Day in Old Rome

Davis takes you on an interesting walking tour of old Athens. He begins by entering the town at sunrise, beginning the day at market where people are eager to hear or tell "some new thing" . He continues throughout the city, meeting with every aspect of Athenian life and culture. This is very interesting reading, especially in conjunction with a study of Greek history or Homeric literature. It will give a broader understanding of the lifestyle and values of the Greeks.

This little book tries to describe what an intelligent person would see and hear in ancient Athens, if by some legerdemain he were translated to the fourth century B.C. and conducted about the city under competent guidance. Rare happenings have been omitted and sometimes, to avoid long explanations, PROBABLE matters have been stated as if they were ascertained facts; but these instances are few. (1914)

This is one of those rare history books that should never go out of print. It tells you so many of the details of Roman life. Did you ever wonder what Romans wore under those togas? They wore a tunic, which is a thing like a night shirt. Upper classes were allowed (encouraged, actually) to wear a purple stripe down their tunic (wide ones for Senators, narrow ones for Equites), and that's how people knew if you were or were not upper class (I mean besides all those slaves running after you). It's a very complete picture, describing houses, tenements, public eating houses, the public baths, schools,what a Roman banquet was like, the pots and pans in the kitchen, and even sandals. Did you know the proper number present at a Roman banquet was 9? Why? The couches held three people and there were three couches, ergo 9 people. That was tradition. Just about everything you'd want to know about day-to-day Roman life is in this one small book. It's great. You'll love it. I've got to have "A Day in Old Athens," now. By same author.