The Virtues of Violence: Amphitheatres, Gladiators, and the Roman System of Values

Professor Coleman, James Loeb Professor of the Classics at Harvard University, is a distinguished teacher and scholar of Latin literature, especially Flavian poetry; the history and culture of the early Empire; Roman arena spectacles; and Roman punishment. As well as serving as a former President of the American Philological Association, chair of the Harvard Department of the Classics, and editor of Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Professor Coleman has published widely on topics ranging from Roman graffiti to Hollywood’s presentation of gladiatorial spectacle. Current projects include preparing the manuscript of her 2010 Jerome Lectures for the University of Michigan Press, entitled "Q. Sulpicius Maximus, Poet, Eleven Years Old;” she is also working on book-length projects about Roman public execution and arena spectacles, the topic of her lecture today.