Product Description

From the centre of Imperial Rome to the farthest reaches of ancient Britain, Gaul, and Spain, amphitheatres 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 amphitheatres 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 ritualised mass slaughter of human beings, showing how the gladiatorial contest 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 contest and its place within the highly politicised cult practice of the Roman Empire. Alison Futrell is Associate Professor of Roman History at the University of Arizona.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #459073 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
"... bring[s] fresh perspectives to the study of the Roman amphitheatre, situating the Roman arena within a larger cross-cultural framework of human sacrifice and providing important insights into the psychological dimensions of these public spectacles for the Roman viewer." -Classical World

Customer Reviews

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Alison Futrell is Associate Professor of Roman History at the University of Arizona and earned her doctorate in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology. Her research is guided by her interest in the symbols and rituals of power in the Roman Empire, with particular focus on the deployment of gender and material culture in imperial politics. She is also intrigued by representations of ancient Rome in the modern world, in film, literature and art.

For anyone who has ever had more than a passing interest in the gladiatorial games that were of such enormous interest to the people of the Roman Empire, this is the book for you. To the uninitiated the word gladiator brings to mind a picture of the Colosseum in Rome, or to give it its correct name the Flavian Amphitheatre. In fact, wherever the Roman's established themselves they built amphitheatres, even if they were only temporary structures, made out of wood. Many of them were built in natural `bowls' in the ground, or more magnificent structures and they are scattered throughout the Mediterranean and all Roman occupied territory.

The Hollywood portrayal of the gladiator is probably very far removed from the real man who entered the arena to fight, sometimes for his life, but not always. Gladiators were too costly to keep and train to allow them to be killed. True there were fights to the death, but this was not always the normal thing to do.

The author obviously has a deep knowledge of the subject she writes about and for me the book was a delight, not only to read but also for all the information it gave me. It will always be on my book shelf. Everything that could be covered on the subject is contained within this book.