Those Who Are About to Die

Name: Those Who Are About to Die
Rating: 4.3 (79 reviews)

by Harry Sidebottom

Amazon

4.1(79)

Those Who Are About to Die reconstructs a day at the Roman games from the night before the spectacle to its aftermath. Sidebottom follows gladiators, organisers, spectators and others whose work and expectations meet in the arena, explaining training, weapons, status, ritual and the economics of public entertainment. By focusing on how Romans understood courage, shame, punishment and death, the book uses the games as a route into the values and contradictions of the imperial Roman mind.