| A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the World's Greatest Empire Contributor(s): McKeown, J. C. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0195393759 ISBN-13: 9780195393750 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $17.99 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2010 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Ancient - Rome - Literary Criticism | Ancient And Classical |
| Dewey: 937 |
| LCCN: 2009043574 |
| Physical Information: 1.2" H x 5.7" W x 8.3" (0.95 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) - Cultural Region - Italy |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Here is a whimsical and captivating collection of odd facts, strange beliefs, outlandish opinions, and other highly amusing trivia of the ancient Romans. We tend to think of the Romans as a pragmatic people with a ruthlessly efficient army, an exemplary legal system, and a precise and elegant language. A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities shows that the Romans were equally capable of bizarre superstitions, logic-defying customs, and often hilariously derisive views of their fellow Romans and non-Romans. Classicist J. C. McKeown has organized the entries in this entertaining volume around major themes--The Army, Women, Religion and Superstition, Family Life, Medicine, Slaves, Spectacles--allowing for quick browsing or more deliberate consumption. Among the book's many gems are: - Romans on urban living: The satirist Juvenal lists fires, falling buildings, and poets reciting in August as hazards to life in Rome. - On enhanced interrogation: If we are obliged to take evidence from an arena-fighter or some other such person, his testimony is not to be believed unless given under torture. (Justinian) - On dreams: Dreaming of eating books foretells advantage to teachers, lecturers, and anyone who earns his livelihood from books, but for everyone else it means sudden death - On food: When people unwittingly eat human flesh, served by unscrupulous restaurant owners and other such people, the similarity to pork is often noted. (Galen) - On marriage: In ancient Rome a marriage could be arranged even when the parties were absent, so long as they knew of the arrangement, or agreed to it subsequently. - On health care: Pliny caustically described medical bills as a down payment on death, and Martial quipped that Diaulus used to be a doctor, now he's a mortician. He does as a mortician what he did as a doctor. For anyone seeking an inglorious glimpse at the underside of the greatest empire in history, A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities offers endless delights. |