Playful Classics

<p><b>This is the first book to deal exclusively with ludic interactions with classical antiquity - an understudied research area within classical reception studies - that can shed light on current processes of construction and appropriation of the Greco-Roman world.</b> Classical antiquity has for many years been sold as a product and consumed in a wide variety of forms of entertainment. As a result games playing and playful experiences are a privileged space for the reception of antiquity. Through the medium of games players performers and audiences are put into direct contact with the classical past and encouraged to experience it in a participative creative and subjective fashion. <p/> The chapters in this volume written by scholars and practitioners cover a variety of topics and cultural artefacts including toys board games and video games as well as immersive experiences such as museums theme parks and toga parties. The contributors tackle contemporary ludic practices and several papers establish a dialogue between artists and scholars contrasting and harmonising their different approaches to the role of playfulness. Other chapters explore the educational potential of these manifestations or their mediating role in shaping our conceptions of ancient Greece and Rome. Altogether this edited collection is the first to offer a comprehensive overview of the ways we can play with antiquity.</p>