Spectacles of Death in Ancient RomeThe elaborate and inventive slaughter of humans and animals in the arena fed an insatiable desire for violent spectacle among the Roman people. Donald G. Kyle combines the words of ancient authors with current scholarly research and cross-cultural perspectives, as he explores * the origins and historical development of the games * who the victims were and why they were chosen * how the Romans disposed of the thousands of resulting corpses * the complex religious and ritual aspects of institutionalised violence * the particularly savage treatment given to defiant Christians. This lively and original work provides compelling, sometimes controversial, perspectives on the bloody entertainments of ancient Rome, which continue to fascinate us to this day. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 7 | |
the problem of disposal | 10 |
The phenomenon the development and diversity of Roman spectacles of death | 34 |
Festivals punishments celebrations and games | 35 |
rites and spectacles | 43 |
power proscriptions and multidimensional spectacles | 49 |
Arenas and eating corpses and carcasses as food? | 184 |
Hunting games and game | 187 |
spectators and scrambles | 190 |
America | 194 |
Rituals spectacles and the Tiber River | 213 |
punishment and purgation | 214 |
Executions and riots in the Forum | 217 |
Political violence and disposal by water | 220 |
summa supplicia and fatal charades | 53 |
The victims differentiation status and supply | 76 |
infamy virtue and ambivalence | 79 |
The doomed and the damned | 91 |
demand and supply | 95 |
Rituals and resources | 100 |
Death disposal and damnation of humans some methods and messages | 128 |
Death as a spectacle in some other premodern societies | 133 |
Disposal from Roman arenas some rituals and options | 155 |
burial pits exposure crucifixion fire | 159 |
Commodus the gladiator | 224 |
Christians persecutions and disposal | 242 |
passions procedures spectacles and disposal | 243 |
Lyons and disposal by water | 248 |
Relics and resurrection | 253 |
Conclusion hunts and homicides as spectacles of death | 265 |
| 272 | |
| 282 | |
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Common terms and phrases
abuse amphitheater Ancient animals arena associated beasts became blood bodies burial buried captives century charges Christians cited claims combats concerning condemned continued corpses crimes criminals crowd cultural dead death denial discusses display disposal dragged dumping early elite emperors Empire especially examples execution explains feels festival fight fire flesh Forum funeral further gladiatorial gladiators gods Greek human sacrifice hunting imperial Italy killed late later living Livy Loeb martyrs mass meat military munera nature notes noxii numbers offered original performed perhaps persons political practice prisoners probably punishment reference religious remains Republic rites ritual Roman Rome Rome's says senate shows slaves social society soldiers sources spectacles spectators sport status Suet suggests suicide symbolic thrown Tiber Tiberius traditional usually victims violence Wiedemann 1992 wild