No Guts, No Glory

When we confront the strange allure, or even at times the banality, of violence, the road often leads back to Rome. For centuries, blood sports and other deadly spectacles were central to the social life and public space of the Roman world.¹ Rome’s violent public entertainments included gladiatorial combats (spectacula gladiatorum), animal hunts (venationes) and even ritualized mass executions of criminals and captives. These occurred in “arenas,” sanded combat areas in Roman forums (marketplaces and civic centers), circuses (tracks for chariot races) and amphitheaters. With industry and pride, Rome scoured the empire for victims, built monumental facilities, staged brutal shows and immortalized these performances in art, architecture and literature.