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Grande Viagem pelo Império Romano
Uma viagem exploratória do vasto Império Romano
Durante a Pax Romana, as viagens e o turismo conheceram um estrondoso desenvolvimento no Império Romano. Esta estabilidade permitia deslocações nas suas várias por terra e mar; em representação oficial, em estudo ou em turismo; de oficiais, de ricos proprietários, de artistas e artesãos, de enfermos. As cidades adquiriram um novo nível de cosmopolitismo e a religião acolheu novas influências.
Viajando através dos grandes centros culturais, passando pelos antigos monumentos e pelas províncias mais afastadas, Falx explora o vasto Império Romano numa jornada que permite ao leitor mais sedentário experienciar com vívido detalhe a vida no Império.
Durante a Pax Romana, as viagens e o turismo conheceram um estrondoso desenvolvimento no Império Romano. Esta estabilidade permitia deslocações nas suas várias por terra e mar; em representação oficial, em estudo ou em turismo; de oficiais, de ricos proprietários, de artistas e artesãos, de enfermos. As cidades adquiriram um novo nível de cosmopolitismo e a religião acolheu novas influências.
Viajando através dos grandes centros culturais, passando pelos antigos monumentos e pelas províncias mais afastadas, Falx explora o vasto Império Romano numa jornada que permite ao leitor mais sedentário experienciar com vívido detalhe a vida no Império.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
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Published January 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 21, 2024
Юхуу! И това приключение свърши.
Време е за уточнение - оценка ми е 3,5. Коректно изложени факти, по достъпен за масовия читател начин, ясно посочени източници, допълнителна литература за заинтересованите - досадният Brittunculus* си е свършил добре работата (но пък за ръководител на катедра в Кеймбридж това си е буквално минимално изискване). Лично за мен наративът е малко суховат, а темпото на действието избива на Presto. Фалкс пък е толкова досаден - как не го изядох с парцалите. Но нека подчертая - това е критика към стила, не към качеството на написаното, което е в крайна сметка научнопопулярен текст и най-важното е даде на неспециалиста възможност да научи нещо интересно (и вярно) без да бъде удавен в безкрайни дискусии. Така че препоръката ми е да не се влияете от отрицателния дял на моето мнение и да си дадете шанс да направите едно пътешествие из античния свят**.
* "Гадно малко британче" - така алтер егото на Тонър, упоменатият в заглавието Марк Сидоний Фалкс, нарича автора.
** Съвет - внимавайте с тиквите!
Време е за уточнение - оценка ми е 3,5. Коректно изложени факти, по достъпен за масовия читател начин, ясно посочени източници, допълнителна литература за заинтересованите - досадният Brittunculus* си е свършил добре работата (но пък за ръководител на катедра в Кеймбридж това си е буквално минимално изискване). Лично за мен наративът е малко суховат, а темпото на действието избива на Presto. Фалкс пък е толкова досаден - как не го изядох с парцалите. Но нека подчертая - това е критика към стила, не към качеството на написаното, което е в крайна сметка научнопопулярен текст и най-важното е даде на неспециалиста възможност да научи нещо интересно (и вярно) без да бъде удавен в безкрайни дискусии. Така че препоръката ми е да не се влияете от отрицателния дял на моето мнение и да си дадете шанс да направите едно пътешествие из античния свят**.
* "Гадно малко британче" - така алтер егото на Тонър, упоменатият в заглавието Марк Сидоний Фалкс, нарича автора.
** Съвет - внимавайте с тиквите!
July 30, 2022
Uma forma diferente de aprender sobre a influência histórica e cultural do império romano. Neste livro leve, Jerry Tones leva-nos num périplo à volta do império, pelas mãos do seu personagem. Este, um nobre caído em desgraça perante o imperador, decide afastar-se da cidade capital e ir para as províncias, esperando que o tempo suavize a sua desgraça (spoiler: não será bem sucedido). Mas este livro não é um romance, segue o caminho de um guia de viagem onde o nobre romano viaja pelas províncias do império, visitando as suas cidades, lugares pitorescos e de culto, atravessando as suas vias imperiais e convivendo com os cidadãos locais, colonos romanos ou indígenas romanizados.
O périplo abarca o império no auge do seu poderio militar e económico, e extensão territorial. O nobre viaja à volta do mediterrâneo, passando da península itálica para a Grécia, cuja influência cultural sobre os romanos era enorme, atravessa a Síria e Judeia, delicia-se com os restos da grande civilização egípcia, descobre as delícias das cidades das costas africanas rodeadas de desertos, descansa nos prados bucólicos da Hispânia, atravessa a Gália pata chegar à Britânia e poder visitar o filho, oficial nas legiões que vigiam a muralha de Adriano. Ao longo da viagem, fala-nos dos usos e costumes locais, da sua romanização, dos mitos e lendas, e a da importância das redes de produção e transporte para a economia do império.
O tom leve disfarça um trabalho monumental. O que Toner realmente faz é canalizar uma série de leituras académicas sobre Roma, quer de textos nossos contemporâneos quer às fontes romanas. As palavras e histórias que Tácito, Plínio, Séneca, Cícero ou Catão, entre outros, nos legaram do seu longínquo passado são aqui fragmentadas e incorporadas numa narrativa coerente, num divertido guia turístico do império Romano.
O périplo abarca o império no auge do seu poderio militar e económico, e extensão territorial. O nobre viaja à volta do mediterrâneo, passando da península itálica para a Grécia, cuja influência cultural sobre os romanos era enorme, atravessa a Síria e Judeia, delicia-se com os restos da grande civilização egípcia, descobre as delícias das cidades das costas africanas rodeadas de desertos, descansa nos prados bucólicos da Hispânia, atravessa a Gália pata chegar à Britânia e poder visitar o filho, oficial nas legiões que vigiam a muralha de Adriano. Ao longo da viagem, fala-nos dos usos e costumes locais, da sua romanização, dos mitos e lendas, e a da importância das redes de produção e transporte para a economia do império.
O tom leve disfarça um trabalho monumental. O que Toner realmente faz é canalizar uma série de leituras académicas sobre Roma, quer de textos nossos contemporâneos quer às fontes romanas. As palavras e histórias que Tácito, Plínio, Séneca, Cícero ou Catão, entre outros, nos legaram do seu longínquo passado são aqui fragmentadas e incorporadas numa narrativa coerente, num divertido guia turístico do império Romano.
June 27, 2024
The book is, in my opinion, a fascinating way for students to get familiar with the way Romans perceived their world, and also imagine the Ancient world as it was in the high-day of the Roman empire. The descriptions are vivid, and any student of Latin would easily recognize how Toner has incorporated parts of famous text into his narrative, not to mention his quotation section after each chapter. The book does stand somewhat chaotic, but since this is the first thing of the kind I stumble upon, I cannot quite compare it to other similar texts and thus would abstain from giving further criticism. I do needed some more detail at certain stops along Falx's journey, yet Toner has, in general, managed to cover the main variety of topics across the book, albeit not always at the sections I'd imagine. For example wine production could have been described further in Greece and he could have spent some more pages on how ships were build or how slaves were recruited, for example in the part dedicated to the Sudan or the Berber lands of North Africa. That being said, Toner has managed to produce a substantial amount of details on how the Ancient world functioned in a comparatively short volume, which is remarkable.
Veterans of Ancient History would probably not be impressed by "The Grand Tour", but new readers would certainly find it eye-opening, a gateway to further readings and exploration of a marvelous epoch of old.
Veterans of Ancient History would probably not be impressed by "The Grand Tour", but new readers would certainly find it eye-opening, a gateway to further readings and exploration of a marvelous epoch of old.
February 5, 2024
A caballo entre la novela y el ensayo, el historiador y escritor británico Jerry Toner, despliega en "Guia de viaje por el Imperio Romano" un compendio completísimo de la civilización romana, incluyendo su estructura de sociedad, sus costumbres, sus creencias, y las características especiales de los diferentes lugares que comprendían el Imperio. Usando como vehículo un largo periplo del ficticio Marco Sidonio Falco, el lector viaja por todos los confines del Imperio Romano (Grecia, Egipto, Cartago, Hispania, Galia, Britania...) con una entretenida e interesante narración del propio Falco. Cada capítulo termina con los comentarios académicos de Toner, que pone en contexto lo contado por Falco. Es una mezcla curiosa, porque no es una novela ni un ensayo, de tal manera que se hace entretenida y accesible, aunque a veces deseas que Falco cuente más aventuras y Toner haga menos comentarios. En general es un libro interesante y, sobre todo, diría que muy bueno para la divulgación.
July 24, 2024
A surprisingly meta-commentary tour of the Empire at its height, including of-the-time opinions, mitigated by a more modern overview at the end of each chapter. It makes for an entertaining change from the usual writing on this subject...and it concludes in blunt & devastating fashion.
December 26, 2024
I found this lacking without maps. It would have been amazing with a map for each chapter showing the locations and route. But despite this and other frustrations, it was still a fun and novel way to race through a bunch of original sources and get a brief overview of the geography of Ancient Rome.
July 16, 2024
Ако темата за Римската империя ви е слабост,то това е една добра опция да научите нещо ново,поне малко да си представите какъв е бил живота на римляните и как може да се направи една голяма туристическа обиколка от Италия до Сирия ,от Египет до Британия .
April 15, 2023
This book foes a very good job at getting the geography of much of the Roman Empire into a very digestible and readable form, and really helps give context to the massively complex beast the empire was, one that brought many positives such as peace to Europe as well as techlogical innovations that wouldn't go matched until centuries later, making the empire further united. It also made me realize how truly diverse the empire was, and a rare example of how all these different lived in (relative) peace and could trade and prosper together.
That being said the empire was also built on oppression and slavery. The regions that experienced peace usually only did so after decades of conquest and revolt, and despite the diversity of the empire, the Italains themselves were clearly in charge, and were greatly prejucded against other groups as well as lower classes.
The first person perspective helped put the Roman empire into context, and generally made the text much more readable. However my main complaint of the writing is the author would to frequently break character within the first person sections to go on basically massive trivia dumps that didn't service the book in anyway, for example a section within the Egypt chapter which was just about the different types of papyrus and went on for about 6 pages felt longer to read then the rest of the book itself.
While not perfect, it serves as a very good and digestible introduction into life in the Roman empire, and would recommend to anyone looking to get into Roman history.
That being said the empire was also built on oppression and slavery. The regions that experienced peace usually only did so after decades of conquest and revolt, and despite the diversity of the empire, the Italains themselves were clearly in charge, and were greatly prejucded against other groups as well as lower classes.
The first person perspective helped put the Roman empire into context, and generally made the text much more readable. However my main complaint of the writing is the author would to frequently break character within the first person sections to go on basically massive trivia dumps that didn't service the book in anyway, for example a section within the Egypt chapter which was just about the different types of papyrus and went on for about 6 pages felt longer to read then the rest of the book itself.
While not perfect, it serves as a very good and digestible introduction into life in the Roman empire, and would recommend to anyone looking to get into Roman history.
May 14, 2023
Este es un libro muy curiosa, narra el viaje por el imperio romano en época imperial, parte desde Roma pasando por Grecia, Turquia, bajando por Israel, Egipto, Cartago, España, Francia y la Britania, va narrando histotia de esos lugares.
Me resultaba extraño leer cosas que le van pasando en esos lugares un tanto bromistas, hay partes del libro muy de ensayo narrando la historia real en tiempo del imperio y eso es lo que mas me gustó, Alejandria, el Nilo, Cartago o Tarraco me gustó mucho leer su historia romana.
Recomiendo el libro pero hay que tomarselo para entrener por que lo veo muy práctico para aprender sobre la historia de Roma.
Me resultaba extraño leer cosas que le van pasando en esos lugares un tanto bromistas, hay partes del libro muy de ensayo narrando la historia real en tiempo del imperio y eso es lo que mas me gustó, Alejandria, el Nilo, Cartago o Tarraco me gustó mucho leer su historia romana.
Recomiendo el libro pero hay que tomarselo para entrener por que lo veo muy práctico para aprender sobre la historia de Roma.
September 15, 2025
4/5
Jerry Toner’s A Grand Tour of the Roman Empire, written through the voice of the fictional Roman aristocrat Marcus Sidonius Falx, is an engaging and often humorous look at life in the Roman world. The book invites the reader to travel alongside Falx as he tours different parts of the empire, observing customs, daily life, and the many ways Romans perceived their place in the world.
I really enjoyed the concept of the book and found it a fascinating way to imagine the ancient world as it might have been during the height of Rome’s power. The descriptions are vivid, and Toner manages to weave historical details into a narrative that feels both informative and entertaining. His incorporation of quotations from ancient texts at the end of each chapter is especially valuable - it grounds the imaginative journey in real sources that students of Latin and classics will recognize.
That said, the humor is a mixed bag. At times I found it funny and refreshing, but there were also moments when the jokes fell flat or became a little boring. The pacing occasionally suffered as a result, and I caught myself losing focus in certain sections. Similarly, while the book covers a wide variety of topics across the empire, I sometimes wished for more depth in particular areas. For example, wine production in Greece, shipbuilding, or the recruitment of slaves in places like the Sudan and Berber North Africa could have been explored more fully.
Still, I admire how much Toner managed to fit into a comparatively short volume. He gives readers a broad overview of how the Roman world functioned without overwhelming them with too much technical detail. For newcomers to ancient history, this book is an eye-opening introduction and an excellent gateway to further reading. More seasoned readers, however, may find the content less impressive or even too light.
Overall, A Grand Tour of the Roman Empire is a creative and enjoyable book that blends history, humor, and imagination. It’s not without its duller stretches, but as a whole, it succeeds in bringing the Roman Empire to life in a way that’s accessible and memorable.
Jerry Toner’s A Grand Tour of the Roman Empire, written through the voice of the fictional Roman aristocrat Marcus Sidonius Falx, is an engaging and often humorous look at life in the Roman world. The book invites the reader to travel alongside Falx as he tours different parts of the empire, observing customs, daily life, and the many ways Romans perceived their place in the world.
I really enjoyed the concept of the book and found it a fascinating way to imagine the ancient world as it might have been during the height of Rome’s power. The descriptions are vivid, and Toner manages to weave historical details into a narrative that feels both informative and entertaining. His incorporation of quotations from ancient texts at the end of each chapter is especially valuable - it grounds the imaginative journey in real sources that students of Latin and classics will recognize.
That said, the humor is a mixed bag. At times I found it funny and refreshing, but there were also moments when the jokes fell flat or became a little boring. The pacing occasionally suffered as a result, and I caught myself losing focus in certain sections. Similarly, while the book covers a wide variety of topics across the empire, I sometimes wished for more depth in particular areas. For example, wine production in Greece, shipbuilding, or the recruitment of slaves in places like the Sudan and Berber North Africa could have been explored more fully.
Still, I admire how much Toner managed to fit into a comparatively short volume. He gives readers a broad overview of how the Roman world functioned without overwhelming them with too much technical detail. For newcomers to ancient history, this book is an eye-opening introduction and an excellent gateway to further reading. More seasoned readers, however, may find the content less impressive or even too light.
Overall, A Grand Tour of the Roman Empire is a creative and enjoyable book that blends history, humor, and imagination. It’s not without its duller stretches, but as a whole, it succeeds in bringing the Roman Empire to life in a way that’s accessible and memorable.
August 4, 2024
This book is written from the perspective of (i.e. narrated by) a wealthy Roman on a grand tour of the empire, and I assumed this would make for a fairly interesting read, but the author manages to make it somewhat tedious, to the point that, after having set it aside half-way through due to being bored with it, it took me over two years to finally pick it back up and finish it.
The revelations inside may be of mild interest to someone who knows nothing at all about ancient Rome, but they can all be found - and more interestingly written - in any of the primary sources that the author cites.
At no point is it made clear in what year the ancient traveler is making his journey, and the narrator rattles off ancient Roman place names but many times offers no clue to the modern reader (even in Jerry Toner's modern commentary at the end of each chapter) regarding where these places are located, so I often felt lost both in time and place while reading. A few maps might have come in handy, and a quick overview of what year the journey was taking place would have helped. I assume it takes place during the later years of Hadrian or in the early reign of Antoninus Pius, but this is never clarified.
Added to this, the narrator is fairly unlikeable, and while this was a conscious decision on the part of the author, it makes the book that much more difficult to read. There are times during the narrative where the narrator acts extremely callously, and while I'm sure some wealthy Romans may well have acted in this way, a little humor at the narrator's expense might have come in useful at such points, but the author never manages to pull this off. The narrator is bland, snobbish, and humorless, and the book comes across that way too. It would have been better, I think, if the book had been narrated by one of Marcus Falx's servants, rather than by Falx himself.
The book feels very disjointed in places, and seems to have been written as essays on various aspects of life in the empire, and then half-heartedly strung together to make a book. The most obvious example of this is the final chapter, which switches perspective from Marcus Falx to (presumably) one if his retinue with no explanation, which is extremely jarring - another clue that the book was quickly cobbled together and published in an unfinished state.
All-in-all, a disappointing excursion into ancient Rome. Sadly, not recommended.
The revelations inside may be of mild interest to someone who knows nothing at all about ancient Rome, but they can all be found - and more interestingly written - in any of the primary sources that the author cites.
At no point is it made clear in what year the ancient traveler is making his journey, and the narrator rattles off ancient Roman place names but many times offers no clue to the modern reader (even in Jerry Toner's modern commentary at the end of each chapter) regarding where these places are located, so I often felt lost both in time and place while reading. A few maps might have come in handy, and a quick overview of what year the journey was taking place would have helped. I assume it takes place during the later years of Hadrian or in the early reign of Antoninus Pius, but this is never clarified.
Added to this, the narrator is fairly unlikeable, and while this was a conscious decision on the part of the author, it makes the book that much more difficult to read. There are times during the narrative where the narrator acts extremely callously, and while I'm sure some wealthy Romans may well have acted in this way, a little humor at the narrator's expense might have come in useful at such points, but the author never manages to pull this off. The narrator is bland, snobbish, and humorless, and the book comes across that way too. It would have been better, I think, if the book had been narrated by one of Marcus Falx's servants, rather than by Falx himself.
The book feels very disjointed in places, and seems to have been written as essays on various aspects of life in the empire, and then half-heartedly strung together to make a book. The most obvious example of this is the final chapter, which switches perspective from Marcus Falx to (presumably) one if his retinue with no explanation, which is extremely jarring - another clue that the book was quickly cobbled together and published in an unfinished state.
All-in-all, a disappointing excursion into ancient Rome. Sadly, not recommended.
February 25, 2024
I felt this was a missed opportunity. A great idea poorly executed. Falx can't seem to decide if he's writing travel diaries or listing facts, and as a result is fairly two dimensional and not particularly likeable. Some aspects of the empire such as slavery are strongly written which is good, but overall I was left unsatisfied. I needed dates and particularly maps, which would have made such a big difference to my enjoyment as I was constantly interrupting my reading to look things up. I read this as I have been reading a lot of fiction set in the 1st century empire and wanted to know more, I didn't get what I wanted.
January 9, 2025
+ really enjoyed the descriptions and tone; Toner nailed the “Ancient Roman” style
+ pastoral turn for Gaul was really enjoyable
+ great descriptions of ancient landmarks
+ the characters we met felt appropriate for Roman literature
+ the commentary was complete, and gave the reader plenty of ancient texts to explore
- no cohesive sense of time across the book
- no map in the front to track Falx’s journey :(
+ pastoral turn for Gaul was really enjoyable
+ great descriptions of ancient landmarks
+ the characters we met felt appropriate for Roman literature
+ the commentary was complete, and gave the reader plenty of ancient texts to explore
- no cohesive sense of time across the book
- no map in the front to track Falx’s journey :(
April 25, 2023
An interesting approach - a view of the Roman Empire at its peak from the point of view of a Roman aristocrat. The plot isn't amazing, however it does give a literal tour of the various provinces of the Empire.
The prominence of slavery & how engrained it was in ancient Roman society really comes through in this book.
The prominence of slavery & how engrained it was in ancient Roman society really comes through in this book.
November 12, 2024
Jerry Torner se está convirtiendo en uno de mis autores favoritos y este es un libro que disfruté bastante. Aunque la experiencia puede estar algo alterada por haberlo leído durante 3 días sin luz.
December 23, 2022
El libro de Jerry Toner (256 páginas distribuida en 10 capítulos) expone de una manera amena un viaje a lo largo y ancho del Imperio Romano. Su recorrido desde Grecia hasta Britania, organizado por capítulos, es una excusa perfecta para divulgar la historia social de la Antiga Roma en época altoimperial. De un academicismo no excesivo pero riguroso (condensado en comentarios a final de cada capítulo), Jerry Toner consigue que el lector se adentre en las vicisitudes y anécdotas de Marco Sidonio Falco.
September 16, 2023
Divertido y entretenido, a lo que nos tiene acostumbrados Toner, repite en este libro el tono de "Cómo manejar a tus esclavos". Esta vez viajamos con su personaje Marco Sidonio Falco por todo el imperio romano con la excusa de su exilio y aprovecha Toner para contarnos muchísimas anécdotas, historias y, por supuesto, Historia de los romanos.
October 27, 2025
Като цяло интересна книга. За изграждането на римските пътища, Елевзинските мистерии и Олимпийските игри бях наясно. Най-любопитно ми беше за видовете хартия и нейното качество. Хубаво е, че са посочени древните автори от които са почерпили разказаните случки. Главният герой на моменти е доста досаден.
December 31, 2025
Una introducción amena a los lugares que conformaban el imperio romano en su esplendor. Algunos momentos graciosos y anécdotas curiosas, pero en general poco más.
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