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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Oxford Handbook of Sports History

Author: Robert Edelman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199858918
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 577

Book Description
Practiced and watched by billions, sport is a global phenomenon. Sport history is a burgeoning sub-field that explores sport in all forms to help answer fundamental questions that scholars examine. This volume provides a reference for sport scholars and an accessible introduction to those who are new to the sub-field.

Athletics and Philosophy in the Ancient World

Author: Heather L. Reid
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317984951
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 174

Book Description
This book examines the relationship between athletics and philosophy in ancient Greece and Rome focused on the connection between athleticism and virtue. It begins by observing that the link between athleticism and virtue is older than sport, reaching back to the athletic feats of kings and pharaohs in early Egypt and Mesopotamia. It then traces the role of athletics and the Olympic Games in transforming the idea of aristocracy as something acquired by birth to something that can be trained. This idea of training virtue through the techniques and practice of athletics is examined in relation to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Then Roman spectacles such as chariot racing and gladiator games are studied in light of the philosophy of Lucretius, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius. The concluding chapter connects the book’s ancient observations with contemporary issues such as the use of athletes as role models, the relationship between money and corruption, the relative worth of participation and spectatorship, and the role of females in sport. The author argues that there is a strong link between sport and philosophy in the ancient world, calling them offspring of common parents: concern about virtue and the spirit of free enquiry. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Ethics and Sport.