Daily life in Ancient Rome : the people and the city at the height of the Empire

by J. Carcopino

Paper Book, 1962

Status

Available

Collection

Library/Biblioteca - Paolo Emilio Pecorella

Publication

Penguin, 1962.

Description

"This classic book brings to life imperial Rome as it was during the second century A.D., the time of Trajan and Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. It was a period marked by lavish displays of wealth, a dazzling cultural mix, and the advent of Christianity. The splendor and squalor of the city, the spectacles and the day's routines are reconstructed from an immense fund of archaeological evidence and from vivid descriptions by ancient poets, satirists, letter-writers, and novelists - from Petronius to Pliny the Younger. In a new Introduction, the classicist Mary Beard appraises the book's enduring - and sometimes surprising - influence and its value for general readers and students. She also provides an up-to-date Bibliographic Essay."--BOOK JACKET.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member haeesh

Originally written before the 2nd World War, this charming look at daily life at the city of Rome covers all aspects including bathing and eating. The author has a moralizing tone: he is imbued with Christian values and what we call nowadays "the protestant work ethic". In the last paragraph of his

book he states: "The pictures of Petronius, the Epigrams of Martial, the Satires of Juvenal only too clearly impress upon us all the sordid and depraved side of Roman life...;" and how wonderful it could be when "and above all in those serene "agapes" where the Christians lifted up their hearts in the joy of knowing the divine presence in their midst."

He informs us that the ancients by any standards were lazy, randy, gluttonous and barely employed. The author finds this appalling, however appealing it would be to early 21st century man! Perhaps it's just a little too old, but if you want to know about what was going on in Rome at the height of empire you may wish to start here. Plenty of spicy quotes by Martial, Juvenal and that ultimate nouveau riche Trimalchio--the gods bless his fictitious soul!

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LibraryThing member SofiaB

I enjoyed some chapters, but in the rest there is much moralizing about the ancient world, and it dates the book's approach to scholarship. The chapters I liked were the first few chapters on Roman houses, the chapter on getting ready in the morning, and the last chapter on eating, strolling and

bathing.

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LibraryThing member gmicksmith

This is the stand by classic, older work done at least a generation ago. Nonetheless, it remains a delightful romp and a somewhat romantic look at daily life in Rome. He surveys the ordinary life of Romans, their eating, where they ate, bathing, and the practices surrounding the bath. At the same

time there is a somewhat high brow tone to the work that seems to cast dispersion on the Romans. His moralizing leads him to conclude that the classic works of Rome display "the sordid and depraved side of Roman life."

Despite the age of the work, this is still a sound beginning point to understand the typical Roman during the Empire. He enjoys displaying the tawdry with copious quotes by Martial, Juvenal, and Trimalchio.

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LibraryThing member RRHowell

A fairly standard reference work, this is quite readable, and full of intriguing information about things like the height of apartment buildings and the state of indoor plumbing in Ancient Rome, what rich women did for amusement, and the subjects studied by school children.

LibraryThing member MrsLee

Hooray! I finally finished this! I was previewing it to see if it is useful for school. Long, detailed and way more than I needed to know, but not unpleasantly written. The author's viewpoint and opinion is certainly not hidden, which at times is humorous. I think I will keep it for bits and

pieces, but neither of my boys would ever read it.

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LibraryThing member LadyintheLibrary

Dry, tough to get through, assumes a fair amount of knowledge.

LibraryThing member bks1953

A fascinating book, but definitely a scholarly/academic work; very thorough but a little bit on the dry side.

LibraryThing member hailelib

Daily Life in Ancient Rome turned out to be a fairly readable book although some sections were better than others. Originally written before WWII by a French archaeologist and translated into English for publication by Yale University Press (c.1940) the language can be a bit stiff and dry at time.

However, I found it worthwhile because there are a wealth of details about life in the city of Rome during the second century CE.

Part 1 covers the extent and population of the city, houses and streets, society and class, marriage and the family, education, and religion with great thoroughness. Part 2 then takes the reader through a Roman citizen's day discussing the morning routine, occupations, leisure activities such as the games and other spectacles, the baths, and finishing with dinner in the evening.

This book appears on a least one "must read" list and while fairly old there are few comprehensive books about everyday life in the city of Rome for this time period. However, Carcopino does allow his personal prejudices about the Roman lifestyle to come through so I only cautiously recommend it.

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LibraryThing member jcvogan1

One of those books everyone should read.

LibraryThing member elucubrare

It's a fairly entertaining book, though for all the wrong reasons. Carcopino makes sweeping declarations about things that don't seem to be supported, and has fairly quaint ideas - that Roman women stayed indoors and idle because they chose to do so, for example. His analysis of Roman religion is

outdated. But the prose is that mid-century sort of magisterial tone, even when he's probably wrong, and so it was at least worth reading.

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