Introduction: Paradox and the Marvellous in Augustan Literature and Culture

Abstract He surpassed all his predecessors in the frequency, variety, and splendour of his shows ... If anything strange and worth seeing was brought to Rome, it was his habit to make a special exhibition of it, even before the dates for the shows, in some location, for example a rhinoceros in the Saepta, a tiger on the stage, a snake of fifty cubits in front of the Comitium … He reformed and regulated the disorderly and undisciplined fashion of spectating, prompted by the insult to a senator to whom no one had offered a place in a crowded house during some very popular games at Puteoli.