Kirk Douglas Spartacus (1960), the 2004 made-for-TV remake (starring Goran Vinji), and the Spartacus series on STARZ (Spartacus: Blood and Sand; Spartacus: Gods of the Arena; Spartacus: Vengeance; and Spartacus: War of the Damned) are just a few of the many films that feature Roman gladiatorial games as either a main or minor plot element, and are evidence of the perennial appeal of the subject in our popular culture. Some scholars now reckon that only about 5% of gladiators died in the arena, but it seems that most combats between gladiators in movies result in on-screen death. On the other hand, whole categories of bizarre violence that actually did take place in Roman amphitheaters have been largely ignored by Hollywood and Cinecitt: beast hunts, combats involving andabatae, simple executions, people being tied to posts and shredded by leopards, naval battles, duels between animals. Compare the cinematic treatment of gladiatorial games with what really went on in the Roman ludi. What does your comparison tell us about our own tastes in entertainment? Our preconceptions of Rome? Filmmakers views of ancient Rome and their personal ideologies?
