How To Train Your Empire

As Dawn appeared, fresh and rosy-fingered, I honed in on my finalised area and question for my Special Study.

After the suggestion that I should focus more on the political and social functions the gladiator games served to the Roman Empire, I did some further research into the games on a more political scale.

From there I discovered the many uses the Emperors and Republicans of Ancient Rome had for these games. Therefore, as my research would suggest, the games were used as:
- a distraction from the current social, political and economical issues of the time
- an opportunity for Emperors and rich aristocrats to display their wealth
- a way of commemorating and celebrating military victories, birthdays, deaths, important officials, and other special events
- a means of obtaining votes/popularity from the populace
- a means of settling the general populace through bloody and gory entertainment

This information, plus guidance from my mentor, Mr Stewart, has left me with the possible question:

1. To what extent did the gladiatorial displays of the Roman Empire perform important social and political functions rather than just being entertainment?

Working Bibliography and Log #2

~CURRENT WORK TO DATE~

Bibliography:

Website

Social Structure in Rome. http://ancientrome.wikispaces.com/Social+Structure+in+Rome. (Accessed 27 April 2014).

Social Class and Public Display. http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/socialclass.html. (Accessed 27 April 2014). 

Cartwright, M., Ancient History Encyclopedia: Gladiator. http://www.ancient.eu.com/gladiator/. (Accessed 09 May 2014).

History on the Net.com, The Romans Gladiators. http://www.historyonthenet.com/Romans/gladiators.htm. (Accessed 10 May 2014).

Shmoop, The Hunger Game Allusions and Cultural References. http://www.shmoop.com/hunger-games/allusions.html. (Accessed 10 May 2014).

Encyclopaedia Britannica Blog, Bread and Circuses: The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome. http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2012/03/bread-circuses-the-hunger-games-ancient-rome/. (Accessed 10 May 2014).

The Amphitheater at Pompeii. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/gladiators/pompeii.html. (Accessed 11 May 2014)

Film

Gladiator. (DVD) DreamWorks SKG, California. 2000.

Video

Popperslist. Colosseum – A Gladiator’s Story, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0fRqc_pChY. (Accessed 10 May 2014).

Mghinto, The Fall of the Roman Republic, YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjpzDiqb3xo. (Accessed 10 May 2014).

Text

Adkins, L and R., Introduction to The Romans. Sandstone Books, Leichardt. 1996.

Perowne, S., Death of the Roman Republic. Hodder and Stoughton, London. 1969.

Koutsoukis, A.J., History of the Ancient World Ancient Rome. Logman Cheshire, Melbourne. 1989.

Deary, T., Horrible Histories: The Ruthless Romans. Scholastic Children’s Books, London. 2003. 

Work Log:

Wed, 23 April:
Brainstormed ideas and updated blog.

Sunday, 27 April:
Researched the Ancient Roman social class system and updated my bibliography.

Tuesday, 29 April:
Watched Gladiator and observed possible ideas and questions and updated my blog and bibliography.  

Thursday, 01 May:
Went to the school library and borrowed, History of the Ancient World Ancient Rome, Death of the Roman Republic, Introduction to The Romans, and Horrible Histories: The Ruthless Romans. I shall look through them further on the weekend.

Wednesday, 07 May:
Read through and took notes on Introduction to The Romans (especially the chapters on the rise of the republic and gladiator fights).

Friday, 09 May:
Continued to take notes on Introduction to The Romans and investigated further on the emergence of gladiator fights (using the internet). 

Saturday, 10 May:

Researched allusions form The Hunger Games to Ancient Rome, watched documentaries on gladiators and the fall of the Roman Republic, updated my bibliography and blog. 
Sunday, 11 May:

Further researched the world of the gladiator and the timeline of gladiator battles. Updated my bibliography and blog.  

Panem et Circenses

As Dawn appeared, fresh and rosy-fingered, I traversed the wondrous world of the interwebs in an attempt to find information regarding the fall of the Roman Republic, gladiators, and allusions between The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome.

Emerging successfully, here are some cultural similarities I found between The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome, some interesting and useful links regarding the Empire and Republic, and a few more possible questions. 

ALLUSIONS TO THE HUNGER GAMES

1. "Panem" (the world of The Hunger Games) is derived from the Latin phrase, "Panem et circenses," which translates to, "Bread and circuses." This was a political technique used by the Roman Empire to appease its populace with food and entertainment, preventing too much free thought. 

2. Panem is a direct reference to Ancient Rome, commanding power over provinces and controlling hundreds of thousands of people.

3. Many names in The Hunger Games are adopted from Ancient Rome, such as: Plutarch, Cato, Flavia, Octavia, and even Caesare. 

4. The oppression portrayed by the Capitol in The Hunger Games is reminiscent of the oppression shown by the Roman Empire over the smaller provinces of Rome and their general populace.

5. The Arena in The Hunger Games reflects immensely on the Roman Colosseum, adopting the ideology that a revolution will not occur if the entire population are fed and satisfied with raw entertainment.

Those are just some of the connections found between The Hunger and Ancient Rome. 

POSSIBLE QUESTIONS

I have further racked my brain regarding questions for this Special Study and have come up with these (hopefully) more refined ideas:

1. To what extent does Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games reflect on the culture and ideology of Ancient Rome. 

2. To what extent did gladiator battles dictate and influence the culture of Ancient Rome and her populace?

3. What was the purpose of gladiator battles in the Roman Empire and why did Romans indulge in this form of entertainment more than poetry and theatre?

Also, here are some interesting links:

http://www.ancient.eu.com/gladiator/

http://www.shmoop.com/hunger-games/allusions.html

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2012/03/bread-circuses-the-hunger-games-ancient-rome/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjpzDiqb3xo

Working Bibliography and Log #1

~CURRENT WORK TO DATE~

Bibliography:

Website

Social Structure in Rome. http://ancientrome.wikispaces.com/Social+Structure+in+Rome. (Accessed 27 April 2014).

Social Class and Public Display. http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/socialclass.html. (Accessed 27 April 2014). 

Film

Gladiator. (DVD) DreamWorks SKG, California. 2000.

Text

Adkins, L and R., Introduction to The Romans. Sandstone Books, Leichardt. 1996.

Perowne, S., Death of the Roman Republic. Hodder and Stoughton, London. 1969.

Koutsoukis, A.J., History of the Ancient World Ancient Rome. Logman Cheshire, Melbourne. 1989.

Deary, T., Horrible Histories: The Ruthless Romans. Scholastic Children’s Books, London. 2003. 

Work Log:

Wed, 23 April:
Brainstormed ideas and updated blog.

Sunday, 27 April:
Researched the Ancient Roman social class system and updated my bibliography.

Tuesday, 29 April:
Watched Gladiator and observed possible ideas and questions and updated my blog and bibliography.  

Thursday, 01 May:

Went to the school library and borrowed, History of the Ancient World Ancient Rome, Death of the Roman Republic, Introduction to The Romans, and Horrible Histories: The Ruthless Romans. I shall look through them further on the weekend.