The Spectacular Dead by Mario Erasmo

The Spectacular Dead by Mario Erasmo

Death ritual in Classical antiquity contained inherent elements of theatricality that involved performing participants and multiple layers of viewing in distinct phases, both private and public, centered upon a corpse. Even the moment of death could be staged, most notably in the arena as combat or execution. Today, modern reenactments of deaths such as Christ’s or Caesar’s perpetuate this theatricality. The resultant corpse is then at the center of an audience's attention: during preparation for burial, on display at a wake, at the funeral, in procession, and finally at disposal. Commemorative monuments and rituals extend the identity of the dead and an audience's focus on them.

This book explores the various stagings of death and the dead in Classical antiquity and their reception: how the ancient dead are staged and viewed as objects of the audience's gaze in funerary ritual and commemoration; executions; amphitheatre and spectacle entertainment; fatal charades; super-human feats, and museum exhibitions in which the actual dead replace artistic representations, ancient and Neoclassical, of the dead and dying as art. These performances, ancient and modern, by the dead have sated bloodlust, instilled fear, and stirred the curiosity of captive audiences. The corpse is the show!

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.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781350330115
ISBN 10	1350330116
Title	The Spectacular Dead
Author	Mario Erasmo
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Year published	2027-01-21
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.