Customer Reviews

The Roman Games: A Sourcebook (Blackwell Sourcebooks in Ancient History)

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Book was in great shape. My daughter needed it for her college class. Much cheaper then the campus book store. Thank you so much.

This wonderful book will answer all your questions about the Roman games. Included are pictures of various Roman arenas and many well chosen early sources about the games.

Spectacle and pagan religious rites combined in the games, and the games themselves grew ever more lavish, and ever bloodier, as the empire expanded. "From fairly early days, animals had been part of the religious festivals...meant to guarantee the good-will of Rome's gods" (p 7).

Futrell examines the politics behind the games, with men like Caesar currying support of the mob by putting on games. "The shows offered the opportunity for the audience to express popular feeling on important matters" (p 24) although Ciecero acknowledges that "claques could, through rehearsed chants, manufacture a false 'will of the people'" (p 25).

Among the many condemned who were dragged to the arena to be killed were Christians. "The real crime committed by the Christians was...refusing to participate in public religion, Christians threatened everyone by provoking the rage of the gods" (p 162).

To give you an idea of just how popular the games were in ancient Rome, consider this: One temporary amphitheater collapsed, according to Tacitus and Dio Cassius, and that killed 50,000 people.

Chariot races, gladiators, and water sports are also included in this in depth exploration of the games.

This book provides numerous accounts of ancient Roman sources, from Ovid to Cicero. The author's work is thorough--Futrell's guiding passages are juxtaposed between translated passages from Ancient Rome, weaving the entire book together. This books is excellent for researching the overt political nature of Roman games and probably one of the best guides for researching the nature of the gladiator. The ancient passages which Futrell selects are entertaining and informative. Just remember that poets, such as Ovid, have been translated for a strictly serviceable purpose of illuminating the games, and have been stripped of their poetic appeal. This actually helps the book, as it merges with the lively and scholarly prose without turning it into a laborious effort of poetic study.
As a book to use for both academic work and reading, this is a fulfilling text. There are many excellent passages and a clearly defined bibliography in the back, making it easy for inquisitive readers to find source texts and pursue their own branches of research. Highly recommended.