Donald G. Kyle – författare

The elaborate and inventive slaughter of humans and animals in the arena fed an insatiable desire for violent spectacle among the Roman people. Donald G. Kyle combines the words of ancient authors with current scholarly research and cross-cultural perspectives, as he explores* the origins and historical development of the games* who the victims were and why they were chosen* how the Romans disposed of the thousands of resulting corpses* the complex religious and ritual aspects of institutionalised violence* the particularly savage treatment given to defiant Christians.This lively and original work provides compelling, sometimes controversial, perspectives on the bloody entertainments of ancient Rome, which continue to fascinate us to this day.

The elaborate and inventive slaughter of humans and animals in the arena fed an insatiable desire for violent spectacle among the Roman people. Donald G. Kyle combines the words of ancient authors with current scholarly research and cross-cultural perspectives, as he explores* the origins and historical development of the games* who the victims were and why they were chosen* how the Romans disposed of the thousands of resulting corpses* the complex religious and ritual aspects of institutionalised violence* the particularly savage treatment given to defiant Christians.This lively and original work provides compelling, sometimes controversial, perspectives on the bloody entertainments of ancient Rome, which continue to fascinate us to this day.

The second edition of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World updates Donald G. Kyle’s award-winning introduction to this topic, covering the Ancient Near East up to the late Roman Empire.• Challenges traditional scholarship on sport and spectacle in the Ancient World and debunks claims that there were no sports before the ancient Greeks• Explores the cultural exchange of Greek sport and Roman spectacle and how each culture responded to the other’s entertainment• Features a new chapter on sport and spectacle during the Late Roman Empire, including Christian opposition to pagan games and the Roman response• Covers topics including violence, professionalism in sport, class, gender and eroticism, and the relationship of spectacle to political structures

Spanning 1,300 years, this popular history of Rome has been thoroughly revised and updated, reinforcing its stature as an indispensable resource on the history and enduring influence of one of the world's greatest empires. New format: two-color text throughout; new pedagogical features, such as glossary terms in margins; chronological tables and genealogies are made clearer for student useIncludes revised text throughout, updated guides to further reading, and new sources for Roman historyExpands coverage of the late Republic periodRetains its emphasis on the importance of multi-disciplinary interpretations of literary sources and new archaeological evidence