1. Spartacus

Essay Question: How does Spartacus resonate with contemporary political concerns? Is this film just a modern political parable?

Futrell, A. (2001) ‘Seeing Red: Spartacus as domestic economist' in Joshel et al. (eds) Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in modern popular culture. Baltimore: 77-118.

Wyke, M. Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, cinema and history. London: 34-72.

Winkler, M.M. (ed.) (2007) Spartacus: Film and history. Oxford.

Hark, Ina Rae (1993) ‘Aninals or Romans: Looking at masculinity in Spartacus' in Cohan, S. and Hark, I.R. (eds) Screening the Male: Exploring masculinities in
Hollywood Cinema: 151-72.

Cyrino, M. (2005) Big Screen Rome. Oxford:89-120.

DuBois, Page (2009) Slavery: antiquity and its legacy. London.

Rubinsohn, W.Z. (1987) Spartacus' uprising and Soviet historical writing. Oxford.

Burgoyne, R. (2008) The Hollywood Historical Film, Malden, MA.

2. Gladiators

Essay Question: Why are films depicting gladiators so popular? What changes need to be made to make the story of gladiatorial combat so appealing?
Barker, J. (2008) "A hero will rise": the myth of the fascist man in Fight Club and
Gladiator, Literature- Film Quarterly 36.3: 171-188.

Briggs, W. (2008) ‘Layered allusions in Gladiator', Arion, 15: 9-38.

Burgoyne, R. (2008) The Hollywood Historical Film, Malden, MA.

DuBois, Page (2009) Slavery: antiquity and its legacy. London.

Hark, Ina Rae (1993) ‘Aninals or Romans: Looking at masculinity in Spartacus' in Cohan, S. and Hark, I.R. (eds) Screening the Male: Exploring masculinities in Hollywood Cinema: 151-72.

Russell, J. (2007) ‘Gladiator (2000) and the Film Marketplace', The Historical Epic and Contemporary Hollywood. New York: 156-86.

Hunt, l. (1993) ‘What are big boys made of? Spartcus, El Cid and the male epic' in Kirkham , P. and Thumin, J. (eds) You Tarzan: masculinity, movies and men. New York: 65-83.

Winkler, M.M. (2007) Spartacus: Film and history. Oxford.

Winkler, M.M. (2005) Gladiator: Film and history. Oxford.

Futrell, A. (2001) ‘Seeing Red: Spartacus as domestic economist' in Joshel et al. (eds) Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in modern popular culture. Baltimore: 77-118.

3. Rome and Epic Cinema

Essay Question: What factors have conditioned the depiction of Rome in film?

Elley, D. (1984) The Epic Film: Myth and history. London.

Cyrino, M.S. (2005) Big Screen Rome. Oxford.

Malamud, M. (2009) Ancient Rome and Modern America. Oxford (esp. chps 7-9).

Joshel, S.R., Malamud, M. and McGuire, D.T. (eds) (2001) Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in modern popular culture. Baltimore.

Wyke, M. Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, cinema and history. London.

Winkler, M. (2009) The Roman Salute: Cinema, history, ideology. Columbus.

Winkler, M. (2009) The Fall of the Roman Empire: Film and history. Malden, MA.

3. Pagans and Christians

Essay Question: How do film-makers use Roman stories to discuss Christian themes? Are we always supposed to support the side of the persecuted Christians?

Cyrino, M. (2005) Big Screen Rome. Oxford. (esp. chps on The Robe, Ben-Hur & Quo Vadis).

Davies, T. (2003) ‘The Robe and Demetrius and the Gladiators' in Bandy, M.L. and Monda, A. (eds) The Hidden God: Film and Faith. New York, chp. 14.

Babington, B. and Evans, P.W. (1993) Biblical Epics: Sacred narrative in the Hollywood cinema. Manchester.

Solomon, J. (2001) The Ancient World in the Cinema. New Haven: 177-224.

Scodel, R. and Bettenworth, A. (2009) Whither Quo Vadis?. Oxford (esp. chp. 6)

Malamud, M. (2009) Ancient Rome and Modern America. Oxford (use index ‘christianity').

Wyke, M. (1997) Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, cinema and history. London.

5. Hercules

Essay Question: Why is Hercules depicted in film so much often than other Greek heroes?

Blanshard, A.J.L. (2005) Hercules: A heroic life. London.

Nisbet, G. (2008) Ancient Greece in Film and Popular Culture. Bristol: 1-44.

Solomon, J. (2001) The Ancient World in Cinema. New Haven: 307-323

Galinsky, K. (1972) The Herakles theme: the adaptations of the hero in literature from Homer to the twentieth century, Oxford.

Clauss, J.J. (2008) ‘Hercules Unchained: Contaminatio, Nostos, Katabasis, and the Surreal', Arethusa, 41: 51-66.

Dyer, R. (1999) White. London (esp. ‘White man's muscles)

Berti, I. and Morcillo, M.G. (eds) Hellas on Screen. Stuttgart (esp. chps by Lindner, and Spina)

Wyke, M. (1997) ‘Herculean Muscle!: The classicizing rhetoric of bodybuilding', Arion 4: 51-79.

6. Fellini-Satyricon

Essay Question: How does Fellini's Satyricon challenge traditional depcitions of Rome? Is his version of Rome less authentic than other versions?

Paul, J. (2009) ‘Fellini-Satyricon: Petronius and Film', in Prag, J. and Repath, I. (eds) Petronius: A handbook. Chichester: 199-217.

Solomon, J. (2001) The Ancient World in Cinema. New Haven: 259-82.

Wyke, M. (1997) Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, cinema and history. London: 183-92.

Sullivan, J.P. (2001) ‘The Social Ambience of Petronius' Satyricon and Fellini Satyricon' in Winkler, M.M. (ed.) Classical Myth and Culture in the Cinema. Oxford: 258-271.