Gladiators in the Greek World

It was once assumed that the sophisticated ancient Greeks rejected Roman gladiators as the most barbaric cultural import possible. Surely Greeks who loved philosophy and theatre wouldn't approve of men fighting to the death? The Romans must have forced Greeks to watch against their will, surely? As Alexandra Sills demonstrates in this groundbreaking new study, the truth could not be more different; Greeks across the eastern Mediterranean adored gladiators on an unprecedented scale. Having first explained the political and ideological function of gladiators in Rome, the author reveals why the Greeks ditched all of the boring imperialism for their own, very Greek take on gladiatorial entertainment. The Greeks saw gladiators as the perfect amalgamation of everything they loved best: the drama of mythical duels, the brutal contact sports of the Olympic Games, and the visual perfection of a honed physique. Readers will discover how a very famous Roman was beaten to introducing gladiators to the Greeks by a whole century, by a Hellenistic king once held hostage in Rome, and how another famous Roman kept a troop of gladiators in Turkey to impress his Egyptian girlfriend. There are more commemorative monuments to Greek gladiators than the rest of Europe combined, and they provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives and deaths of these ancient combatants. Gladiators in Greece, unlike anywhere else in the Empire, tell us their stories in their own words. The Greeks under Roman rule took a foreign sport and moulded it into the ultimate celebration of Greekness, with more drama and flair than Rome could ever imagine. AUTHOR: Alexandra Sills is a British historian specializing in sports and spectacle across the ancient Mediterranean. Alexandra has contributed her expertise to academic journals and conferences around the world, but as she loves sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with the public most of all, Alexandra can more often be found talking about gladiators in website articles, podcast interviews, public lectures across the UK and on television. Alexandra has worked as a tour guide and museum communicator for over 20 years, working in some of London's most prestigious landmarks and creating her own bespoke walking tours of the capital, until friends convinced her to take up formal study after watching Gladiator together with a bottle of wine. Alexandra is now a graduate of Birkbeck College, University of London and the University of Leicester, and the award-winning, multidisciplinary research she conducted there forms the basis of this book. 16 colour illustrations