| Description | See ancient Rome, and peer into the Roman mind, through the eyes of a gladiator—from the evening before the Games at the Colosseum to the evening after What did a gladiator feel when he stepped out onto the sand of the Colosseum, his life in the balance? What ran through the minds of the masses there to witness his likely execution? And how did this bloodthirsty ritual come to exist in the first place? In Those Who Are About to Die, Harry Sidebottom—an internationally bestselling novelist and professor of classical history at Oxford—pulls us into the arena, and into the homes and forums of ancient Rome, taking the reader on an eye-opening, twenty-four-hour tour through Roman life at the height of the gladiatorial games, from the first century BC to the second century AD. We follow the gladiators through the schools (ludi) where they trained, watch in awe as the massive event unfolds—from the gambling at the pre-festival dinner to the dawn rush to get a seat at the arena to the resounding music, the elaborate stage sets, and, yes, the public executions that served as lunch-break entertainment—and we unlearn all the bogus movie tropes (no, alas, gladiators did not have ripped bods, they were kept fleshy so they’d bleed more). Broken down by time of day—Vesper, Prima Vigilia, Secunda Vigilia, up through the following sunset (Solis Occasus)—Those Who Are About to Die offers illuminating insights into every aspect of the life and mind of ancient Romans, their social mores and hierarchies, their thoughts on death and sex and violence, and the myths and dreams that fueled the spectacle. With wit and authority, Those Who Are About to Die gives us the truth behind a figure we can’t stop imagining.
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Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiator ‘Magnificent... Was I not entertained? I absolutely was’ Dominic Sandbrook, Times Books of the Year 'Wonderfully panoramic ... endlessly informative, rich with unexpected detail but never heavy to read' Literary Review 'Grippingly original' Tom Holland 'Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day' The Times *A TIMES AND ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR* Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized – and always at the heart of Roman culture. But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life? Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them – from grand emperors to lowly slaves – illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife. Taking readers on an unforgettable twenty-four-hour adventure – beginning the night before the games and ending the evening after – Those Who Are About To Die gives a blow-by-blow account of what life was really like in the brutally unforgiving arena of the ancient world.
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Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiator 'Wonderfully panoramic ... endlessly informative, rich with unexpected detail but never heavy to read' Literary Review 'Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day, from eve-of-fight rituals to stripping the corpses' The Times 'Grippingly original' Tom Holland, Sunday Times bestselling author of Dominion 'Thrilling... every page sizzles' Alice Loxton, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen 'Fascinating' Matthew Kneale, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized - and always at the heart of Roman culture. But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life? Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them - from grand emperors to lowly slaves - illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife. Taking readers on an unforgettable twenty-four-hour adventure - beginning the night before the games and ending the evening after - Those Who Are About To Die gives a blow-by-blow account of what life was really like in the brutally unforgiving arena of the ancient world. |
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