Tertullian’s reception of Roman theatre in De Spectaculis

Abstract

A discussion of the way that Roman theatre is presented in Tertullian’s De Spectaculis.
Tertullian, after examining the origins of Roman spectacula (the theatre, the circus, gladiatorial
games, animal fighting) seeks to condemn them as immoral and directly associated with
idolatry. Through the analysis of selected passages, it becomes obvious that this treatise is a
significant source of knowledge for the declining theatre in Carthage of his times, since it is
the first Latin text by a Christian author that addressed the ethic of the spectacles and shaped
Western Christian thought.

Key-words: theatre, Tertullian, idolatry, spectacles, Christian literature.