., ."bring[s] fresh perspectives to the study of the Roman amphitheater, situating the Roman arena within a larger cross-cultural framework of human sacrifice and providing important insights into the psychological dimensions of these public spectacles for the Roman viewer." -- Classical World

From the center of Imperial Rome to the farthest reaches of ancient Britain, Gaul, and Spain, amphitheaters marked the landscape of the Western Roman Empire. Built to bring Roman institutions and the spectacle of Roman power to conquered peoples, many still remain as witnesses to the extent and control of the empire.

In this book, Alison Futrell explores the arena as a key social and political institution for binding Rome and its provinces. She begins with the origins of the gladiatorial contest and shows how it came to play an important role in restructuring Roman authority in the later Republic. She then traces the spread of amphitheaters across the Western Empire as a means of transmitting and maintaining Roman culture and control in the provinces.

Futrell also examines the larger implications of the arena as a venue for the ritualized mass slaughter of human beings, showing how the gladiatorial contest took on both religious and political overtones. This wide-ranging study, which draws insights from archaeology and anthropology, as well as Classics, broadens our understanding of the gladiatorial contest and its place within the highly politicized cult practice of the Roman Empire.

In classical antiquity, beginning in 573 B.C., Nemea hosted international athletic competitions like those at Olympia, Delphi, and Isthmia; the games at the four sites constituted the Panhellenic cycle, and the victors were the most famous athletes of antiquity. Nemea was never a city-state but served as a religious and athletic festival center where the Greek world assembled every two years under a flag of truce. Since 1974, excavations sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley have revealed many details of Nemea's history, as well as evidence for the nature of the buildings and other facilities which were part of the festival center. These discoveries, together with smaller finds in the museum and ancient literary and epigraphic sources, form the basis of a new and sharply defined picture of the Nemean Games. This guidebook is an introduction to the history and physical remains of the festival center and a complement to detailed final publications on the excavation now being prepared. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.  Contributors: Ana M. Abraldes, Darice Birge, Alison Futrell, Michael Goethals, Lynne Kraynak, Mark Landon, Jeannie Marchand.

In classical antiquity, beginning in 573 B.C., Nemea hosted international athletic competitions like those at Olympia, Delphi, and Isthmia; the games at the four sites constituted the Panhellenic cycle, and the victors were the most famous athletes of antiquity. Nemea was never a city-state but served as a religious and athletic festival center where the Greek world assembled every two years under a flag of truce. Since 1974, excavations sponsored by the University of California at Berkeley have revealed many details of Nemea's history, as well as evidence for the nature of the buildings and other facilities which were part of the festival center. These discoveries, together with smaller finds in the museum and ancient literary and epigraphic sources, form the basis of a new and sharply defined picture of the Nemean Games. This guidebook is an introduction to the history and physical remains of the festival center and a complement to detailed final publications on the excavation now being prepared. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990.  Contributors: Ana M. Abraldes, Darice Birge, Alison Futrell, Michael Goethals, Lynne Kraynak, Mark Landon, Jeannie Marchand.

Sport and spectacle in the ancient world has become a vital area of broad new exploration over the last few decades. This Handbook brings together the latest research on Greek and Roman manifestations of these pastimes to explore current approaches and open exciting new avenues of inquiry. It discusses historical perspectives, contest forms, contest-related texts, civic and social aspects, and use and meaning of the individual body. Greek and Roman topics are interwoven to simulate contest-like tensions and complementarities, juxtaposing, for example, violence in Greek athletics and Roman gladiatorial events, Greek and Roman chariot events, architectural frameworks for contests and games in the two cultures, and contrasting views of religion, bodily regimens, and judicial classification related to both cultures. It examines the social contexts of games, namely the evolution of sport and spectacle across cultural and political boundaries, and how games are adapted to multiple contexts and multiple purposes, reinforcing social hierarchies, performing shared values, and playing out deep cultural tensions. The volume also considers other directing forces in the ancient Mediterranean, such as Bronze Age Egypt and the Near East, Etruria, and early Christianity. It addresses important themes common to both antiquity and modern society, such as issues of class, gender, and health, as well as the popular culture of the modern Olympics and gladiators in cinema. With innovative perspectives from authoratative scholars on a wide range of topics, this Handbook will appeal to both students and researchers interested in ancient history, literature, sports, and games.