This monograph comprises an introduction, conclusion and six chapters. The introduction presents a useful preliminary but weighty overview of the important institution of the pompa circensis, setting out L.’s approaches and the theoretical framework. The evidence is also established along with its limitations. The following chapters are divided into two sections: Chapters 1–3 concentrate on the Republic and the way in which its history and the idea of the Republic become integrated with ritual and spectacle. Part 2 (Chapters 4–6) examines the period from Julius Caesar to Late Antiquity. Although the focus is inevitably the city of Rome, which is where a good deal of the evidence comes from, L. also travels outside the capital, as well as discussing similar and parallel spectacular processions associated with the theatre and amphitheatre. The importance and frequency of the circus games and their huge popularity continues to receive wide and varied scholarly attention; by contrast, the pompa circensis has received relatively little.
Processions were an important part of Roman society, the best known being those associated with the celebration of the triumph and with funerals. The pompa circensis took place before the chariot racing events at annual festivals in Rome such as the ludi Apollinares or the ludi Megalenses. It was conducted through Rome, starting on the Capitoline Hill and leading down to the Circus Maximus, partly following the triumphal route. The pompa took in the heart of the city, the Roman Forum with its political symbolism. For hundreds of years, from the early Republic through to the sixth century ad, the pompa circensis took place multiple times a year. The pompa was as much a spectacle as the circus games themselves and attracted enormous crowds along its course. Along with the games, they became an important vehicle for the elite to gain public visibility and with it the honour and prestige so important in Roman politics and society.
L.’s monograph is produced to the highest professional standards and constitutes an extremely important scholarly study of the available evidence for the circus procession. It carries out a thorough exploration of the available evidence to provide a reconstruction of the different elements of the procession: what was displayed, its route and how and why it changed over time. This is set within a theoretical framework in which to assess the significance of the pompa both for the viewing public and for the prominent individuals who funded it.
As discussed by L., the source material for the pompa circensis is problematic and challenging because of its limited nature. A paragraph in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Ovid, Amores 3.2 and the occasional oblique references in other texts, combined with some possible representations on a few coins, constitute the evidence that L. has to work with. His discussion is therefore referenced with great attention to detail.
The coverage of the monograph extends into Late Antiquity, mirroring the longevity of both circus games and the associated processions. In the introduction L. outlines what can be achieved on the basis of the evidence; the book is then divided into two parts, roughly corresponding to Republic/Empire. The circus procession plays an important and fascinating role particularly in this transitionary period, when in 45 bc an ivory image of Julius Caesar was first carried in circus processions alongside images of the gods, introducing a human/divine dimension to the spectacle. This practice continued after Caesar's death, Octavian thus setting a long-lasting precedent for the display of images of deceased emperors and tying the ruler cult to the games themselves.
L. also explores the development of other ludic processions associated with theatrical and amphitheatrical performances. The evidence for the former in Rome is more abundant, though not a feast by any means, but it is quite clear that in all the pompae there is a common purpose, to escort the gods to the games with all due pomp and ceremony and a great deal of spectacle – and all of it according to a set ritual or tradition. Chapter 5 has a very useful discussion of the evidence for ludic processions outside Rome, particularly those associated with munera, the pompae amphitheatralis. These are depicted on a number of sculpted funerary reliefs. From these illustrations, it is quite clear that the nature and composition of the processions were not static but varied regionally and over time, but always traversing a landscape of memory, weaving together gods and humans, peoples and places, and monuments and performers. In Rome these processions became as deeply symbolic as those associated with the triumph, and they survived into Late Antiquity, where a multi-level Rome was encountered: imperial, traditional and Christian.
The quality of the book production is very high; the figures and maps are particularly well produced. However, at approximately £75 it is not likely that any but the specialists and libraries will want to invest in a copy – a pity as this monograph is an impressive work of scholarship that addresses what had been a huge gap in the modern literature, and will be rightly consulted for a long time by scholars of Rome and Roman culture at all levels.
