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Description
From the moment of death to the corpse itself and memorial processes afterward, death ritual in classical antiquity was inherently theatrical. This book explores the ancient staging and modern reception of death and the dead, taking the deceased as objects of the audience's gaze in executions, funerary ritual and commemoration, amphitheatre and spectacle entertainment, fatal charades, superhuman feats, and now museum exhibitions where the actual dead replace artistic representations.
Beginning with the moment of death – most notably during combat or execution – death ritual involved performing participants and multiple layers of viewing, private and public, centred upon a corpse. Modern re-enactments of deaths such as Christ's and Julius Caesar's continue this spectacular tradition. On display at a wake, at the funeral, in procession and finally at disposal, the resultant corpse remains at centre of the audience's attention. These ancient and modern performances have sated bloodlust, instilled fear and stirred the curiosity of captive audiences. The corpse is the show!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Playing Dead
Funeral Stages
Funeral Processions
Staged Funerals
Staging Dead Emperors
Chapter 2: Arenas of Death
Staging Executions
Crucifixions
Assassination Performances
Execution Performances
Arenas of Death
Arenas of War
Chapter 3: Performing Martyrs
Performing Martyrs
Panorama of Horror
Post-Mortem Performances
Saints' Corpses and Relics
Via Crucis
Processions of Relics
Chapter 4: Spectacular Corpses
Displaying the Ancient Dead
The Performative Dead
Re-staging Executions
Pompeii Plaster-Casts
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 21 Jan 2027 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 208 |
| ISBN | 9781350330108 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 50 bw illus |
| Dimensions | 234 x 156 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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