A
cabinet of Roman curiosities
strange tales and surprising facts from the world's greatest empire
McKeown, J. C.
creator
text
enk
Oxford
New York
Oxford University Press
2010
monographic
eng
xi, 243 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
The ancient Romans have left us far more information about themselves than has any other Western society until much more recent times. But what we know about them is sometimes bizarre, and hardly fits the conventional view of the Romans as a pragmatic people with a ruthlessly efficient army and a very logical and well ordered language. A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities is a serendipitous collection of odd facts and opinions, carefully gleaned from the wide body of evidence left to us by the Romans themselves. Each highlights a unique and curious feature of life in ancient Rome. Readers will find a plethora of trivial but fascinating facts about Rome, from the fantastical (a description of werewolves) to the quotidian (styles of chamber pots), and from the refined (dining etiquette of Pompeiians) to the crude (punishments for mutineers). The author has organized the entries around major themes-e.g., The Army, Women, Education, Foreigners, Spectacles, etc.-making the book easily accessible for quick browsing or for more deliberate consumption. Throughout, the purpose of the enterprise is to amuse and to stimulate an interest in the ancient world's most remarkable and abundantly documented empire. - COPAC
Family life -- Women -- Names -- Education -- The army -- Romans at sea -- The law -- Farming -- Medicine -- Religion & superstition -- The life of the mind -- Foreigners -- Slaves -- Animals -- Spectacles -- Food & drink -- Decadence -- buildings -- Pompeii & Herculaneum -- Toilets -- Not for the puritanical -- Tempus fugit -- Kings, consuls & emperors.
J. C. McKeown.
Rome
Civilization
Miscellanea
Rome
History
Miscellanea
DG77 .M425 2010
937
9780195393750
2009043574
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1101/2009043574-b.html
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1101/2009043574-d.html
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1101/2009043574-t.html
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1101/2009043574-b.html
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1101/2009043574-d.html
http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1101/2009043574-t.html
DLC
091019
20160708130616.0
15951830