“Fresh perspectives [on] the study of the Roman amphitheater . . . providing important insights into the psychological dimensions” of gladiatorial combat (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 competition 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 show and its place within the highly politicized cult practice of the Roman Empire.

Citizenship in a Republic is the title of a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the United States, at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910. One notable passage from the speech is referred to as "The Man in the Arena": It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The legendary Spartacus is recast as a fierce female warrior in this action-packed tale of a 17-year-old princess and a handsome gladiator who dared take on the Roman Republic.

Released from the Arctic ice after two millennia, a Roman gladiator contends with his haunted memories and the modern world in this “marvelous” novel (Los Angeles Times). While exploring the polar expanse for an oil company, geologist Lew McCardle discovers something remarkable: a body encased in the ice. Even more remarkable, the skills of a Russian researcher bring the man miraculously back to life. This strange visitor from the distant past has an amazing story to tell. With the help of a Nordic nun who translates from his native Latin, Lucius Aurelius Eugenianus reveals that in the era of Domitian he was a champion in the ancient Roman Coliseum, a gladiator known far and wide as the greatest of all time. But now the warrior Eugeni must readjust to this new world, with its bizarre customs, hidden traps, and geopolitical and moral complexities, as he struggles to come to terms with painful memories of loves and glories lost, and the bloodthirsty imperial politics and heartbreaking betrayals that ultimately led him to this time and place. An ingenious amalgam of science fiction, fantasy, and history, Richard Ben Sapir’s The Far Arena is a breathtaking work of literary invention, at once thrilling, poignant, and thought-provoking.

"From the lowest ranks of poverty to unprecedented heights of riches and popular acclaim-thus was the career of Juan Gallardo, Spanish bull fighter. In telling his story, Ibanez has achieved a novel even more dramatic and powerful than his legendary Four Horsemen. From his boyhood Juan longed to be a bull fighter and, as he climbs the ladder step by step, the reader lives with him in the very atmosphere of the arena. No detail of the picture is spared-one can see and almost hear the actual battle-the crowds-the many characters that stream through the pages. And Juan himself, with his vanities, his superstitions, his daring attacks, his wounds and recoveries, emerges as real, vital and colorful as the sport to which he and many others dedicated their lives."--Goodreads

This sourcebook presents a wealth of material relating to everyaspect of Roman spectacles, especially gladiatorial combat andchariot racing. Draws on the words of eye-witnesses and participants, as wellas depictions of the games in mosaics and other works of art. Offers snapshots of “a day at the games” and“the life of a gladiator”. Includes numerous illustrations. Covers chariot-races, water pageants, naval battles and wildanimal fights, as well as gladiatorial combat. Combines political, social, religious and archaeologicalperspectives. Facilitates an in-depth understanding of this important featureof ancient life.

Leonidas, freedman, once the most popular gladiator in Rome and champion of the games, now must fight for his life outside the arena. A man who owed him money was murdered, and Leonidas is a prime suspect. With the assistance of Cassia, daughter of a Greek scribe who was bestowed upon him as his slave, Leonidas fights for justice in the back lanes of Imperial Rome. Cassia has no idea how to cook and clean or mend and weave, but she is very good at finding things out and writing things down, able to work through a dozen mathematical problems by the time most people can think of a sentence. Knowing both intuitively and empirically that Leonidas is innocent of the murder, she resolves to help clear him of the crime. It’s the least she can do for a man who has proved to be far less brutal than his reputation and who protects all who come within his sphere. And if Leonidas loses, he faces a short, painful future back in the amphitheater, this time without hope of survival. A novella of the Leonidas the Gladiator mysteries.