The classical compendium: A miscellany of scandalous gossip, bawdy jokes, peculiar jokes, and bad behavior from the ancient Greeks and Romans

by Philip Matyszak

Paper Book, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

938

Genres

Collection

Don

Publication

London : Thames & Hudson, 2009.

Description

"The compendium includes humorous quips by the emperor Augustus and wry observations by the philosopher Socrates. There are stories of ghastly crimes, incredible journeys and some bizarre military mishaps, such as when a Macedonian army rushed to storm the walls of a Greek city, only to find that their ladders were six feet short. There are also dozens of lists, including Romans who lived to be 100 and odd deities like Sterculinus, the god of manure spreading." --Book Jacket.

User reviews

LibraryThing member meggyweg

This is an author to watch. His Athens in 5 Drachma a Day is pretty good; Rome in 5 Denari a day was excellent and so is The Classical Compendium. It's basically a hodgepodge of trivia about the life and people of classical Rome and Greece, including bits of graffiti, ancient jokes, lines of poetry

and snippets of letters and repartee that make the ancients seem refreshingly real. I now want to seek out further reading about this. If you're interested in classical history, you'll love this book. If you're not interested in classical history, this book will make you interested.

Show Less

1 more

LibraryThing member mbmackay

This is a bit of fun - a miscellaneous collection of trivia, jokes, anecdotes and other information for the classical Greece and Rome. It helps the reader get a feel for real life in the old world, not just the succession of battles and emperors of many histories.
Read Nov 2017

Fewer