A lecture in celebration of International Archaeology Day by Alison Futrell, Professor of History at the University of Arizona. Futrell’s research is guided by her interest in the performance and imagery of power in the Roman Empire, with particular focus on spectacle and gender. She is also fascinated by representations of the ancient Mediterranean in modern popular culture. Her talk tackles the sexualized nuances of the arena, touching on the relative masculinity of gladiators as a group, within Roman society, as well as the how the different styles of combat demonstrated different levels of virility. And what about female performers? How did spectacularization of sex enhance demonstrations of moral and political authority by imperial sponsors? Women in the arena attracted the audience’s focus and disrupted messages of imperial power and challenged audience assumptions about strength, about blood, and about humanity.