Circus

When Tyranny Came to Ancient Rome

De: Jessica Clarke

The untold story of how propaganda and power struggles toppled the Roman Republic, destroying centuries of political freedom.

In 49BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon and Rome fell into a brutal civil war. The institutions that gave its people a voice crumbled and, after the dust settled, Rome was forevermore ruled by emperors.

But Rome didn’t fall in a day. For centuries, its people had taken pride in the fact that they had overthrown their King and vowed that they would never have another. So why did the Roman people give up their political freedom? How did one-man rule become the new normal? And after the violent assassination of Caesar, why wasn’t the Republic restored? Was it simply, as the Roman poet Juvenal claimed, because the people only cared about one thing: bread and circuses?

This is not just another history of Rome; Jessica Clarke takes us right into the heart of the wars, back-stabbings, uprisings and creeping normalisation of propaganda and disinformation that fractured the Republic. Lifting the veil on the political machinations of a series of ruthlessly ambitious oligarchs, Circus is a page-turning exploration of the spectacular culture and theatrical politics of the final battle for the Roman Republic.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Ancient Rome emerges as a rowdy, unstable city in this hugely original book. Jessica Clarke offers a fresh and vivid look at the collapse of the republic, showing how the theatre and games contributed to the destruction of Rome’s fragile governance.

Jessica Clarke’s the rising star of Roman history, an expert on the permanent stone theatres of the late Roman Republic. Here she unerringly and imaginatively places the vast spiderweb of new theatres, amphitheatres and race courses spreading throughout Italy and beyond within the cold propagandistic gaze of new tyrant emperor Augustus.

A tour de force! Circus brings one of the most pivotal, heart-stopping eras of the Roman Empire to life with breathtaking clarity (Amy Boyington, author of Hidden Patrons)