Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses/Circe/458

Annotations
Morituri te salutant   (Latin) They who are about to die salute thee. It is commonly said that these words were the traditional formula used by gladiators when saluting the Emperor at the start of the gladiatorial games. In fact they were spoken by naumacharii before a mock naval encounter which took place on Lake Fucino in 52 CE in the presence of the Emperor Claudius.