The Day Commodus Killed a Rhino: Understanding the Roman Games, by Jerry Toner

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The Day Commodus Killed a Rhino: Understanding Roman Games, by Jerry Toner. Witness Ancient History Series. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. 136 pp. $49.95 US (cloth), $19.95 US (paper). Thanks in part cinema, gladiatorial fantasies of Emperor Commodus (died ce 192) are well known. Son of noble philosopher-emperor, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus abandoned his father's conquests in Germania and retired city pursue his passions: most famously, games of amphitheatre. We know so much about them because they were witnessed, recorded, and vilified by senator and historian, Cassius Dio. Toner's little book tries put Commodus's gladiatorial interests into context. The book is first of new Witness Ancient History series from Johns Hopkins University Press and its aim is to provide an up-to-date and graphic analysis of Roman games for a general and introductory though Toner also wanted develop a number of new ideas that he had on topic (p. 121). The result is a small book that takes Commodus's interests in arena as a jumping off point into a wider exploration of this key Roman cultural institution. Toner is aware of preconceptions that many modern readers, especially those from his target audience, will bring any study of Roman arena and he is keen put these stereotypes aside. For example, when describing Roman audience's willingness witness fatal spectacles, he notes that while the modem Western world tends see most forms of violence in moral terms, ancient spectators saw combination of grace, control, and aggression, when done well, as both beautiful and virtuous (p. 96). At other times, however, he slips and so we still read of gladiator facing death in front of fifty thousand baying (p. 12) or the bloodlust of crowd (p. 60). And what are we make of a chapter about organization of games entitled Feeding Monster? Still, Toner's ability confront and handle such stereotypes, both modern and ancient, is a real strength of book. Another strength is Toner's astute perception of popular appeal of performers--the gladiators and charioteers in particular--especially for average Roman. While he explores fully importance of shows for elite (politicized leisure), it is his understanding of how poor majority would have seen such men that is so insightful. These men needed be resourceful, competitive, skilled, and tough survive, all qualities shared by everyday Romans. Toner also explores opposition games, mostly through a retelling of Martyrdom of Perpetua in Carthage (CE 203). At one point Toner states that Romans hunted down and attacked Christians (p. 110) though on next page admits that such persecutions were actually rare. Indeed, Hilarianus, official who condemned Perpetua and her fellow Christians, has been shown have been an unusually extreme religious fundamentalist (J. …