Roman Sports and Spectacles

Author: Anne Mahoney
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
ISBN: 1585106062
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 135

Book Description
Roman Sports and Spectacles: A Sourcebook contains numerous translations from the Latin, including famous authors, such as Cicero, Seneca, Tertullian and Augustine, and the not so famous, including graffiti, advertisements and tombstones to paint a world view of what sports Romans played and what they thought of them. The world of Roman sports was similar in many ways to our own, but there were significant differences. For one thing Roman sports centered during religious festivals and the participants were most often slaves. Roman sports were not team sports, but individual competitions. And sports like chariot racing and gladiatorial competitions were very dangerous. Each document includes an introduction to the source material.

Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World

Author: Donald G. Kyle
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 063122971X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 424

Book Description
This is a readable, up-to-date, illustrated introduction to the history of sport and spectacle in the ancient world from the Ancient Near East through Greek and Hellenistic times and into the Roman Empire. Covers athletics, combat sports, chariot racing, beast fights and gladiators. Traces the precursors of Greek and Roman sports and spectacles in the Ancient Near East and the Bronze Age Aegean. Investigates the origins, nature and meaning of sport, covering issues of violence, professionalism, class, gender and eroticism. Challenges the notion that Greek sport and Roman spectacle were polar opposites. Approaches sport and spectacle as overlapping and compatible features of civilized states and empires.

A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity

Author: Paul Christesen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1444339524
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 692

Book Description
A Companion to Sport and Spectacle in Greek and Roman Antiquity presents a series of essays that apply a socio-historical perspective to myriad aspects of ancient sport and spectacle. Covers the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Empire Includes contributions from a range of international scholars with various Classical antiquity specialties Goes beyond the usual concentrations on Olympia and Rome to examine sport in cities and territories throughout the Mediterranean basin Features a variety of illustrations, maps, end-of-chapter references, internal cross-referencing, and a detailed index to increase accessibility and assist researchers

Gladiators and Caesars

Author: Eckart Köhne
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520227989
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Book Description
Describes the events and games held in the amphitheaters, cicuses, and theaters in ancient Rome.

Spectacle in the Roman World

Author: Hazel Dodge
Publisher: Bristol Classical Press
ISBN: 9781853996962
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Gladiatorial combat, animal displays, naumachiae (staged naval battles) and spectacular executions were all an important part of Roman culture. The provision of a wide range of purpose-built buildings (from theatres to amphitheatres to circuses) as venues across the empire is testimony to the popularity and significance of these displays. This book offers an introduction to the main forms of spectacle in the Roman world (human and animal combat, chariot racing, aquatic displays), their nature, context and social importance. It will explore the vast array of sources, from literary to archaeological material, that informs the subject. It will examine the spectacles with special emphasis on their physical setting, and will also consider the variation in the provision of venues and their context across the Empire. A final section will review the modern reception of Roman spectacles, especially those involving gladiators.

The Roman Games

Author: Alison Futrell
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405153156
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
This sourcebook presents a wealth of material relating to everyaspect of Roman spectacles, especially gladiatorial combat andchariot racing. Draws on the words of eye-witnesses and participants, as wellas depictions of the games in mosaics and other works of art. Offers snapshots of “a day at the games” and“the life of a gladiator”. Includes numerous illustrations. Covers chariot-races, water pageants, naval battles and wildanimal fights, as well as gladiatorial combat. Combines political, social, religious and archaeologicalperspectives. Facilitates an in-depth understanding of this important featureof ancient life.

Public Spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Palestine

Author: Zeev Weiss
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674048318
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 378

Book Description
Wishing to ingratiate himself with Rome, Herod the Great built theaters, amphitheaters, and hippodromes to bring pagan entertainments of all sorts to Palestine. Zeev Weiss explores how the indigenous Jewish and Christian populations responded, as both spectators and performers, to these cultural imports, which left a lasting imprint on the region.

The Lure of the Arena

Author: Garrett G. Fagan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521196167
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 375

Book Description
Were the Romans who watched brutal gladiatorial games all that different from us? This book argues they were not.

The Roman World

Author: David Cherry
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631217831
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Book Description
The 57 documents in this sourcebook introduce readers to many of the major topics of Roman history, from the period of the Twelve Tables (c.451 BC) to the later Roman empire. Each of the selections has been chosen for its historical significance and intrinsic interest, and is introduced and annotated by the editor.

Blood in the Arena

Author: Alison Futrell
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292792409
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

Book Description
“Fresh perspectives [on] the study of the Roman amphitheater . . . providing important insights into the psychological dimensions” of gladiatorial combat (Classical World). From the center of Imperial Rome to the farthest reaches of ancient Britain, Gaul, and Spain, amphitheaters marked the landscape of the Western Roman Empire. Built to bring Roman institutions and the spectacle of Roman power to conquered peoples, many still remain as witnesses to the extent and control of the empire. In this book, Alison Futrell explores the arena as a key social and political institution for binding Rome and its provinces. She begins with the origins of the gladiatorial contest and shows how it came to play an important role in restructuring Roman authority in the later Republic. She then traces the spread of amphitheaters across the Western Empire as a means of transmitting and maintaining Roman culture and control in the provinces. Futrell also examines the larger implications of the arena as a venue for the ritualized mass slaughter of human beings, showing how the gladiatorial competition took on both religious and political overtones. This wide-ranging study, which draws insights from archaeology and anthropology, as well as Classics, broadens our understanding of the gladiatorial show and its place within the highly politicized cult practice of the Roman Empire.