Blood in the theater: Gladiatorial and other associated spectacles in Roman and Late Antique Greece

The aim of this project is an analytical study of one of the most spectacular kinds of Roman cultural performance, namely the gladiatorial games and other associated spectacles, in the eastern Mediterranean.

The candidate will use the geographical area of modern Greece as a case-study and will approach the phenomenon of the presence of these new for the Greek-speaking east spectacles, from the point of view of the economic and the cultural dynamics during the Roman period in the cities of this area.The project will address three particular subjects: (a) the geographical and chronological distribution of these spectacles in relation to the total number of cities that were active during the Roman period in the area of modern Greece, (b) the type of venues in which these shows were staged, and (c) the transformations that the gladiatorial and associated spectacles underwent from the late 3rd to the 6th centuries CE.

Intention of the candidate is to conduct a synthetic research embracing all the available sources of historical information (literary sources, epigraphic evidence, and archaeological data), the results of which will be quantified and visualized.

Ultimate scope of the project is to push forward the knowledge concerning issues of Roman economy, imperialism, cultural influence and identity.The project will be led by Dr. Michail Karambinis, under the supervision of Dr.

Athanasios Vionis, Associate Professor (2009-today) and Director of the Archaeological Research Unit at the University of Cyprus (2020-today). Dr.

Karambinis is familiar with the historical and archaeological context of modern Greece, and he has a published record concerning the two basic axes of the project: the urban systems and the gladiatorial spectacles in Roman Greece.

Dr Vionis has worked extensively on Late Antique and Byzantine urbanism, rural landscapes, material culture and daily life.