Books on Gladiators

[Paullus Scipio]

Svenja wrote:-

Especially the last chapter of Grant's book astounded me because there he compared the gladiatorial games even to the holocaust of the Third Reich. Nothing can be compared to the holocaust (maybe that is a very German view)

.....I think you might be right about that! And perhaps germans need to remember that in history, all nations commit genocide/holocausts and it is a sad reflection on our world that the Nazis are not even the most recent, such things continue today. Grant doesn't use the word 'holocaust' in connection with the Nazis/Third Reich....only in connection with Constantine's games that I quoted earlier. :o
I can understand the word having emotive connotations for Germans, but in English, it means no more than 'a burnt offering, a sacrifice, great destruction especially by fire' and a holocaust, used in connection with humans can mean simply a great slaughter, and is a word that certainly applies to the games.The reference to the Nazis in the last chapter is where Grant is pointing out that almost all societies have an outlet for human sadism - e.g. the Spanish have Bull-fighting, a descendant of the bestiary contests, often in the same arenas! ( c.f. my earlier remarks about modern tastes for bloodthirstiness in entertainment). He then is implying that even the vast numbers killed in the arena over the centuries are not unique ...." the Nazis slaughtered human beings on a scale exceeding even the Romans".

Also I missed the detailed information where he took the quotes from, he just says Tacitus in his Annals say that and that but does not state the exact paragraph. A better book for quotes on gladiatorial games is the one by Alison Futrell "The Roman Games".

...I would agree with you that Grant is not a scholarly work, and does not cite chapter and verse. It is also quite short......but it is a good general/ introductory work, and those who become interested can then go on to more detailed works such as Wiedemann and Futrell....and I can understand how for someone with your knowledge/, wissen, kentnis, it would not suffice, but for a beginner/anfanger, I think it very good and would still recommend it. (please excuse my all-but-non-existent german ! :oops: )