Lecture 38 Outline

April 30

All you ever want to know about gladiators

 

I.          From Lect. 37 (the Good Emperors): Trajan (from Spain), Hadrian (from Spain), Marcus Aurelius

II.         Gladiators in perspective (cf. Course Packet, pp. 175-188)

            A.  origins and development of games; some operative terms:
            munus, ludus, lanista, editor, familia gladiatoria, magistri; venator,
            bestiarius; pollice verso, missus, sine missione, ferrum recipere, habet!,
            Th(anatos)

            B.  equipment categories (e.g. thraex, retiarius); balance of protective
            gear and vulnerability

            C.  the psychology behind it (Etruscans; cruel fathers; lack of expansionist wars, etc.) ; cf. Augustine’s young friend (Course Packet,
            pp. 179-180)

            D.  Gladiator to the Max(imus): the essence of Roman civilization?

Iii.       Quick recap: chariot racing (we've looked at this before) - the Roman world’s NFL (see Course Packet, pp. 169-174)
            reality check: real chariots vs. 900 pound chariots in movie
            fan mania, incl., of course, Caligula; 
            circus riots (Constantinople)

Back to Lectures, Films, and Readings
Back to Home Page