccles.* IV, 15) attest that the cry often resounded: *christiani ad leones*.
One of the most illustrious martyrs is St. Ignatius of Antioch.