TY - JOUR
T1 - The Classical Sources of Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur
AU - Solomon, Jon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©2014, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ was one of the most popular novels ever written, and its portrayal of ancient Rome and Roman institutions (e.g. chariot racing and penal system) influenced millions of people for well more than a century. Yet no one has ever identified Wallace’s classical sources or examined his research methodology. After discussing Wallace’s lack of formal education, this paper examines his access to and use of primarily Josephus, Plutarch, Homer, and other ancient and secondary sources, especially Gibbon and Pope, several problems (particularly the size of the Antioch Circus and length of the spina), and how subsequent theatrical and cinematic adaptations of the novel assumed, reinterpreted, or ignored the results of Wallace’s research.
AB - Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ was one of the most popular novels ever written, and its portrayal of ancient Rome and Roman institutions (e.g. chariot racing and penal system) influenced millions of people for well more than a century. Yet no one has ever identified Wallace’s classical sources or examined his research methodology. After discussing Wallace’s lack of formal education, this paper examines his access to and use of primarily Josephus, Plutarch, Homer, and other ancient and secondary sources, especially Gibbon and Pope, several problems (particularly the size of the Antioch Circus and length of the spina), and how subsequent theatrical and cinematic adaptations of the novel assumed, reinterpreted, or ignored the results of Wallace’s research.
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U2 - 10.1007/s12138-014-0359-6
DO - 10.1007/s12138-014-0359-6
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84926356059
SN - 1073-0508
VL - 22
SP - 29
EP - 75
JO - International Journal of the Classical Tradition
JF - International Journal of the Classical Tradition
IS - 1
ER -