CC 302
Lecture 23 Images
Updated 12/01/2008

Lecture 23: Decline and Fall

I. Decline, fall, or change: some general perspectives

a. external vs. internal causes; Polybius (2nd cent. B.C.)
b. overkill: 210 reasons; Santayana; broad perspectives vs. narrow analogies
c. diversity: multiple causes, regional factors, cause and effect (e.g. population decline)

II. Some Specialist theories (among many others)

a. too much lead and you're dead
b. too much hot bathwater and you're sterilized

III. Some historical theories

a. Oswald Spengler: The Decline of the West
b. Arnold Toynbee: challenge and response
c. Edward Gibbon: immoderate greatness
d. Paul Kennedy: imperial overstretch

IV.         Gladiators in perspective (cf. Course Packet, pp. 223-227)

            A.  origins and development of games; some operative terms:
            pollice verso, missus, sine missione, ferrum recipere, habet!,
            Th(anatos)

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

            C.  the psychology behind it (Etruscans; cruel fathers; lack of expansionist wars, etc.);
                  affirmation of Roman values: courage, death defiance, clemency;
                  does viewing violence lead to violent behavior?

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

V.       The real deal:  chariot racing - the Roman world’s premier attraction (see Course Packet, pp.227-231)
            reality check: real chariots vs. 900 pound chariots in movies
            fan mania, incl., of course, Caligula; circus riots (Constantinople)

VI.       A final parallel: the US and Rome as entertainment addicts; organized mayhem as part of civilization
            but not identical with decline and fall

EXAM #3 on Thursday on materials since the Exam #2. 3 bonus questions on Kamm's chapter on
"Art, Architecture, and Building."

Thank you for a good semester - what we did this semester will echo in eternity!