Spectacle! Games, Gladiators, Performance, and Ceremony in the Roman World

Theaters, amphitheaters, baths, circuses, and imperial residences pepper the former territory of the Roman Empire. Modern films conjure the fantastic, yet ephemeral, events of days long past, amplifying the fascination of these ubiquitous ruins. For the Romans, however, spectacle was not only about fun and games. What really took place in these spaces, and why? Learn to separate fact from fiction as we consider artistic, architectural, and archaeological evidence to understand how and why spectacles were fundamental to Roman daily life.