GLADIATORIAL GAMES, SACRIFICIAL RITUAL AND LITERARY ALLUSION by DESIREE E ...

72 Pages·2010·1.23 MB·English

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH:
GLADIATORIAL GAMES, SACRIFICIAL RITUAL AND LITERARY ALLUSION
by
DESIREEE. GERNER
A THESIS
Presented to the Department ofClassics
and the Graduate School ofthe University ofOregon
in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements
for the degreeof
Master ofArts
June 2010
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"AMatterofLife and Death: Gladiatorial Games, Sacrificial Ritual and Literary
Allusion," a thesis prepared by DesireeE. Gerner in partial fulfillment ofthe
requirements for the MasterofArts degree inthe Department ofClassics. This thesis has
been approved and accepted by:
xamining Committee
Date
Committee in Charge: Dr. Mary Jaeger, Chair
Dr. Lowell Bowditch
Dr. Cristina Calhoon
Accepted by:
Dean ofthe Graduate School
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© 2010 DesireeE. Gerner
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An Abstract ofthe Thesis of
Desiree E. Gerner for the degree of Master ofArts
in the Department ofClassics to be taken June 2010
Title: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH: GLADIATORIAL GAMES, SACRIFICIAL
RITUAL AND LITERARY ALLUSION
Approved:
Roman gladiatorial games hadsignificance farbeyondthatofmere spectacle and
were more than savage andbrutal entertainmentfor depravedemperors andbloodthirsty
crowds. Classifyingthe games as aform ofritual, andby extension ameans of
communication, this study approaches Roman gladiatorial games as atype oftextand
employs literarytheories regardingallusionto bringto lightthe more profound
implications ofthe games. Ifocus onthe ways in whichgladiatorial games alludedto
funerary andsacrificial ritual as well as to the idealizedrepresentations ofmasculine virtue
inRomanliterature andthe native myths and legendsthatRomans usedto define
themselves. The gladiatorwas boththe community's ideal agentand its sacrificial offering,
and gladiatorial combatwas the embodimentofRoman social values, religious practice,
and national identity.
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CURRICULUM VITAE
NANlE OF AUTHOR: Desiree E. Gerner
PLACE OF BIRTH: San Clemente, California
DATE OF BIRTH: July 5, 1978
GRADUATE AJ'ID UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED:
University ofOregon
University ofMontana
DEGREES AWARDED:
Master ofArts in Classics, 2010, University ofOregon
Bachelor ofArts in Classical Civilization. 2007, University ofMontana
Bachelor ofArts inEnglish, 2004, University ofMontana
AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST:
AncientHistory and Historiography
Greco-RomanReligion
Augustan and Silver Age LatinLiterature
Greek and Roman Drama
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
University ofOregon
GTF Grader, ClassicsDepartment 2007-2010
GTF LatinInstructor, Classics Department, Summer2009 and Summer 2010
University ofMontana
Administrative Assistant, Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures,
2005-2007
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wishto express my deepest and most heartfelt gratitudeto Dr. MaryJaeger, Dr.
Cristina Calhoon and Dr. Lowell Bowditchfortheir guidance and encouragement in the
completionofthis project. They, and all thefaculty inthe Department ofClassics, have
been a constant source ofinspirationfor me, bothprofessionally and personally. I would
also liketothank myvery dearfriends, Larissa Carlson and JoshRainy, whose humor and
camaraderie have brought greatjoyto my life and madethis processinfinitely more
pleasant. Lastly, Iwould liketothank my mother, who is aheroic exemplum in her own
right. Itis her sacrifices and herunconditional love and devotionthat pavedthewayfor my
success.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
~~~ P~
I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 1
A BriefHistory ofthe Games............................................................................ 5
Early Origins 5
Growthand ChangeDuring the RepublicanPeriod...................................... 10
Imperial Manifestations............................................................................... 13
II. THE GAMES AND SACRIFICIALRITUAL 19
An Examination ofPublic Sacrifice................................................................... 19
Correspondences betweenthe Games and Sacrifice........................................... 25
III. THE GMilES AND LITERATURE 38
Conte and aNewWay ofInterpreting the Games............................................... 39
Homer and the Funeral Games ofPatroklos 43
Livy and Tales ofSingle Combat....................................................................... 52
IV. CONCLUSIONS 59
BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................... 61
CHAPTERI
INTRODUCTION
Few ancient institutions can captivate the imagination like the Roman games.
Whether they are approached with a sense ofmorbid fascination orviewed with horror
and disgust, it is difficult to ignorethe long dried and vanished pools ofbloody sand
which now exist only inthe mind's eye. The games have long beenrecognized as
complex and multifaceted, as more thanjust spectacle for the sake ofspectacle, and the
desire to understand the full range ofmeaning behind them has persisted from antiquity
until the present.
Early writers, historians, poets, orators and philosophers sawthe games invarious
different ways: as a social or moral obligation; as a political tool; as areflection ofthe
authority and magnificence ofimperial rule; as exempla ofbothgood and bad behavior
amongstthe Roman people and their rulers-in short, the games were seen as having
significance and implicationsbeyond the confines ofthe arena. Modern scholarshave
1
likewise soughtto find the greatermeaning ofthe games and to also find awayto
1 Ciceromentionsthegames inseveralofhisworks. InIn Verrem (2.5.36)heexpressesthemagnitudeand
solemnityoftheresponsibilityoftheaedi1e-e1ectastheproducerofannualLudi. Healsodiscussesthe
politicalandpracticalaspectsofthisresponsibilityinEpistulae adFamiliares(2.3, 7.1, 8.2,8.9, etal.)and
intheDeOffiCiiS(2.55-58). Inthe TusculanaeDisputationes(2.17.41)heusesthegladiatorasanexample
ofthewayinwhichonemustapproachdeath. Senecadisapprovesofcertaintypes ofspectacleinhis
Epistles, butalsolikensthewise mantoagladiatorinhisDe TranquilitateAnimiInMartial'sDe
SpectaculisLiberthediversityofthe crowd, eventsandanimalsdescribedexemplifyRome'swide
reachinginfluenceand glorifytheFlavianemperors. Tertulliall,asaChristianwriter, naturallyhasfewer
positivethingstosayaboutthe gamesinhisApologiaandDeSpeciaculis.
2
reconcile Rome's reputation as a civilizing powerwith its tastefor such avicious form of
entertainment? Donald Kyle notes that, "models ofthe origins, nature, and function of
the spectacles have ranged without consensus from pagan pietyto human sacrifice and
from sadism to imperial politics.,,3 Unfortunately, outside ofthe academic world there
has been a tendency to oversimplify the games and classify them as merely the grotesque
amusement ofdepraved rulers and bloodthirsty crowds, as an indication ofthe
degeneracy ofexotic and primitive people who were bound to fall. Amongst those who
are morefamiliar with cinematic representations and Christian ideologythanwith
historical and scholarly texts, the violence and brutality ofthe games seems so extreme
and unfamiliar as to almost defy comprehension. As Kyle says, "thanks to martyrology,
historians such as Edward Gibbon, artists such as J.L. Gerome, novels and Hollywood
epics such as Quo Vadis, the enduring image ofRome will forever be stained with the
blood ofthe arena.,,4
Regardless ofwho examinesthe games or howthey seekto explain or define
them, it isunlikely that there will ever be a satisfying or comprehensive answer to the
2 SamuelDill,RomanSocietyfi'om Nero toMarcusAurelius1905: 234"Itisdifficultforusnowto
understandthislustofcrueltyamongapeopleotherwisehighlycivilised."Dill'sremark,perKyle, is
representativeoftheperceivedinconsistencybetweenRome's civilizednatureandlove ofbloodsport.
3DonaldG. Kyle,SpectaclesofDeathinAncientRome 1998:7
4DonaldG. Kyle, SpectaclesofDeath 1998: 3-5 "SociologistsNorbertEliasandEricDmmingsuggest
that,tothedegreethatwemodemsnowfeel reservationsaboutsuchcustoms,we havebeeninfluencedby
a 'civilizingprocess' wherebytherehasbeenabroadchangeinthemannersandnotionsofdecentbehavior
sincethelateMiddle Ages. Inrecentcenturiesexternalfactors, suchasmodempoliceandpenitentiaries,
andaninternalfactor, aconditionedpsychologyofabhorrenceofexcessviolence,havecontributedto a
gradual shiftintheparametersofembarrassmentandshame, includingreducedlevelsofinterpersonal
violence, increasedsensitivitytopain,andanaversiontocruelty. Mostmodernsareconditionedtofeel that
theviewingofactuallife-threateningviolenceinpublicshouldbedistastefulandshouldbediscouragedby
thesocialorder."
3
question ofwhy the games existed andthe full extent oftheir purpose.) This, however, is
no reasonto cease searching for new insight and new methods ofinvestigation. One
new approach canbe found via the persistent characteristics ofthe games, which enable
them to be categorized as ritual, i.e. as a repeated, theatrical and exaggerated social
action.6 When we classify them as a species ofritual, correspondences betweenthe
games and sacrificial practices become imminently visible due tothe programmatic
nature ofboth and by virtue ofthe violence thatthey share. As Burkert suggests, ritual is
abehavioral patternwhich has lost its original meaning overtime, but which continues as
a form ofcommunication. Ifthe games are considered as ritual, and by extension a form
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ofcommunication, they canthen be looked at as atype oftextordocument, composed in
a language all their own. This then opensthe gamesto awhole new world ofevaluation,
namely to methods ofinterpretation more often applied to literature, than to social
institutions.
Theories regarding allusion promise to be particularly fruitful in this instance due
tothe retrospective, repetitive elements oftradition. By applying the practicesused to
study allusion in literature, we canread the games as alluding to any number ofother
features ofRoman life. The idea ofintertextuality, inwhich onetext refers to, directly
5 S. Brown.ExplainingtheArena:DidtheRomans "Need"Gladiators? 1995:383 (comments)"A
scholarlyconsensusasto 'the' explanationforthearena,especiallyacrossawide geographicalextentanda
historyofmorethan 700years, issurelyimpossible."
6 WalterBurkert,HomoNecans 1986:23Burkertdescribestwofunctions ofritualbehaviorasrepetition
andtheatricalexaggeration.
WalterBurkert,HomoNecans 1986: 23 Ritualisexplainedasaphenomenawhichcanevenbeobserved
7
amongstanimalsandwhichhasbeendescribedbybiologistsas, "abehavioralpatternwhichhaslostits
primaryfunction-presentinitsunritualized model-butwhichpersistsinanewfunction, that of
communication.Thispatternintumprovokesacorrespondingbehavioralresponse."