Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 classic film, Spartacus, was controversial for its bold exploration of politics, race, and sexuality. But who was the real Spartacus? Join classicist Monica Cyrino for a look inside the true story of a Thracian captive who led a gladiator rebellion that shook Rome to its core. Cyrino reveals how this story about a fight for freedom has been retold in diverse artistic media through the years. Kubrick's film, set in a turbulent period in Roman history, also mirrored significant social and political transformations in midcentury America. Cyrino invites us to consider how the enduring legacy of Spartacus continues to captivate and inspire interest in the gladiator genre in movies and television today.
Real to Reel Spartacus: Thracian, Gladiator, Freedom Fighter
Talk
Kirk Douglas on the set of Spartacus, 1959. Source: https://onset.shotonwhat.com/
Photo: Jack Gereghty.
This is a past event.
About
Speaker Bio
Monica S. Cyrino
Speaker
Monica S. Cyrino is professor of classics at the University of New Mexico. Her scholarly research centers on the reception of the ancient world on film and television screens. She is the author of Big Screen Rome (2005); the editor of Rome, Season One: History Makes Television (2008), Screening Love and Sex in the Ancient World (2013), and Rome, Season Two: Trial and Triumph (2015); and the co-editor of Classical Myth on Screen (2015), STARZ Spartacus: Reimagining an Icon on Screen (2017), and Screening Love and War in Troy: Fall of a City (2022). She has served as an academic consultant on several recent film and television productions.
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