Spectacular Dead : Staging Death in Classical Antiquity

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!