Of all aspects of Roman culture, the gladiatorial contests for which the Romans built their amphitheatres are at once the most fascinating and the most difficult for us to come to terms with. They

Emperors and Gladiators

Of all aspects of Roman culture, the gladiatorial contests for which the Romans built their amphitheatres are at once the most fascinating and the most difficult for us to come to terms with. They have been seen variously as sacrifices to the gods or, at funerals, to the souls of the deceased; as a mechanism for introducing young Romans to the horrors of fighting; and as a direct substitute for warfare after the imposition of peace.
In this original and authoritative study, Thomas Wiedemann argues that gladiators were part of the mythical struggle of order and civilisation against the forces of nature, barbarism and law breaking, representing the possibility of a return to new life from the point of death; that Christian Romans rejected gladiatorial games not on humanitarian grounds, but because they were a rival representation of a possible resurrection.

Country	USA
Author	Thomas Wiedemann
Binding	Paperback
Brand	Thoma Wiedemann
EAN	9780415121644
Edition	1
Feature	Emperors and Gladiators
ISBN	0415121647
Label	Routledge
Manufacturer	Routledge
MPN	19 photographs and 21 line drawings, bib
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	232
PartNumber	19 photographs and 21 line drawings, bib
PublicationDate	1995-07-07
Publisher	Routledge
ReleaseDate	1995-06-01
Studio	Routledge

Emperors and Gladiators