Read The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion Online
Authors: Lois H. Gresh
The Unofficial Hunger Games Companion (14 page)
Spartacus enlisted pirates to help his people escape by boat to Sicily. However, the pirates took his money and left him trapped in mainland Italy with all his men.
Trapped by Crassus, Spartacus led his exhausted men in open battle. Crassus had indeed succeeded in wearing them out.
On the banks of the River Silarus, Spartacus was killed, and with his death, the entire rebellion died.
Crassus crucified six thousand rebels on crosses that stretched all the way from Capua to Rome. He hoped to get credit for defeating Spartacus, but general Gnaeus Pompeius, commonly known as Pompey, killed five thousand rebels and took credit for ending the rebellion.
The story of Spartacus has been featured in numerous films, the most famous being 1960s
Spartacus
directed by Stanley Kubrick for Universal Pictures. It cost a fortune to make: $12 million in 1960 dollars. In 1991, the
Los Angeles Times
estimated that it cost $110 million in 1991 dollars.
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The film starred Kirk Douglas as Spartacus and Laurence Olivier as Marcus Licinius Crassus.
Oddly, after the premiere, Kubrick commented, “I am disappointed in the film. It had everything but a good story.”
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Spartacus was a captured auxiliary member of the Roman army. |
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Spartacus was a gladiator, who fought in the arena to entertain the citizens and leaders of Rome. |
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Spartacus leads and becomes the symbol of the rebellion of slaves in ancient Rome. |
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Spartacus forces Roman prisoners into gladiator battles. |
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Let’s summarize the similarities between Spartacus and Katniss:
Panem and its Gamemakers are similar to the ancient Roman government in that both societies massacred people in public displays to keep everyone under control. Public punishment, in both cases, served to demonstrate the tight hold, the absolute power, that the governments held over the people. Torturous death is considered a great way to keep people obedient and subservient.
As in the world of The Hunger Games, the ancient Romans also publicly flogged disobedient citizens. These whippings occurred in the public square, or Forum. Again, The Hunger Games parallels are clear: During the first Games, Rue tells Katniss that in District 11, where crops are grown, if someone dares to eat anything in the fields, the government officials publicly whip the person in front of all the citizens (
The Hunger Games
, 202). And in the second book of the series, the Head Peacekeeper, Romulus Thread (who replaces Seneca Cray after the old Peacekeeper is killed) whips Gale to a bloody pulp in District 12’s public square (
Catching Fire
, 104). Katniss is whipped, as well.
While public beatings continued to take place in the district squares in the world of The Hunger Games, in ancient Rome, things were a bit different. The flogging and execution of criminals and slaves, which at first were festivities accompanied by musicians and heralds, slowly shifted to the arena.
But in The Hunger Games, in addition to the Games, to keep people in line, District 12’s Peacekeepers build a new whipping post, as well as a gallows for hanging people and a stockade (
Catching Fire
, 128). Further punishment includes massive starvation, closing the mines where people work, and burning down the Hob where people procure food and other necessary items (
Catching Fire
, 129–31).
The Circus Maximus in ancient Rome included chariot races called
ludi circenses
. Originally, the chariot races weren’t particularly brutal and deadly, but over time, they evolved and both animal and human deaths became common. In The Hunger Games, the tributes aka gladiators ride in supposed glory in their chariots around the City Circle filled with cheering fans. For the opening ceremonies in her first Game, Katniss shares a twenty-minute chariot ride with Peeta (
The Hunger Games
, 68–69).
It’s interesting to note that the annual Hunger Games pit twelve couples against each other; that is, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts. Accordingly, at the opening ceremonies, there are twelve chariots, one for each couple. The Circus Maximus originally included twelve chariot races in a full day’s program. Later, the number was increased to twenty-four.
Many gladiators in ancient Rome were professionals and well trained in all manners of fighting, including the use of weapons, just like the Careers in The Hunger Games. They fought against the beasts and common people who were ill-equipped, in most cases, to defend themselves. In The Hunger Games, winning tributes return home with prizes of housing and enough food for their families. In ancient Rome, the winners of gladiatorial battles also obtained greater freedoms and profits. However, it should be noted that Hunger Games tributes are selected by lottery, whereas the gladiators were either professionals or those imprisoned due to kidnapping, slavery, or perceived criminal activities.
The ancient Roman, Plutarch, documented the fact that the gladiators ate lavish public banquets before their battles. Ditto, in The Hunger Games, tributes eat incredibly rich meals before entering the arena.
NBC television broadcasted a television program from 1989 through 1996 called
American Gladiators
, hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali. In this show, contestants battle each other in an arena that features “games” with names such as Assault, Gauntlet, Hit and Run, Joust, Earthquake, Pyramid, and others. Luckily, the contestants are
not
battling to the death in this arena; rather, these battles are all in fun. Hired gladiators, who work for the program, pit their strength and wits against “everyday” people who, judging by their physiques, work out a lot in the gym. The show’s gladiators include action stars and movie stuntmen/women.On television now is a program called
Ultimate Fighting Championships
(UFC). This program pits fighters against each other and allows various forms of martial arts, including boxing, jujitsu, and wrestling:
these are real fights
.UFC is a modern version of
Pankration
, an ancient Greek Olympic fighting sport that started in 648 BC.
Pankration
athletes both wrestled and boxed, with no rules governing their fighting techniques.Suzanne Collins is often quoted in saying that she based The Hunger Games on her father’s experiences in Vietnam, on reality television programs, and on the ancient Greek story of Theseus.
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In a recent
New York Times
interview, Collins adds that she “embraces her father’s impulse to educate young people about the realities of war.”
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Oddly enough, in Greek mythology, Theseus and Heracles both wrestled and boxed against their opponents, a technique that became called
Pankration
. Today’s
Pankration
is accepted in modern form by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles,
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but it is no longer part of the Olympic Games.UFC is so violent that Senator John McCain tried to outlaw the program.
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He contacted the governors of every state in the United States, urging them to officially ban the program. McCain succeeded in convincing thirty-six states to ban it, after which the UFC revised its rules to make things a little safer and less brutal. Eventually, UFC also revised how it marketed itself, from a “spectacle” to a “sport.”UFC remains extremely popular worldwide, with the fights now known as “exhibition matches” that are not tallied as wins or losses in professional boxing.
An interesting note about UFC: the more sponsorship a fighter receives, the more he’s paid per fight. Remind you of the Hunger Games? None of the UFC competitors receives a salary, and as you might guess, winners take home more money than losers.
EARLY
AD
, Holy Land
Setting the groundwork for The Hunger Games trilogy as well as all other apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic literature to come was the Book of Revelation. In Matthew, Jesus states that “Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom,” strongly implying that the apocalypse would occur within Jesus’ lifetime and that at least one Apostle would still be around to see the Second Coming.
In Revelation, earth, heaven, and hell collide in one whopping huge battle between Good and Evil. The number seven, which oddly has grown to be a “lucky” number for many people, was central to Revelation and the apocalypse. Seven lamps represent seven churches, each with seven angels denoted by seven stars. Seven spirits stand before God’s throne, again represented by seven lamps but also by seven horns and seven eyes. God’s judgment scroll has seven seals along with a set of seven judgments. Trumpet judgments are heralded by seven angels, and when the seventh trumpet sounds, God’s wrath rains down upon the earth. There are many other references to the number seven, but suffice it to say here that when Jesus opens the first four of the seven seals, that’s when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse show up, representing conquest, war, famine, and death.
