Emperors and Gladiators: The Roman Empire to Marcus Aurelius

Catalog description

History of the Roman empire from the turbulent rise of Augustus to the reign of Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius (44 BCE to 180 CE). Literary and archaeological sources will illuminate such topics as the nobilitys response to autocratic rule; the relationship between soldier and civilian in the provinces; the expansion of the Roman legal system; the social function of violent spectacle; and the diversity of cultic practices, from worship of the Olympian gods to Isis, Mithras, and early Christianity.