As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History

I must say this was an incredibly fun sourcebook to read. At times it had me laughing with humorous quotations such as; "I am amazed, o wall, that you have not collapsed and fallen, since you must bear the tedious stupidities of so many scrawlers" and at other times I would shudder; "Good God, what scrawny little slaves they were! Their skin was everywhere embroidered with purple welts from their many beatings. Their backs, scarred from floggings... their complexions were an ugly yellow..." Using a slew of both primary and secondary sources, Jo-Ann Shelton takes us through the life of the Romans. Covering topics as varied as slavery, provincial administration, the family unit, the magistrates and occupations, we are brought directly into Roman life with all of its practices, norms, values and peculiarities. The key feature of this book is the focus on the common Roman and how they lived with a section devoted entirely to woman in Roman society, a much overlooked topic. From dinner parties to funeral clubs, all aspects of the common Romans life are discussed. In all a very worthwhile book to own and use as both a source of reference and entertainment!

I had to read this book for one of my University courses on Roman history (the first half), and while the other books I was forced to go through were dry and rather boring, unless your mind was concentrating hard, this book managed to bring Roman history and life ALIVE.The footnotes given are an absolute gem - to me, they WERE the high point of the book. Shelton does a fantastic job of explaining what certain words, phrases, rituals or just ideas the Romans held in the past. As stated previously, the book isn't "dry", by this I mean there isn't an action by action replay of things that don't really illustrate the true life they lived. Instead, there are bits and pieces of writings from various Romans about their life - such as a Roman writing a letter to a friend to tell him why no one attends his dinners anymore, (even with the lure of free food) because they can't stand to hear him recite his boring poetry before, during and after dinner! The humour in some of these pieces really made it all come alive.Excellent read.

An extraordinary book, it alternates concise, cogent discussions of every aspect of Roman life with equally concise, cogent and elegantly translated short selections from Roman sources that illuminate the topic, serving both as a window on the lives of the Romans and as a comprehensive introduction to the wealth of Roman literature and documents that have survived. I was always entertained and often surprised and moved by the insights the book offered into Roman attitudes about government, religion, family life, economic striving, military affairs, and much, much more. Ranging from the laments of dramatists about the short attention spans of their audiences to the complaints of neighbors about the noise of early morning classes for school children, the book is so comprehensive - and Rome has so pervasively influenced our lives today - that a selection even explains why for over two thousand years grooms have traditionally carried their brides across the threshold.

This book truly makes the ancient Romans come alive. The passages Shelton includes were written by ancient Romans themselves, so it is as though they are able to speak to us and tell us of their everyday lives. In this book it becomes clear that they were really not so different from people today, having many of the same problems and concerns. Shelton also uses very helpful cross referencing, as well as a thorough appendix and index, which aid the reader in fully understanding the book, which is not a difficult read at all.

reads like a novel, concentrates on everyday life rather than great historical events. Truely the mose informative and pleasant book to read for anyone with a desire to learn more on ancient Roman life.