The Fall of the Roman Empire: Film and History

For over a century, epic cinema has significantly shaped popular interest in Roman history and culture. The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), the last of the silver–screen epics about ancient Rome before Gladiator, stands out as the only epic that attempted, and largely succeeded, to show the greatness of Roman civilization rather than to condemn it for luxury, debauchery, religious persecution, and imperialism. The essays collected in this book present the first comprehensive appreciation of The Fall of the Roman Empire from historical, historiographical, and cinematic perspectives. The book also provides the principal classical sources on the period. It is a companion to Gladiator: Film and History (Blackwell, 2004) and Spartacus: Film and History (Blackwell, 2007) and completes a triad of scholarly studies on Hollywood’s greatest films about Roman history.

List of Illustrations vii Notes on Contributors ix Editor′s Preface xii 1. A Critical Appreciation of The Fall of the Roman Empire 1 Martin M. Winkler 2. History, Ancient and Modern, in The Fall of the Roman Empire 51 Allen M. Ward 3. Marcus Aurelius: The Empire Over Himself 89 Diskin Clay 4. Was Commodus Really That Bad? 102 Eleonora Cavallini 5. East and West in The Fall of the Roman Empire 117 Jan Willem Drijvers 6. Empire Demolition 130 Anthony Mann 7. Excerpts from the American Souvenir Program of The Fall of the Roman Empire 136 1. A Prologue by Will Durant 137 2. The Roman Forum: In Ruins Today . . . and Re–Created 139 3. An Epilogue 143 8. Edward Gibbon and The Fall of the Roman Empire 145 Martin M. Winkler 9. Fact, Fiction, and the Feeling of History 174 Martin M. Winkler 10. Peace and Power in The Fall of the Roman Empire 225 Ward W. Briggs, Jr. 11. The Politics of The Fall of the Roman Empire 241 Peter W. Rose 12. Excerpts from Edward Gibbon 262 1. Marcus Aurelius and His Time 262 2. The Auction of the Empire 266 The Chief Ancient Sources on Marcus Aurelius 271 1. Cassius Dio 271 2. The Augustan History : Marcus Antoninus the Philosopher 282 3. Herodian 298 Chronology: The Roman Empire at the Time of Marcus Aurelius 302 Bibliography 305 Index 327

Martin M. Winkler is Professor of Classics at George Mason University. He is the editor of Gladiator (Blackwell, 2004), Spartacus (Blackwell, 2007) and Troy (Blackwell, 2006) and the author of The Roman Salute (2009) and Cinema and Classical Texts (2009). He has also published numerous articles on Roman literature and filmic retellings of classical and medieval history and myth.

“…a collection of essays providing a wide–ranging treatment…from a variety of historical and cinematic perspectives.” – Film & History