The Prairie Landscape

IHC Road Scholars Speakers Bureau


Lee Brice

Lee Brice
Western Illinois University
History Department
1 University Cir
Macomb, IL 61455-1367

P: 309.298.1655

Lee Brice

Lee Brice holds a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently Assistant Professor of History at Western Illinois University. He has received several awards and grants for his teaching and research projects. His primary area of research concerns mutinies in the Roman Army, but he also maintains a study of the coins of Greek Corinth.

Bread and Circuses: Truth and Fiction in the Ancient Arena

When one thinks of Ancient Rome, does one hear the crowd shouting "death!" and see the turn of the thumbs? Of all images, fighting gladiators in the arena remains one of the popular images of ancient Rome. Like many modern sports, the ancient arena was popular, drawing huge crowds. Yet ancient critics dismissed these events as 'bread and circuses,' spawned to distract the masses. Similar criticisms are leveled against TV and modern sports. Are the WWE and NASCAR events modern versions of dangerous sports? This illustrated presentation considers the reality of the gladiators and chariot-racing and the value of drawing modern conncetions.

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