CLST 260 Midterm Review Sheet
Spring 2015
The midterm will take place in class (2-2.50) on February 11. Please arrive on
time so you can have the whole 50 minutes. There will be no make-up midterms except in cases of documented illness, family emergencies or the like. I
will not allow you to access any electronic devices during the mid-term, so
please do not rely on your phone to tell time.
There will be three sections on the midterm.
Section I: Short answer section (20 minutes: 3 points per question for a total of
45 points): you will answer 15 out of 20 questions. For many of these one word
or a phrase is enough for an answer; the maximum I want is 2-3 lines on any
answer here. Please remember that if I ask for a specific date, I want that specific
date (such as 125 BCE or whatever the correct date might be). If I ask for a rough
date then you can answer something like ‘early 1st century CE’ or ‘under the
Emperor Augustus’. If you cannot remember the specific date, try to be as
specific as your memory allows.
Sample questions:
(Please note that some of these questions cover material not yet dealt with in
class, but which will dealt with before the midterm; I will take 5-7 questions from
this list.)
1. What legal status are gladiators? What other professions share that status?
Why are these workers all classified together?
2. Name three of the suburban Roman circuses.
3. Martial wrote a number of poems about this charioteer’s death – who was he?
4. What is the first faction we hear of and how do we hear about it?
5. Name three gods honoured by ludi circenses and the names and months of
their festivals.
6. We only know the names of two female gladiators. What are the names of
those two women?
7. What is the biggest fee ever paid (that we know of) for hiring gladiators?1
1
Hint: it was paid by the Emperor Tiberius.
8. Name three places where the Romans put on gladiatorial shows before they
built the Colosseum. (Be as specific as possible.)
9. In Nero’s wooden ampitheatre what marvel rose out of the hypogeum?
10. Give two arguments for the Etruscan origin of the gladiatorial munera.
11. What do pegmares do in the arena?
12. Two types of early gladiators vanish by the 1st century BCE: what are they?
13. Which emperor bans women from fighting in the arena?
14. “Let not barbarian Memphis speak of the wonder of her pyramids, nor
Assyrian toil boast of its Babylon; let us not praise the soft lonians for Diana’s
temple; let the altar made of many horns keep hid its Delos; nor the Carians
boost to the heavens the Mausoleum poised on empty air with excessive praise.”
Which building is being compared to all of these wonders of the world? And
who is doing the comparing.
15. Describe the remarkable nature of M. Aemilianus Scaurus’ building. How
much was its minimum cost?
16. “If, indeed, they were attracted by the swiftness of the horses or the skill of
the men, we could account for such passions. But it is actually a scrap of cloth
they favour, a scrap of cloth that captivates them. And if during the running the
racers were to exchange colours, their supporters would change sides, and
instantly abandon the very drivers and horses whom they were just before
recognizing from afar, and loudly cheering by name.”
What sport is the author describing? What is the scrap of cloth he refers to and
why does it arouse such passions?
17. Name three important sites for spectacles2 in the Campus Martius.
18. Give a short outline of the events of the Nika riots (only 3-4 sentences only –
mention the location of the riots and the emperor involved).
Alas, your arena for Augustus does not count. If only he hadn’t died before he could build it,
leaving his cheapskate heir, Tiberius, in charge of the empire.
2
19. What are the two most common pairings of gladiators from the 1st century
BCE-2nd century CE?
20. Who first held a gladiatorial munus in Rome? When was it held? (Give the
specific date.)
21. Name two ways the senate tried to clamp down on or block the growth of
spectacles in the Late Republic. (This could be laws passed or actions aimed at
specific individuals.)
22. In the Augustan era where did most women sit when attending events at the
theatre or amphitheatre? (Give the Latin name for full points). What women
were not legally required to sit there?
23. What shocking innovation did Gaius Curio bring to designing amphitheatres,
much to the shock of Pliny the Elder? Why did he come up with this innovation?
24. Give three examples of lavish spectacles that Julius Caesar gave or attempted
to give that were unparalleled or ground-breaking.
25. Why was Cicero pestered by Marcus Caelius Rufus? (2-3 lines)
26. Who was the first person to lay out the Circus Maximus? Name three
improvements or features that others introduced, along with the name of its
introducer, if known.
27. Briefly (2-3 lines) outline the history of the Circus Vaticanus (who created,
used it, etc.)
28. How did the Romans prevent big cats from escaping the arena floor?
29. Briefly list three ways that Augustus’ seating legislation radically changed
seating arrangements in the theatre and amphitheatre.
30. List two laws that deal with the presence of women in the arena.
Section II: Image question (2 out of 4) 10 points per question: total 20 points
In this section there will be four ancient images shown in class (PowerPoints are
on the class website and can be downloaded if you wish to refresh your
memory). You will select 2 images and write paragraph on each, identifying the
sport or spectacle depicted on, or connected with, the image, and discussing its
importance for understanding Roman spectacles or that particular spectacle.
Over the next week I will give examples in class of the type of points that you
might make.
Section III: Text question (2 out of four) 10 points per question: total 20 points
I will give you an ancient text from the reader and ask you to write a paragraph
analyzing it and putting it in a larger context. For full points you should identify
the author or type of text, if there is no author (i.e. if it is an inscription), and its
rough date if known.3 Identify the spectacle or sport mentioned in the text if that
is unclear. As with the images, over the next week I will give examples in class of
the type of points that you might make about our readings.
3
Examples of rough dates: 1st century CE; Augustan era, Flavian era, etc.
How much should I write for sections 1 & 2?
At this stage everyone is probably wondering what counts as a paragraph. Well,
that depends on your handwriting, and how succinct you are when you write,
but I doubt that anyone could give a decent reply in less than ten lines.
Remember, the more detail you can supply, the more you can show that you’ve
studied the readings and the images as well as attended lectures, the higher your
mark will be.
If you run short of time in this section, go to point form if that’s all you have time
for. However, we really don’t want four answers that are all entirely in point
form and if you do this, it might well affect your mark.