Suzanne Collins, författaren till romanen, är känd för att vara ett stort fan av antikens romersk och grekisk mytologi. Till exempel, från den här intervjun :
Q: Thanks to a cruel futuristic government, 24 children are chosen by lottery to compete in the annual Hunger Games—a fight to the death that’s televised live. How did you come up with that idea?
A: It’s very much based on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, which I read when I was eight years old. I was a huge fan of Greek and Roman mythology. As punishment for displeasing Crete, Athens periodically had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete, where they were thrown into the labyrinth and devoured by the Minotaur, which is a monster that’s half man and half bull. Even when I was a little kid, the story took my breath away, because it was so cruel, and Crete was so ruthless.
Hon diskuterar detta mer ingående i en intervju med Scholastic :
Q: You weave action, adventure, mythology, sci-fi, romance, and philosophy throughout The Hunger Games. What influenced the creation of The Hunger Games?
A: A significant influence would have to be the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The myth tells how in punishment for past deeds, Athens periodically had to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete, where they were thrown in the Labyrinth and devoured by the monstrous Minotaur.
Even as a kid, I could appreciate how ruthless this was. Crete was sending a very clear message: “Mess with us and we’ll do something worse than kill you. We’ll kill your children.” And the thing is, it was allowed; the parents sat by powerless to stop it. Theseus, who was the son of the king, volunteered to go. I guess in her own way, Katniss is a futuristic Theseus.
In keeping with the classical roots, I send my tributes into an updated version of the Roman gladiator games, which entails a ruthless government forcing people to fight to the death as popular entertainment. The world of Panem, particularly the Capitol, is loaded with Roman references. Panem itself comes from the expression “Panem et Circenses” which translates into “Bread and Circuses.”
The audiences for both the Roman games and reality TV are almost characters in themselves. They can respond with great enthusiasm or play a role in your elimination.
Som en sista anteckning diskuterar denna intressanta sida på Shmoop några av allusionerna till det romerska samhället, inklusive:
- Namnet Panem (som diskuterat ovan)
- Arenan och dess likhet med Colosseum
- Cinna - det var två Cinnas i samband med Julius Caesar. En var en tyrann som var involverad i hans mördningar, den andra en poet som mördades efter mordet efter att ha felaktigt identifierats som andra Cinna.
- Det stora antalet romerska namn i Capitol.
Alla dessa referenser har uppenbarligen kommit från intervjuer med författaren. Böckerna ger inte någon djupare anledning till detta och filmerna gör det inte säkert.
Jag skulle lägga till det från en ur universum synvinkel, jag tror att du redan har beskrivit länken: " man kunde se termen" Capitol "och de faktiska Hunger Games som en slags gladiator kampar i förhållande till det ". Jag tycker att det är exakt vad som spelar här. Användningen av romerska symbolismen genom hela Capitolen framhäver endast styrkan och styrkan i Capitolen över de svaga, ojämförliga distrikten.