![]() ![]() But it would be anachronistic to suggest that the Romans saw gladiatorial combat in such simplistic terms: firstly, most gladiators were slaves, and so little more than objects in the eyes of their owners. In Panem, young people are pitted against one another as a punishment for an earlier rebellion, and in order to try and win food for their people. It is the first of those final words, panem et circenses, which gave The Hunger Games’ author, Suzanne Collins, the name of her dystopian country. ![]() It is a pity that the satirist Juvenal’s pithy epigram about the Roman plebs is so rarely quoted in its entirety: “Those who once bestowed military power, political power, legions, everything now they limit themselves and pray for just two things: bread and circuses.” Gladiatorial combat became part of the fabric of Roman society, an example of munera (gifts, or spectacles, like chariot-racing) which were paid for by wealthy men trying to curry favour with ordinary citizens. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |