Everyday Life in Ancient Rome - Hardcover

Casson, Professor Lionel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801859913 ISBN 13: 9780801859915

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999

Synopsis

"This book presents a series of concise sketches of key phases of life in the Roman world during its greatest period, the peaceful and prosperous years of the first and second centuries A.D.: what life was like in the city, in the countryside, on the road; what it was like in the various levels of society... The sketches are fashioned to reveal how the inevitable cycle from birth to death that we all share played out in the circumstances of this very special age." -- from the preface

In Everyday Life in Ancient Rome, Lionel Casson offers a lively introduction to the society of the times. Instead of following the standard procedure of social history, he presents a series of vignettes focusing on the "ways of life" of various members of that society, from the slave to the emperor. The book opens with a description of the historical context and includes examination of topics such as the family, religion, urban and rural life, and leisure activities. This revised edition of Casson's engaging work, originally published in 1975 as Daily Life in Ancient Rome, includes two new chapters as well as full documentation of the sources.

"I was reading one of Casson's books [Everyday Life in Ancient Rome] while waiting for [my daughter]... She was late, which would ordinarily have thrown me into a fever of apprehension, but on this occasion I was so wrapped up in the book, I didn't notice. In fact, when she did come back, quite late, I was annoyed because she had interrupted me before I had finished the book. I told Casson this, and he was infinitely pleased." -- Isaac Asimov, from I. Asimov: A Memoir

About this title

Review:

"An evocative study of the average Roman: when he got up, when he ate, how he earned a living and why a career in the army was greatly sought after, in spite of the dangers." -- Time Traveler's Guide to the Roman Empire, Channel4.com

Review:

"A series of concise sketches of key phases of life in the Roman world during its greatest period, the era of peace and prosperity in the first and second centuries A.D." -- Of Ages Past Magazine

About this edition

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0801859913
• ISBN 13: 9780801859915
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 184