Spectacular Dead

Staging Death in Classical Antiquity

Inbunden, Engelska, 2027

1 039 kr

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From the moment of death to the corpse itself and memorial processes afterward, death ritual in classical antiquity was inherently theatrical. This book explores the ancient staging and modern reception of death and the dead, taking the deceased as objects of the audience’s gaze in executions, funerary ritual and commemoration, amphitheatre and spectacle entertainment, fatal charades, superhuman feats, and now museum exhibitions where the actual dead replace artistic representations.Beginning with the moment of death – most notably during combat or execution – death ritual involved performing participants and multiple layers of viewing, private and public, centred upon a corpse. Modern re-enactments of deaths such as Christ’s and Julius Caesar’s continue this spectacular tradition. On display at a wake, at the funeral, in procession and finally at disposal, the resultant corpse remains at centre of the audience’s attention. These ancient and modern performances have sated bloodlust, instilled fear and stirred the curiosity of captive audiences. The corpse is the show!

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2027-01-21
Mått156 x 234 x undefined mm
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor208
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN9781350330108

Tillhör följande kategorier

Sociologi inom Samhälle och politik
Forntidens historia inom Historia och arkeologi

Mario Erasmo is Professor of Classics at the University of Georgia, USA. He is the editor of A Cultural History of Death in Antiquity (Bloomsbury, 2022), and the author of Reading Death in Ancient Rome (rev. 2020); Death: Antiquity and its Legacy (Bloomsbury, 2012); Roman Tragedy: Theatre to Theatricality (rev. 2009); and Archaic Latin Verse (rev. 2004). His Strolling Through Rome: The Definitive Walking Guide to the Eternal City (rev. 2019) and Strolling Through Florence: The Definitive Walking Guide to the Renaissance City (2017) guide visitors step-by-step through the historic eras and areas of Italy's most culturally rich cities.

Introduction: The Corpse is the ShowChapter 1: Playing DeadFuneral StagesFuneral ProcessionsStaged FuneralsStaging Dead EmperorsChapter 2: Arenas of DeathStaging ExecutionsCrucifixionsAssassination PerformancesExecution PerformancesArenas of DeathArenas of WarChapter 3: Performing MartyrsPerforming MartyrsPanorama of HorrorPost-Mortem PerformancesSaints' Corpses and RelicsVia CrucisProcessions of RelicsChapter 4: Spectacular CorpsesDisplaying the Ancient DeadThe Performative DeadRe-staging ExecutionsPompeii Plaster-Casts ConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex