Gladiator II with Alexandra Sills

The Partial Historians

Rounding out our trilogy of special episodes on Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, we are joined by gladiator expert, Alexandra Sills.

Alexandra holds a BA in Classical Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London and a MA in The Classical Mediterranean from the University of Leicester. Alexandra’s MA dissertation was awarded the Mark Pluciennik prize in Archaeology & Ancient History. Alexandra has published outreach articles for Bad Ancient and Working Classicists and recently published an academic article entitled ‘The Tropification of Hollywood Heroes Thrown Into the Arena’ for Melita Classica in 2023. Alexandra’s current research focuses on gladiators in the ancient world and their reception on film and television. We’re thrilled to have her on the show to discuss all things gladiators.

We start with a history of the development of the gladiator in the Roman world including:

• The Etruscan evolution
• The Julius Caesar effect and the subsequent influence of Augustus
• The osteo-archaeological evidence for gladiators

Are there things that Gladiator II gets right from the perspective of the ancient evidence? We discuss the possibilities with Alexandra.

Things to listen out for:

• The nobility of the screen gladiator versus the infamia of gladiators historically
• The contrast between the crowd of spectators in the ancient world and in cinematic representations
• The dehumanisation involved in the arena
• The role of the love interest
• The gladiator connection of Katniss Everdeen
• The trope of the woman in the refrigerator
• How to make sure gladiators are dead in the arena and on film
• The complexities of katabasis (journeys to the Underworld) in the context of films and sequels
• The challenges of setting a film in Ancient Rome but changing key elements of history through the storytelling
• The deep specialisation of the different gladiatorial fighting styles
• Where are the shields? Where are the nipples?
• Sexuality in the Roman imperial era versus the representation on screen

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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