TRAJAN AND HADRIAN

Abstract

to explore what impact the Flavian building programme had on poetry and art (Chapter 5). Here, E. falters. He mostly talks about Martial without adding much to what he has already said in the previous chapter and he barely touches upon other authors. His exploration of artistic representations of the Colosseum is reduced to one sculpture in the frieze of the Temple of the Deified Vespasian and Titus (pp. 125–7). Much better is his discussion of coinage, E.’s own area of expertise. Drawing upon B. Levick’s understanding of coinage as a combination of propaganda and praise (Antichthon 16 [1982], 104–16), his analysis of the numismatic depictions of the Colosseum is perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the book, and it casts light on material that most readers would probably be less acquainted with. E. clearly had a non-specialist audience in mind, and he does not assume that readers already know the details of the history. He carefully provides plenty of background information and explains even basic facts. He often gives the singular and plural forms of the few Latin words that he uses. He provides a good bibliographical essay, which, even if it is restricted to works available in English, includes some translations from Italian as well. This does not mean that the specialist and the teacher of Classics will not find this book useful. E. has condensed much information not only about the Flavian building programme, but also on the Roman games in general in a fairly short and very readable volume. His contribution as a numismatist will fill a gap often uncovered by other similar books. More importantly, he has perused the most important scholarship on the subject, as can be appreciated in the endnotes. There are a few unnecessary repetitions and minor slips, which could have been easily avoided, as when Agrippina is said to have drowned ‘in the ocean’ (p. 7), but they do not undermine the main thrust of the book. Surprisingly, coins are sometimes alluded to without reference numbers being provided (p. 57, coins of Caesar and Octavian; p. 78, Flavian IVDAEA CAPTA coins). I find the moral relativism of the last page quite puzzling and unnecessary. E.’s claim that Roman culture and civilisation ‘simply allowed for a certain type of institutionalized violence, and the institutionalization of violence still exists’ (p. 135) is clichéd and debatable. It is undeniable that our society is capable of perpetrating horrors on a scale the Romans could barely dream of. But the unparalleled moral progress of the last two centuries (the abolition of slavery in most countries, the laws against animal brutality etc.) would make the very existence of a modern Colosseum unthinkable. Appreciation of the Flavian amphitheatre does not amount to denial of the brutality of the Romans. And as E. correctly reminds us, Rome’s most popular form of entertainment entailed the massive destruction of life, even if it took place in its most magnificent building.