Spectacle Entertainment of Early Imperial Rome - Tapa dura

Reseña del editor

The spectacles of Imperial Rome, the religious festivals, public games, circus, animal hunts, processions and dramas, were used by emperors and politicians to convey ideologies and political policies and to test public opinion. Just as Octavian sought to gain and sway public opinion after the assassination of Caesar, so Nero held many banquets and dramatic events to ensure and maintain his popularity. Richard Beacham draws on the early Imperial accounts of Dio, Tacitus and Suetonius, as well as archaeological evidence, to trace the changes in these entertainments throughout the period; he discusses the information they contain for a better understanding of a range of policies and activities in Early Imperial ROme.

Reseña del editor

The presentations in the theater, gladiatorial combats, chariot races in the circus, animal hunts, triumphal processions, and other public entertainments of early imperial Rome served as tangible expressions of Roman ideology and power. This engagingly written book describes these lavish spectacles, traces their evolution under Rome's political masters from Caesar to Nero, and discusses their social and political significance.

Drawing on primary accounts of ancient historians as well as on archaeological evidence, Richard Beacham examines the stagecraft of Roman statecraft, providing illuminating accounts of such episodes as the intensely theatrical rivalry of Caesar and Pompey, Augustus's performance in what the Princeps himself called the "mime of life, " and the demented antics of Caligula. He shows how Roman politicians and emperors created awesome spectacles of mass appeal in a potent exercise of demagoguery. He argues that the Roman people In turn jealously guarded their right to be entertained, regarding the theater, circus, and arena as political venues in which to demonstrate their power and vent their opinions.