Ancient Rome on five denarii a day : [your guide to sleeping, shopping, and sightseeing in the City of the Caesars]

by Philip Matyszak

Paper Book, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

937

Publication

London : Thames & Hudson, [2007]

Description

This entertaining guide provides all the information a tourist needs for a journey back in time to ancient Rome in AD 200. You just have to pack your imagination and a toothbrush! Here is advice on arranging the sea journey to Italy, how to negotiate the road to Rome, and what to see on each of the city's famous seven hills. You'll learn what to take to a fancy dinner party (dining robe, your own napkin, and indoor shoes) and where to find the best markets and public baths.A series of walks takes in all the sights of the eternal city, from the opulence of the imperial palace on the Palatine hill through the bustle of the Forum to the grandeur of the Pantheon and the Temple of Jupiter. The largest and most populous city in the ancient world has over one hundred spectacles to offer, including chariot races and events at the Colosseum where gladiators fight to the death. Philip Matyszak's ingenious book will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered what it would have been like to visit the greatest city of ancient times.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member setnahkt

Good fun; this is part of a series of books set up as if they were travel guides for a modern visitor to the ancient society in question. Thus there are familiar travel-book chapter headings – “Getting There”; “The Environs”; “Shopping”; “Entertainment” and so on. Author Philip

Matyszak has a wry sense of humor; for example, consider the following “useful phrases”:

Vinum bellum iucundumque est, sed animo corporeque caret.

(It’s a pleasant little wine but it lacks body and character)

Estne pugio in tunica, an tibi libet me videre?

(Is that a dagger in your tunic or are you glad to see me?)

In hac tunica obesa videbor?

(Does this tunic make me look fat?)

There’s a recipe for glires – stuffed dormice – which doesn’t seem as bad as it initially sounds, it’s basically a dormouse with sausage filling; the going rate for a girl for the night at a rural inn (8 asses) seems rather cheap, considering that was also the price for two loaves of bread; and walking tours of all the sights (ironically, of course, since most are long vanished). There are computer-rendered illustrations of many of the monuments; something of a treat, since the inside of the Pantheon isn’t that spectacular any more.

If there’s a flaw, it’s that the Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day doesn’t include much history – a modern travel guide would include a capsule history of whatever country you were visiting - and that it keeps with the “traveler in the ancient world” theme a little too strictly and doesn’t give the reader much idea of which of the ancient monuments are still visible in modern Rome. Nevertheless, pleasant and entertaining.

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LibraryThing member lweddle

A travel guide that takes you not only through space, but time as well! It's a guide to Rome in the 2nd Century CE and if I could go back... this would be an essential part of my carry-on luggage. This is a great book for people who want to know more about life in ancient Rome, whether they are

scholars or just folks inspired by the recent HBO series.

It's a fun read and the Useful Latin Phrases in the back of the book are a hoot!

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LibraryThing member Shimmin

A fine, amusing and educational account of Rome in about 100AD, full of cultural and historical detail. It's a little bit dense at times, but it's not like you're obliged to memorise all the names and cross-references. The main thread of the account (which is pleasantly wry) is peppered with pithy

quotes and fragments that illustrate the Roman character, attitudes and concerns of the day.

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LibraryThing member SeriousGrace

If you have plans to get into your time machine and visit ancient Rome, this is the book for you. Just make sure you go in the time of the Caesars (200 AD). By reading this book you can learn how to don a new toga or tunic, attend the best circus, avoid drinking feces tainted water, visit a

brothel, see the tomb of St. Peter and so much more. Read every word so you don't miss the humor (especially in the section of useful phrases. My personal favorite: "Vel vinum mihi da, vel nummos mihi redde or I want my wine or my money back"). How's this for tongue-in-cheek: "The oldest and largest of Rome's sewers is the Cloca Maxima, which runs under the forum and is large enough to take a boat through, if that is your idea of fun" (p 34). See what I mean? It's a small book but it's packed with good fun!

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