Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games - Hardcover

Auguet, Roland

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415104521 ISBN 13: 9780415104524

Publisher: Routledge, 1994

Synopsis

Roland Auguet examines the Roman taste for blood and considers what the games, that strange combination of Cruelty and Civilization, reveal about the Roman mentality. He shows how the great spectacles became a part of city life - they were awaited with impatience, everyone discussed them, some applauded the action in the arena, while others booed frantically.
This book provides an exciting history of gladiators, chariot racing and other games as well as an investigation of their function and significance within society. It is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the Romans' violent form of entertainment.

About this title

Synopsis:

The great spectacles of Ancient Rome were not merely casual entertainment, a matter of choice for the audience, like the modern theatre. Under the Empire the games had become a public opiate and they ended by giving the daily life of Rome its rhythm and lustre. From one year to the next, the Roman citizens lived in anticipation of the games; they provided excitement and helped the citizens forget the mediocrity of their own condition and their lack of political power. In the course of endless festivals, the most minutely organised productions were staged at vast expense, and Rome developed its own cult of the 'star'. This cult was not the product of naive popular imagery: idols and outcasts at the same time, yet doomed to a bloody death, the champions of the arena were the instruments of collective pleasure. Roland Auguet has not restricted himself to the detailed reconstruction of these spectacles; he has also analyzed the emotions of the crowd and the motives of the rulers.

He explains why the games were so important in the life of the city and what the popularity of these spectacles, this strange combination of Cruelty and Civilization, reveals about the mentality of the citizens of Rome.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0415104521
• ISBN 13: 9780415104524
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 226