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Books on Gladiators
#1
What are some good books on Gladiators?
Joshua B. Davis

Marius Agorius Donatus Minius Germanicus
Optio Centuriae
Legio VI FFC, Cohors Flavus
[url:vat9d7f9]http://legvi.tripod.com[/url]

"Do or do not do, their is no try!" Yoda
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#2
Try first Wiedemanns Book, Emperors and Gladiators, it will help you to get a foot into it.
real Name Tobias Gabrys

Flavii <a class="postlink" href="http://www.flavii.de">www.flavii.de
& Hetairoi <a class="postlink" href="http://www.hetairoi.de">www.hetairoi.de
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#3
I recommend in English language:

Susanna Shadrake
"The World of the Gladiator"
Tempus Publishers

E. Köhne, C. Ewigleben
"Gladiators and Caesars"
This is the catalog to an exhibition of the same name which features also an article by Marcus Junkelmann.

Junkelmann's book "Das Spiel mit dem Tod" will be released in a second edition in December and should then also become available in an English translation.
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#4
Quote:Junkelmann's book "Das Spiel mit dem Tod" will be released in a second edition in December and should then also become available in an English translation.

that is good news!
gr,
Jeroen Pelgrom
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I would rather have fire storms of atmospheres than this cruel descent from a thousand years of dreams.
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#5
Quote:Junkelmann's book "Das Spiel mit dem Tod" will be released in a second edition in December and should then also become available in an English translation.

Nice to hear, I read the first edition from a friend and wanted to buy it eventualy, so I now know that it might be a good wish for christmas Smile

I also can recommend "Colosseum: Rome's Arena of Death" or "Colosseum. Arena der Gladiatoren" by Peter Connolly, though it didnt have the splendit illustrations I love from Connollys work.

Even though its a chidrens book "Was ist was?, Bd. 82, Gladiatoren. Kämpfer der Arena" was recently redone by Junkelmann and is nicely illustrated
Olaf Küppers - Histotainment, Event und Promotion - Germany
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#6
Taken from the Literature list of my homepage (omited the very specific books though and mentioned some new books at the end which don't appear on the website yet):

Bomgardner, David L. The Story of the Roman Amphitheatre, Routledge, London and New York, 2000.
Junkelmann, Marcus. Das Spiel mit dem Tod - So kämpften Roms Gladiatoren. Philipp von Zabern, 2000.
Köhne, Eckart and Cornelia Ewigleben. Caesaren und Gladiatoren - Die Macht der Unterhaltung im antiken Rom. Philipp von Zabern, 2000.
Meijer, Fik. Gladiatoren - Das Spiel um Leben und Tod. Patmos Verlag, 2004.
Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut - Grabung Ephesos (Hrsg.). Tod am Nachmittag - Gladiatoren in Ephesos (Ausstellungskatalog Museum Selçuk), Dogan Gümus, 2002.
Shadrake, Susanna. The World of the Gladiator. Tempus Publishing Ltd., 2005.
Teyssier, Eric und Brice Lopez. Gladiateurs - Des Sources à l'Expérimentation. editions errance, 2005.
Wiedemann, Thomas. Kaiser und Gladiatoren. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1992.
Wisdom, Stephen. Warrior 39: Gladiators 100 BC - AD 200. Osprey Publishing, 2001.
Conolly, Peter. Colosseum - Rome's Arena of Death. BBC Books, 2003.
Futrell, Alison. Blood in the Arena - The Spectacle of Roman Power. University of Texas Press, 1997
Futrell, Alison. The Roman Games - A Sourcebook. Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
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#7
Quote:Even though its a chidrens book "Was ist was?, Bd. 82, Gladiatoren. Kämpfer der Arena" was recently redone by Junkelmann and is nicely illustrated

It's very important to get the new version done by Junkelmann because in the old one are many mistakes. I had recently the chance to have a look at the old one.
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#8
Comprehensive List you have there, Svenja.
I read about halve of them, but it seems most books are more detailed on history and the social and political aspects of the Ludi, but dont give much information about the gladiatorial pairings and equipment.

Osprey is of course a good starter but not always accurate, while Junkelmanns book is a kind of bible of course.
Conolly also deals with the acheological finds in one chapter, but covers the Flavian Amphitheatre in a lot more detail then the combatants within.

Can you recomend other books from your list that would be usefull as a guide for gladiatorial combat and equpiment?
Olaf Küppers - Histotainment, Event und Promotion - Germany
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#9
Salve Olaf,

The only other book dealing about gladiatorial combat also as an experiment besides Junkelmann is the French one by Teyssier, Eric und Brice Lopez. Gladiateurs - Des Sources à l'Expérimentation. editions errance, 2005. Though you have to read it very critically, I tried to start a discussion about their theories in this thread:

http://www.romanarmy.com/rat/viewtopic.php?t=9333
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#10
Hi there

This is an old list from our yet to be tidied up sections of our old website, but it gives you four more books:

http://www.ludus.org.uk/r/bookreviews.html
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#11
I have the Osprey book also on my list, but I have to admit that the drawings contain many errors. There's a picture of a provocator slaying a thraex although these two types never fought against each other.
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#12
Svenja

Take a look back at the old RAT site for a precis by Suzy ... she tore it to bits !!! :lol:

Conal
Conal Moran

Do or do not, there is no try!
Yoda
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#13
A rather old one , but still good is "Gladiators" by the famous historian Michael Grant - covers all aspects ( but alas probably out of print now ) Sad
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)

"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
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#14
Quote:A rather old one , but still good is "Gladiators" by the famous historian Michael Grant - covers all aspects ( but alas probably out of print now ) Sad

I believe it got a re-print ..after the film Big Grin
Conal Moran

Do or do not, there is no try!
Yoda
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#15
I just finished Susanna Shadrake's book, The World of the Gladiator, and found it to be both very well researched and written as well as quite easy to read and to follow on this most technical of subjects.
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