Ancient Rome Through the Eyes of Its Gladiators
Harry Sidebottom brings Roman gladiators vividly to life in a history that is both immersive and sharply researched. By looking at the arena, the spectators and the wider culture around them, he opens up ancient Rome in a way that feels immediate, gripping and unexpectedly revealing.
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Those Who Are About To Die
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Ancient Rome Through the Eyes of Its Gladiators
Harry Sidebottom brings Roman gladiators vividly to life in a history that is both immersive and sharply researched. By looking at the arena, the spectators and the wider culture around them, he opens up ancient Rome in a way that feels immediate, gripping and unexpectedly revealing.
- Book Synopsis
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Ideal for readers who:
- Enjoy accessible history rooted in ancient Rome and its brutal spectacles
- Are fascinated by gladiators and what they meant to Roman society
- Like books that bring the arena, the crowd and the empire vividly to life
- Want a gripping non-fiction read packed with insight and detail
Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiator 'Grippingly original' Tom Holland, Sunday Times bestselling author of Dominion 'thrilling... every page sizzles' Alice Loxton, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen 'Fascinating' Matthew Kneale, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized - and always at the heart of Roman culture. But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life?
Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them - from grand emperors to lowly slaves - illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife. Taking readers on an unforgettable twenty-four-hour adventure - beginning the night before the games and ending the evening after - Those Who Are About To Die gives a blow-by-blow account of what life was really like in the brutally unforgiving arena of the ancient world.
- About The Author
- Harry Sidebottom teaches classical history at Oxford University, and is the bestselling author of fifteen novels. His debut trade non-fiction book, The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome, was published in 2022 and was a Book of the Year in the Spectator, the Financial Times and BBC History.
- Product Details
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- ISBN
- 9781529154016
- Format
- Paperback
- Publisher
- Hutchinson Heinemann, (28 August 2025)
- Number of Pages
- 416
- Weight
- 525 grams
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 233 x 153 x 32 mm
- Categories: