Everyday Life in Ancient Rome

Everyday Life in Ancient Rome is a fascinating, engaging, brief study of the social history of Rome during the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D., the period when Imperial Rome was at its height. Casson, the author, provides brief vignettes of family life; farming; the organization, administration, and life of the city; slavery; the life of soldiers; how Romans traveled; the emperor, etc. His history digs deeper into social issues than the typical history book which tends to focus on key individuals and major political events. Each of the vignettes provides fascinating information about how Romans lived; e.g., the life within apartment complexes; the engineering feat of providing water to city dwellers; the various forms of entertainment provided to Roman citizens. Each of the vignettes are quite brief, and I was left with wanting more. It also seemed that the vignette on slavery overemphasized its positive aspects, and the vignette on the Emperor focused exclusively on Hadrian, rather than also commenting on other emperors of the period. Nevertheless, this is an excellent, well written study of Roman times and is highly recommended. Casson's book, Travel in the Ancient World, is also quite good.

The content was often interesting, but dragged a bit in certain areas. The author does a good job providing insight into less publicized areas of Roman life (like that of a slave or farmer), but not all of it is interesting...perhaps that is the point though.

A survey of daily life in Rome during the first two centuries AD: how people dressed, ate, spent their time, lived, and had fun. Covers various walks of life. The chapter on slaves is refreshingly balanced, describing hardships but also opportunities for saving money and achieving freedom and citizenship. Another chapter on soldiers similarly describes their routes of upward mobility. There's also a masterful and interesting chapter on travel, a subject on which Casson wrote a separate book. Reading this book makes one want to learn more about areas not covered, such as money and finance.Casson has a gift for sharing information and insights concisely. One can feel that his learning goes far beyond what is written here. This book should be a model of style for academic writers.It is an excellent complement to a general survey such as M. Cary's brilliant "History of Rome".

Everyday Life in Ancient Rome  My husband is a scholar of ancient Roman history and has a lot of books on the subject. It's always a challenge finding a new book for him that doesn't overlap his other volumes. This one, however, was a big hit. He really enjoyed reading the historical tidbits not found in his other books.

Relatively quick & easy read on early Roman Republic up to Hadrian. Nero was not such a bad character, making numerous improvements. Author somehow emphasized how many freed slaves became rich, etc. Never discussed the downside of this station in life or how for many was a crippling one. Recommended.

I had recourse to this book to provide background for a series of lectures in historical interior design. As such a vehicle, this is an excellent book, slender though it is. It seems well-researched, and the end notes suggest a keen working-knowledge of the subject. The style is conversational rather than academic, which makes it an ideal point of entry for high school students, under graduates and others who are just looking for a fairly simple backdrop to deeper research in more focussed areas. There are more thorough studies of family life, slavery and religion available, but as a springboard into such studies, this work is perhaps ideal. Finally, anyone look for pertinent illustrations for lectures on the subject of ancient Roman everyday life should look elsewhere: the second-rate illustrations are black and white and few in number.

I used this book to great advantage as reference material for a study that I taught at our Church. It was an excellent addition for discussion of the impact of the Roman Empire on the early Christian movement.

Love it

Fascinating glimpse into daily aspects of Ancient Rome. Slaves dragged heavy urns of fresh water up ( sometimes) four flights of stairs on a daily basis. Still you could eventually earn or be given your freedom. It's the connection to our own domesticity that is most revealing.

This is a must for anyone interested in how people lived their, and in their culture.I think it would make excellent background reading for students setting out to learn Latin, and give an insight into Roman culture that is now sadly lacking in the current GCSE syllabus.