Synopses & Reviews
This inquiry into the collective psychology of the ancient Romans speaks not about military conquest, sober law, and practical politics, but about extremes of despair, desire, and envy. Carlin Barton makes us uncomfortably familiar with a society struggling at or beyond the limits of human endurance. To probe the tensions of the Roman world in the period from the first century b.c.e. through the first two centuries c.e., Barton picks two images: the gladiator and the "monster."
Review
"In this volume, Barton has undertaken an imaginative reconstruction of the 'emotional
life' of the ancient Romans, and in so doing has produced a work of historical scholarship whose range of resources and whose appeal extend far beyond the bounds of merely academic history. She divides her analysis of Roman culture between two archetypal motifs, the gladiator and the monster, and through her analysis of each she gradually draws the picture of a truly tragic civilization, suffering from spiritual contradictions and subsisting in an emotional world that Barton describes under the categories of despair, desire, fascination, and envy. Believers in the quaint notion of objective history may be offended both by the speculative character of her project and the occasionally personal approach she has taken to her subject, but Barton has written a text of great richness. And her entire enterprise calls to mind R. G. Collingwood's theory of history as an imaginative recapitulation of the possibilities of being—as well as ambiguities of meaning—that reside in other cultural and historical situations." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Review
Barton amasses an impressive collection of ancient evidence and treats it to an even more impressive interpretation, reinforced by references to modern psychological and anthropological studies. The thesis is enriched and underscored by countless examples from contemporary films, plays, and literature. . . . This provocative volume deserves a wide audience. -- Richard E. Mitchell, American Historical Review Surely the most erudite treatment of Latin sadomasochism around and a model of literary-history digging. -- Scott L. Malcomson, The Voice Literary Supplement The main achievement of the author is a wealth of documentation of some rather odd-looking aspects of Roman culture. . . . [Barton] is especially stimulating on the subject of the gaze in the Roman context, on the dynamics of watching. -- James Davidson, Journal of Roman Studies
Review
"Barton amasses an impressive collection of ancient evidence and treats it to an even more impressive interpretation, reinforced by references to modern psychological and anthropological studies. The thesis is enriched and underscored by countless examples from contemporary films, plays, and literature. . . . This provocative volume deserves a wide audience."--Richard E. Mitchell, American Historical Review
Review
"Surely the most erudite treatment of Latin sadomasochism around and a model of literary-history digging."--Scott L. Malcomson, The Voice Literary Supplement
Review
"The main achievement of the author is a wealth of documentation of some rather odd-looking aspects of Roman culture. . . . [Barton] is especially stimulating on the subject of the gaze in the Roman context, on the dynamics of watching."--James Davidson, Journal of Roman Studies
Review
Surely the most erudite treatment of Latin sadomasochism around and a model of literary-history digging. American Historical Review
Synopsis
This inquiry into the collective psychology of the ancient Romans speaks not about military conquest, sober law, and practical politics, but about extremes of despair, desire, and envy. Carlin Barton makes us uncomfortably familiar with a society struggling at or beyond the limits of human endurance. To probe the tensions of the Roman world in the period from the first century b.c.e. through the first two centuries c.e., Barton picks two images: the gladiator and the "monster."
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | |
| Introduction | 3 |
| The Gladiator | |
1 | Despair | 11 |
| The Scandal of the Arena | 11 |
2 | Desire | 47 |
| Wine without Water | 47 |
| The Monster | |
3 | Fascination | 85 |
| A Vain, Barren, Exquisite Wasting | 85 |
4 | Envy (Part One) | 107 |
| Embracing the Monster | 107 |
5 | Envy (Part Two) | 145 |
| Striking the Monster | 145 |
6 | Conclusions | 176 |
| The Widening Gyre | 176 |
| Modern Works Cited | 191 |
| Index | 203 |