Description

Spectacles of Death in Ancient Rome
By Donald G. Kyle


* Publisher: Routledge
* Number Of Pages: 288
* Publication Date: 1998-06-26
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0415096782
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780415096782
* Binding: Hardcover



Product Description:

The 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.



Summary: Great book, but not for the faint of heart
Rating: 5

This book is not aimed at the general reader who only wants a short sally into Roman history. However, if you long for in depth information, this is your book, and it covers topics not usually dealt with at all, such as the disposal of bodies.

At the heart of Roman life was the games. One small terracotta from North Africa neatly captures both the horror and the sheer spectacle of the games. It shows a woman prisoner, bound and helpless to the back of a bull, while a leopard lunges at her throat. A charming little piece to keep about the house where the children could play with it.

The games grew out of munera, which, by Julius Caesar, were little but a formality. Julius Caesar "got past the need for the recent death of a male relative: in 65 he held games for his long dead father" (p 51). Hunting and killing beasts had long been one of the favorite Roman sports. Under Trajan, 11,000 animals were killed in front of the Roman crowds in just 23 days. Perfume was sent sifting down through the air to help with the stench. Naval battles were fought in which the participants died in bloody agony while the spectators hooted and gaped.

Ancient Rome knew nothing of equals rights. The life of a senator was valuable, whereas taking the life of a slave was regarded as hurting the master's property. It is difficult for us even to imagine the brutality of the life of the poor Roman citizen. When a large number of bears died from the summer heat the rotting "carcasses lay in the street. The common people....was forced by their rude poverty...to fill their bellies with the flesh of the bears" (193). No wonder one Roman recipe calls for a sauce suitable for bad smelling meat.


Famously, Seneca felt no compassion for the noxii who were sent to the games, but he was concerned about the impact of all that killing upon the spectators. What effect did the games have on the Romans? And why did the games increase in ferocity until forcibly closed down by the Christians?

Christians loathed the games, called them corruptive, and refused to attend the games unless condemned and dragged to them as participants. Christians infuriated the spectators by their refusal to bend to authority. "An aged victim, Pothinus, defiant before the governor...was dragged and beaten, and bystanders attacked him with their hands and feet" (p 249).

Not to be missed.



Summary: How the Romans Discarded Their Dead
Rating: 4

The Romans' violent sports led to countless killings and a myriad of dead bodies as a result. Since no extant source from antiquity specifically addresses the issue of what was done with all these dead bodies, Kyle found it necessary to explore the problem of "the treatment and disposal of the arena's dead victims" (11). In doing so, he exposits the general history of the Roman spectacles, who the victims were, how the Roma