paperback, 608 pages
Published Sept. 6, 2016 by Liveright Publishing Corporation, Liveright.
chatty, repetitive, a lot of pop culture / contemporary politics references, didn't finish
I really enjoyed it - I wished it were twice as long!
Particularly I liked the mix of historical narrative and in depth study of the "Roman character" - the thoughts and mind of different segments of society through the history of the Republic and early empire. She humanizes and demythologizes a lot of elements of Ancient Rome that seem taken for granted in the contemporary popular consciousness.
A great history of Rome from its supposed inception in the 8th century BCE to the extension of citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire in 212 CE. Professor Beard avoids the part of the story that usually concerns us, its end, and instead discusses the development of the republic and its progression to imperial Rome. (Certainly, our concern for modern parallels is understandable; was Mr. Trump ever called "little boots"?) The author spends considerable time discussing not only what we know, but also how we know it. I found this aspect of the history fascinating, especially how she uses her extensive knowledge to interpret the possible motivations of the great ancient speakers, and why some are preserved and others lost to us. The chapter on the lives of common people is also very good, including, as evidence, Pompeian graffiti and the details of the tombs of various artisans. …
A great history of Rome from its supposed inception in the 8th century BCE to the extension of citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire in 212 CE. Professor Beard avoids the part of the story that usually concerns us, its end, and instead discusses the development of the republic and its progression to imperial Rome. (Certainly, our concern for modern parallels is understandable; was Mr. Trump ever called "little boots"?) The author spends considerable time discussing not only what we know, but also how we know it. I found this aspect of the history fascinating, especially how she uses her extensive knowledge to interpret the possible motivations of the great ancient speakers, and why some are preserved and others lost to us. The chapter on the lives of common people is also very good, including, as evidence, Pompeian graffiti and the details of the tombs of various artisans.
My notes include:
The number 40,000 may have been used in ancient times to mean a very large number, as in our use of "millions".
The reminder that ancient peoples had no maps.
A reminder from Prof. Beard of the meaning of average life expectancy, i.e. that some people have always lived as long as they do today, and that the principal determining factor is infant mortality.
The working title of The Great Gatsby was Trimalchio at West Egg.
Caesar apparently never said, "Et tu, Brute?", it was an invention of Shakespeare.
I had mistakenly thought that the months of July and August were added, but they were renamed. August had been Sextilis.
Biscuits were handed out at Roman sacrifices and they were stamped with the emperor's likeness. [!]
The story in the Talmud that Emperor Titus had his brain devoured by a gnat after he destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.
Why the Colosseum has its name.
In ancient Greece and Rome, slaves were only permitted to give testimony under torture.
This is a 1-volume history of Ancient Rome from its mythical inception to about 200CE (AD). Not exactly sure as I haven't finished yet.
Beard is a scholar of Roman history who has worked on it for about 50 years. The book is very readable and very interesting, while drawing on many recent discoveries that have changed our view of Roman history considerably.
For me, the reason for reading this is to gain a perspective on a very sophisticated civilisation that in some ways led directly to our current western civilisation and, on the other hand, is very different in its ideas to many of our current ideas, especially in the ethical sphere. I find that by looking at how they differ from us, I can see that some of our ideas that are so ingrained that we do not realise we hold them are in fact open to useful …
This is a 1-volume history of Ancient Rome from its mythical inception to about 200CE (AD). Not exactly sure as I haven't finished yet.
Beard is a scholar of Roman history who has worked on it for about 50 years. The book is very readable and very interesting, while drawing on many recent discoveries that have changed our view of Roman history considerably.
For me, the reason for reading this is to gain a perspective on a very sophisticated civilisation that in some ways led directly to our current western civilisation and, on the other hand, is very different in its ideas to many of our current ideas, especially in the ethical sphere. I find that by looking at how they differ from us, I can see that some of our ideas that are so ingrained that we do not realise we hold them are in fact open to useful questioning.
The ancient Romans invented institutions and ideas that underlie many still current today and yet they are now subtly (or not so subtly) different. Beard points these out but leaves her readers to draw their own conclusions.
Caution: you might want to read at least a Wikipedia summary of the history as she seems to assume a (very basic) knowledge of the arc of Roman history (Kings/Republic/Emperors) and half a dozen of the most famous people - not a problem for me as I've read other books, and she does explain most, eventually.
