And to enhance the author's an-hour-in-the-life descriptions, Philip Matyszak provides further information in boxed text (for example, a brief account of the Great Fire in AD64), and extracts from writings by contemporary Romans. This kind of detail is what makes the book so delightful. A wash of water and urine was used for laundry.
Stuffed udders are a prized dinner delicacy. Many schoolteachers are freed slaves and, therefore, viewed somewhat disdainfully. A labouring woman's hair must be unknotted. But the farmer earns more if he takes the goods direct to market himself. We learn that the peasant farmer can sell his produce to a wholesaler to save himself a torturous trip to Rome (green beans are sold to the lupinarii, melons to the peponarii and cherries and peaches to the fructarii). Each chapter is filled with fascinating snippets. In between, we peek into the lives of a slave girl, a new mother, a vestal virgin, a teenage girl who breaks up with her boyfriend, a baker, a messenger, a prostitute, and more. We start with Brevis the nightwatchman at midnight (Hora Noctis VI) and end with Selius, a para sitos, a sort of professional dinner guest, if you will, at 11 p.m. There are (of course) 24 chapters, each devoted to a different person. And the lovely artwork on the front cover made this book all the more appealing. So when my eye fell upon Philip Matyszak's 24 Hours in Ancient Rome, and its claim to introduce readers to the real Ancient Rome by examining the lives of ordinary people, I decided it was high time to update my education. Blame my teachers, or our oh-so-dry visits to Roman villas with their earnest interpretation panels, or perhaps I just daydreamed through all the interesting bits… Somehow I entered adulthood with the impression that all Romans were bloodthirsty and hedonistic heathens with little to recommend them.
I've never been that interested in Ancient Rome. Summary: An engaging account of ordinary lives in Ancient Rome.
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