Statuette of a Standing Comic Actor (detail), 200-100 B.C., Greek. Bronze. Gift of Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman. Photo: Bruce White
Comedy & Public Embarrassment in Ancient Rome
GETTY VILLA
Auditorium
This is a past event
Celebrate April Fools' Day with an examination of "funny," Roman-style. Scholar Amy Richlin explores what made Romans laugh and how joking and public performance amused, united, and embarrassed different levels of society. In a culture with very different ideas of political correctness, what was considered funny? And why? This talk contains content that may not be suitable for young children; parental discretion is advised.
Amy Richlin is Distinguished Professor of Classics at UCLA and is the author of Slave Theater in the Roman Republic: Plautus and Popular Comedy (Cambridge), which won the Goodwin Award from the Society for Classical Studies in 2018.