ALISON FUTRELL focuses on the performance and imagery of power in imperial Rome, with special interest in spectacle, gender, and pop culture. She has authored and edited Blood in the Arena; The Roman Games; and The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, as well as pieces on Viking Queen (1967), Spartacus (1960 and 2010-13), HBO’s Rome (2005, 2007) and Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001). She appeared as a talking head most recently for National Geographic, BBC History Extra, and the History Channel’s eight-part series "Colosseum".