A Bear Named Barbaros: A pierre errante from Apollonia

A grave altar from Pisidian Apollonia (Uluborlu), already published various times, is re-examined here. The authors provide a detailed study of the iconography of the altar, which is now on display in a park in Kızılcabölük, ca. 200 km to the west of Uluborlu. The altar is decorated with a dramatic scene, the death of a bestiarius, who is depicted being killed by a bear. The rocky, uneven terrain below the figures indicate that the bestiarius was killed either while trying to capture the bear, while training the animal or leading it to the amphitheater. The name of the bear (Barbaros) is afterwards discussed in the context of names used for wild animals.