Roman Daily Life
Nonfiction works on daily life in Ancient Rome

Last updated XXVII SEPTEMBRIS MMIX.

Contents:

• General Adkins, Beard (9/27/09); Balsdon, Carcopino, Casson, Cowell, Deighton, Dupont, Freeman, Hill & Wilkins (7/5/07); León (7/1/07); Paoli, Quennell, Shelton, Veyne, White
• Juvenile Caselli, Clare, Connolly, James, Langley, Marks, Nardo
• Naval Casson
• In Painting Ash

• Introduction to the Romans
  (1991, Secaucus, Chartwell Books).
  182 pages with glossary, bibliography and index.
  Authors are archaeological consultants.
  Chapter titles include Rise of Rome, Conquest and Consolidation, Soldier and Civilian, Town Houses and Tenements, Cottages and Country Houses, Games and Gatherings, Commerce and Craft, Highways and Byways, Ritual and Religion, Retreat and Recession.
  Profusely illustrated, at least one color photo on every page. Heavy on Britain and France (Nemausus). Has some costume re-creations. Unique map shows names of 18 distinct districts in the city of Rome. Good section on how various metals were used, not seen elsewhere. Nice example of marble floors (tigress seizing a calf) from the basilica of Junius Basso in Rome. [Check if in print]
• Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome
  (1998, Oxford University Press).
  404 pages.
  Organized as a series of capsule entries on many topics with some line-drawings and a list of all the emperors. [ORDER NOW!]

• Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome
  (1969, New York, McGraw-Hill).
  463 pages with bibliography, list of abbreviations, notes on illustrations, notes, maps and index.
  Dr. Balsdon formerly taught ancient history at Oxford and has written books on Caligula; Romans and aliens; and Roman women.
  Chapters include Shape of the Day, Year, Family Life, Work and Leisure, Retirement, Holidays, Travel, Holidays at Home.
  Probably the most inspired of this type of book. It is always original and opinionated, even if lacking the nearly scientific systematism of Carcopino. And probably the most detailed. Easily the single most thorough and useful source. [Check if in print]

• The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found
  (2008, Harvard University Press).
  313 pages with extensive bibliography, illustrations and map.
  The author teaches at Cambridge and has been studying the site for thirty years. This is the one to read before visiting the site. It features a number of eye-opening passages: the imprint of a breast, burnt loaves of bread in ovens, buckets of paint and plaster left on a scaffold, a tethered guard dog, etc. Investigators has discovered infectious diseases, spinal disorders and tartar on everyone's teeth. It was a dirty city that produced 14,300,000 pounds of human feces and urine each year. One graffito warned to "keep it in till you've passed this spot". This excellent overview of Roman daily life is a treasure for Roman mystery reader and writer alike. [Buy it at Amazon]

• Daily Life in Ancient Rome / The People and the City at the Height of the Empire
  (1940, New Haven, Yale University Press, edited by Henry T. Rowell).
  342 pages with bibliography, notes and index.
  Carcopino was director of the École Française de Rome and Member of the Institute of France. Rowell Professor of Latin at Johns Hopkins University.
  In two parts: Physical & Moral Background and The Day's Routine. Part I chapters are Extent and Population of the City, Houses and Streets, Society and Social Classes, Marriage, Woman and the Family and Education and Religion. Part II chapters are Morning, Occupations, Shows and Spectacles and Afternoon and Evening.
  On the academic side with plenty of obscure references not really elucidated by the notes. Generally assumes Latin fluency with no safety net if you don't. Same goes for references to France and French history. Has some curious lacunae, such as any information on money. Also doesn't shy away from moralizing, e.g. re eating habits. A very nice and thorough explanation of Roman insulae, also clocks, however. Section on lives of non-traditional women appears to be unique. Emphasis throughout is on the imperial period. Minimal illustrations. Probably the best all-around standard reference. [ORDER NOW!]

• Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
  Previous published in somewhat different version as The Horizon Book of Daily Life in Ancient Rome (1975, New York, Simon & Schuster). [ORDER NOW!]

• Life in Ancient Rome
  (1961, New York, Perigree (Berkley), 7th edition 1972).
  114 pages with chronology, bibliography and index.
  Author has also written Daily Life in Ancient Greece and Rome.
  Chapters include City of Rome, Growing Up in Ancient Rome, Family Life, Slavery, Earning a Living, Leisure Hours, Religion.
  In comparison with Carcopino, more of a general overview, but still quite usable. Only book so far to actually dare to picture chairs and couches. [ORDER NOW!]

• A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome
  (1992, London, Bristol Classic Press).
  This is the book that Russell Crowe, starring actor of the film Gladiator says that he read, along with the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, in preparation for his role. [Check if in print]

• Daily Life in Ancient Rome
  (1992, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, originally La vie quotidienne du citoyen romain sous la République in 1989 and translated by Christopher Woodall).
  314 pages with notes, bibliography and index.
  Author is Professor of Latin at University of Nice. Translator is a freelancer and Journalist.
  Part I: City and its People including Naming and Honor, Wealth and Poverty, Slaves and Freedmen. Part II: Places and Lives including Organization of Roman Space, Roman Houses, Family, Army, Living in Rome, Political Life. Part III: Time and Action including Time and the Romans, Measuring Time, Calendar and Festivities, Ages of Man. Part IV: The Roman Body including Body: Moral and Physical Aspects, Clothing, Food.
  Emphasis is on the Republic. Very minimal maps and illustrations. Seems to be unique in terms of understanding the Roman psyche. Why did Romans go to war, both from the individual and the collective perspectives, for example. If Carcopino has all the facts, Dupont has all the theories behind them. Has some odd statements which are just barely incorrect, e.g. Romans were never concerned with genealogy, but what of the Julius clan? Also has some things which don't get much covered elsewhere, such as that Tiro lived to be a centenarian and lived to write a tell-all biography of Cicero. Of all these books, the one which makes for the most compelling reading. [ORDER NOW!]

• The World of the Romans
  (1993, New York, Oxford University Press. Consulting editors John Drinkwater and Andrew Drummond).
  192 pages with bibliography and index.
  Author is history lecturer; consultants are professors of Roman history or classics.
  Chapter titles are Roman Republic, Republican Life and Culture, Emperors, Culture and Religion in the Empire, Pillars of the Empire, Wealthy and Poverty in the Empire, Christian Empire, Fall of the Western Empire.
  Profusely illustrated, at least one color photo on every page. This book is very good at the "how-to" of Roman life, with good technical drawings of spiking an enemy ship, donning a toga and cutaways of Roman houses. We learn interesting little facts like that during the 1st century AD, 400 sesterces was a minimum annual income for a laborer, although there is the occasional error such as the suggestion that in Tuscany wheat only ripened once every 2 years whereas in Egypt it ripened once each year. Surely they have used "year" where the original writer intended "season". [Check if in print]

• Food in the Ancient World
  (2006, Blackwell Publishing Limited, paperback)
  Investigates food and eating in Greek and Roman culture (from Homer's time to the early Christian era). Wilkins is a researcher of the ancient world. Hill is a chef and food writer who connects ancient practice to modern cuisine and provides a few recipes. Some topics of interest to Roman fans include where the idea of reclining to dine comes from, how cuisine differed around the empire, foods for various life occasions and celebrations, wine, theories of food, how foreign foods entered the Roman diet, what the doctors said, what the commoners ate, etc. [ORDER NOW!]

• Working IX to V
  (2007, Walker & Co., New York)
  Working life in ancient Greece and Rome. Looks at occupations such as the Roman ornatrix, a hairdresser slave in ancient Rome. In those days, hair treatments required ingredients like decomposed leeches, urine and pigeon droppings. Another interesting one is the nomenclator, who assisted their master by whispering in his ear the name and details of people he would meet. [ORDER NOW!]

• Rome / Its People, Life and Customs
  (1940, Firenze, Casa Editrice Felice le Monnier as Vita Romana;
  1990, London, Bristol Classical Press).
  336 pages including maps, photographic plates, extensive chapter notes and index.
  Author associated with University of Florence.
  Chapter titles are Urbs; Roman House; Roman Villa; Furniture; Food; Banquet; Clothes, Shoes and Jewellery; Beards and Hairstyles; Women in the Roman Family; Slavery; Funeral Rites; Pompeii – Buried City; Streets, Houses and Addresses; Industry; Education; Books, Correspondence, Papers, Post; Law; Medicine; Baths; Travel; Sports and Pastimes of Children and Adults; Hunting and Fishing; Ludi Circenses; Theatre; Italum Acetum; Superstitions, Magic and Spells; Changing Face of Ancient Rome; Architectural Decay of Rome.
  Seems to meander maddeningly at times, but the Italian point of view is appreciated. Probably the most technical of all the books listed here. Occasional use of untranslated Greek and Latin. Certainly features one of the most detailed studies of Roman houses. Quite minimal on clocks, but excellent information on food and furniture. We get other unique details on subjects like the manufacture of books. The chapter on the changing look of Rome throughout the ages appears to be utterly unique. One must admire the economy of the language, even in translation. [AMAZON UK!]

• Everyday Life in Roman and Anglo Saxon Times
  (1987, New York, Dorset Press).
  236 pages. [Check if in print]

• As the Romans Did / A Sourcebook in Roman Social History
  (1988, New York, Oxford University Press, first edition paperback; 1997, New York, Oxford University Press, second edition hardcover; 1997, New York, Oxford University Press, second edition paperback).
  492 pages including Maps, Sources, Money, Dates, Bibliography and index.
  Author is Professor of Classics at University of California, Santa Barbara and author of many articles on Roman literature of the early imperial period.
  Chapter titles are Structure of Roman Society, Families, Marriage, Housing and City Life, Domestic and Personal Concerns, Education, Occupations, Slaves, Freedmen, Government and Politics, Army, Provinces, Women, Leisure, Religion and Philosophy.
  Although quite comprehensive, the organization of the book is unusual in that it is less a narrative and more a marshalling of specific literary quotes which throw light on the subjects under discussion.

• A History of Private Life / From Pagan Rome to Byzantium
  (1987, Boston, Harvard University Press, originally De l'Empire romain à l'an mil in France, 1985).
  407 pages in the Roman section with notes, bibliography and index.
  Paul Veyne, author of the Roman section, is a professor at the Collège de France.
  Part I: Roman Empire includes From Mother's Womb to Last Will, Marriage, Slavery, Household and Freed Slaves, Where Public Life Was Private, Work and Leisure, Patrimony, Public Opinion and Utopia, Pleasures and Excesses, Tranquilizers. Part II: Late Antiquity includes The Wellborn Few, Person and Group in Judaism and Christianity, Church and Leadership, Challenge of the Desert, East and West: New Marital Morality. Part III: Private and Domestic Architecture in Roman Africa includes Roman Home, Theoretical Considerations, Domestic Architecture of the Ruling Class, Components of the Domus, How the Domus Worked.
  No real attempt here to be all-inclusive. Rather, simply a series of idiosyncratic essays which throw light from various perspectives. Nice job on freedmen. [ORDER NOW!]

• Country Life in Classical Times
  (1977, Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press). 138 pages including appendix on landscape in art, select bibliography, index of passages and index.
  K.D. White, former Classics professor at Reading, then Visiting Professor of Ancient History at University of Jos, Nigeria. Also the author of Roman Farming.
  Chapter titles are Introductory; Landscapes, Real or Imagined; The Country through the Eye of the Townsman; Farm Management and the Farmer's Calendar; Seasonal Operations on the Farm; Out on the Range; The Changing Patterns of Rural Life; Rural Cults and Festivals; Private Pleasures in the Countryside; Hunting and Fishing; Appendix – Landscape in Classical Art.
  Not all passages related to Rome – there is considerable information on Egypt and Greece as well. Great source for the countryside, nice group of monochrome photo plates showing many of the different paintings and sculptures which depict country life. [ORDER NOW!]

• The Roman Empire and the Dark Ages
  (1981, New York, Peter Bedrick Books, History of Everyday Things series).
  48 pages with chronology and booklist.
  Chapters are Celtic Farmer 50 BC, Roman Villa 15 BC, Roman Town Life AD 100, Vindolanda AD 150, Anglo-Saxons 500 AD, etc.
  Profusely illustrated, at least one color photo on every page. Very good at showing small tools and items of everyday life.

• Classical Rome
  (1993, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego. Edited by John D. Clare).
  64 pages with index.
  Chapter titles are World of Rome, Army, Death of the Republic, Rivals for Power, Octavian, Rural Life, Gods and Religion, Trade, Streets, Forum, Women, Morning Callers, Insulae, Slaves, Baths, Evening Meal, After Augustus, Christianity, Imperial Deeds and Misdeeds, Bread and Circuses, Building of Rome, Aqueducts and Sewers, Roads, Height of Empire, Exploiting the Provinces, Governing the Provinces, Romanization, Decline and Fall.
  Profusely illustrated, at least one color photo on every page. Nice map at start shows provincial divisions in 114 AD and timeline of authors, emperors and events at end. A very special feature is the photography of actors in period costume and settings.

• The Ancient City : Life in Classical Athens & Rome
  (1998, New York, Oxford University Press).
  256 pages with 500 color illustrations.
  [ORDER NOW!]

• Ancient Rome
  (1992, London, Viking, See Through History series).
  48 pages with Key Dates, Glossary and index.
  Chapters include Birth of Rome, Countryside, Masters and Slaves, Towns and Cities, Business and Government, Family, Mansions and Slums, Daily Life, Work, Trade, Baths, Food, Religion, Chariots and Gladiators, Theater, Death, Peoples of the Provinces, Emperors and Governors, Soldier's Life, War and Frontiers, Changing World.
  Profusely illustrated, at least one color photo on every page. Unique are 4 special see-through sections on fort, theater, bath house and mansion. [ORDER NOW!]

• The Roman News (History News series)
  (1996, London, Candlewick, hardcover; 1999, London, Candlewick, paperback).
  32 pages with timeline and index.
  Topics include founding, second Punic War, Caesar, Vesuvius, Constantine, Flavian Amphitheater, gladiators, chariot racing, slaves, trade, piracy, empire, Vespasian, army life, battle, city and country, religion, women, technology, baths, clothing of both women and men, food, life of children/education.
  Profusely illustrated, mostly with colored paintings. Artists include Angus McBride who is well known for his military illustrations in a number of books. Chris Forsey does a wonderful job rendering the Forum and Caracalla Baths. [ORDER NOW!]

• The Romans
  (1990, London, Usborne Publishing, Illustrated World History series).
  96 pages with Who's Who, Glossary, Date Chart and index.
  Chapters include Founding, Early Republic, Expansion, Social and Political Structure, End of Republic, Army, Soldier's Life, Roads, Ships, Republic to Empire, Early Empire, Administration, Sieges, Towns, City, Town Houses, Furniture, Decorations, Food, Kitchen, Jewellery, Clothes, Villa, Farming, Marriage and Childbirth, Funerals, Education, Jobs, Money and Trade, Entertainment, Races, Gladiators, Baths, Religions, Gods, Festivals, Medicine, Architecture, Building, Legal System, Later Empire, Constantine, Byzantine.
  Profusely illustrated, at least one color photo on every page. Probably the best and most thorough of the juveniles. [ORDER NOW!]

• Life in Ancient Rome
  (1997, San Diego, Lucent Books, Series: The Way We Live series).
  128 pages with glossary, notes, bibliography and index.
  Author has written over 70 books, born 1947.
  Chapter titles include People, Government and Law, City/Country Life, Homes and Contents, Social Customs and Institutions, Leisure, Trade, Religion, Army Life.
  Many illustrations. At its best in pictorial reconstructions; at its worst when it fails to indicate which period it it describes. Very good on ships. Has some odd bits of information not found elsewhere. [ORDER NOW!]

Specialized Topics

Lionel Casson

• The Ancient Mariners: Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times
  (1959, New York, Macmillan, hardcover; 1959, New York, Macmillan, paperback).
  286 pages. [ORDER NOW!]

• Illustrated History of Ships and Boats
  (1964, Garden City, New York, Doubleday).
  272 pages. [Check if in print]

• Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times
  (1994, Univ of Texas Press).
  160 pages.
  1. The Birth of the Boat 2. Egypt 3. Ancient Shipbuilding 4. The Sailing Vessel 5. The Warship: Origin and Early Development 6. The Age of the Trireme 7. The Age of the Supergalleys 8. Winning with Fire: Warships of the Byzantine Navy 9. Merchantmen 10. Along the Coasts, in Harbours, on Rivers 11. In the North 12. A New Age Bibliography Notes List of Illustrations. Index [ORDER NOW!]

• Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World
  (1971, Princeton University Press; 1995, Johns Hopkins Univ Press).
  Preface List of Illustrations 1. Floats, Rafts, and the Earliest Boats 2. Egypt and Mesopotamia 3. The Eastern Mediterranean: 3000-1000 B.C. 4. The Eastern Mediterranean: 1000-500 B.C. 5. The Age of the Trireme: 500-323 B.C. 6. The Warships of the Hellenistic Age: 323-31 B.C. 7. The Roman Imperial and Byzantine Navies 8. Merchant Galleys 9. Sailing Ships 10. Shipbuilding 11. Rudder, Rigging, Miscellaneous Equipment 12. Seasons and Winds, Sailing, Rowing, Speed 13. Officers and Men 14. Small Craft 15. Markings and Names 16. Harbors List of Abbreviations Glossary of Nautical Terms Glossary of Greek and Latin Terms General Index Index of Citations Index of Ships' Names Addenda and Corrigenda [ORDER NOW!]

Russell Ash

• Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
  (1990, New York, Harry N Abrams).
  64 illustrations, including 40 color plates.
  Reproductions of Victorian artist Alma-Tadema's paintings set in the ancient Roman era include A Coign of Vantage, A Dedication to Bacchus, A Difference of Opinion, A Favourite Custom, A Hearty Welcome, A Kiss, A Reading from Homer, A Sculpture Gallery in Rome at the time of Augustus, An Apodyterium, An Earthly Paradise, Antony and Cleopatra, Ask Me No More, At Aphrodite's Cradle, Caracalla and Geta, Egyptian Juggler, Expectations, God Speed!, Her Eyes are with Her Thoughts, and They Are Far Away, In the Peristyle, In the Tepidarium, Proclaiming Claudius Emperor, Promise of Spring, Silver Favourites, Spring, Strigils and Sponges, The Baths of Caracalla, The Education of the Children of Clovis, The Favourite Poet, The Frigidarium, The Parting Kiss, The Phyrric Dance, The Roses of Heliogabalus, The Vintage Festival, The Voice of Spring, The Year's at the Spring, All's Right with the World, Unconscious Rivals, Under the Roof of Blue Ionian Weather, Vain Courtship, Welcome Footsteps. [ORDER NOW!]