Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games

From gladiatorial combats to beast fights to stylized executions, the ancient Romans killed humans & animals in the arena with efficiency, ingenuity & delectation–& in astonishing numbers. Who were these victims, why were they killed in such brutal & spectacular ways & how did the Romans dispose of the corpses & carcasses? Combining ancient evidence, current scholarship & crosscultural comparisons, this insightful study examines Rome’s blood-stained legacy, discussing such issues as attitudes toward life, death & afterlife, & raising fundamental questions about the role of ritualized violence in society.