When Roman decadence has become a popular subject artists discoverd christians martyrs. It wasn't the old martyrs well known from religious paintings. Know art favoured a morbid horror show. Here the viewer of the painting is more absorbed by the roman side, he is not suffering, he is watching the spectacle.
This painting "Nero’s Torches" (1876) by Henryk Hector Siemiradzki (1843-1902), shows how christian martyrs are burned alive on stakes. But just as important (or even more) are the roman costumes, all the exotic details and the half naked slave girls.
Sex and sadism has always been popular with artists and Joe public. People enjoy naked slave girl orgies, mass killing and torture as you say... Sometimes for real in pointless manufactured wars... But usually in the comfort of a gallery, a movie theatre or these days, on our computer screens. Sad but true.
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