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Daily Life in Ancient Rome
This book, now available in paperback, concerns the everyday private and public lives of the citizens of ancient Rome. Drawing on a broad selection of contemporary sources, the author examines the institutions, actions and rituals of day to day life.
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First published January 1, 1993
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February 10, 2017
The Roman citizen consisted of a name and a body
Question:
What did the Romans do in their leisure time?
Answer:
Firstly, it is probably useful to understand how Romans viewed each year. The year was divided into two sections, with March to September being known as 'military season' (p. 199), and September, November, and December set aside for social life (p. 203), which was largely filled with feasts, in which war plunder was consumed. Feasts were also held at the beginning and the end of the military season. The latter feast was accompanied with The Roman Games, which was held during the first fortnight of September. After this celebration, the audience, sometimes up to 300,000 people, would flock to the circus show. Slaves were also allowed to witness, as long as they stayed in the back.
Now the macro is covered, the micro can be explored:
Romans lived out their life according to the annual and daily alterations of effort and rest. In the morning, a citizen would crowd into his atrium, and then arrive to the forum. Likewise, peasants would begin to work. By the middle of the afternoon, everyone would have returned home to rest and repair themselves by having a bath (p. 181).
The evening, which the Romans saw as a time of 'rest', was a time for pleasure, and banqueting to unwind physically, freeing the spirit which, with the help of wine, forgot all worries. Rest was all about lying down, sipping wine, eating tender food, and recovering from the toil of the day (p. 181).
Later in the evening, Romans returned to the forum. Everyone would wander and mingle: men, women, citizens, slaves, courtesans and male prostitutes. People sold honey cakes, sausages and hot drinks. There were jugglers, storytellers and prophets. The day then ended with the only real meal of the day, the cena, either at home with family, or at the house of a friend who was throwing a banquet (p. 181). This opening up the house to friends formed the terrain for an expression of sociability that linked the outside world through a shared intimacy (p. 99).
Question:
What did the Romans do in their leisure time?
Answer:
Firstly, it is probably useful to understand how Romans viewed each year. The year was divided into two sections, with March to September being known as 'military season' (p. 199), and September, November, and December set aside for social life (p. 203), which was largely filled with feasts, in which war plunder was consumed. Feasts were also held at the beginning and the end of the military season. The latter feast was accompanied with The Roman Games, which was held during the first fortnight of September. After this celebration, the audience, sometimes up to 300,000 people, would flock to the circus show. Slaves were also allowed to witness, as long as they stayed in the back.
Now the macro is covered, the micro can be explored:
Romans lived out their life according to the annual and daily alterations of effort and rest. In the morning, a citizen would crowd into his atrium, and then arrive to the forum. Likewise, peasants would begin to work. By the middle of the afternoon, everyone would have returned home to rest and repair themselves by having a bath (p. 181).
The evening, which the Romans saw as a time of 'rest', was a time for pleasure, and banqueting to unwind physically, freeing the spirit which, with the help of wine, forgot all worries. Rest was all about lying down, sipping wine, eating tender food, and recovering from the toil of the day (p. 181).
Later in the evening, Romans returned to the forum. Everyone would wander and mingle: men, women, citizens, slaves, courtesans and male prostitutes. People sold honey cakes, sausages and hot drinks. There were jugglers, storytellers and prophets. The day then ended with the only real meal of the day, the cena, either at home with family, or at the house of a friend who was throwing a banquet (p. 181). This opening up the house to friends formed the terrain for an expression of sociability that linked the outside world through a shared intimacy (p. 99).
April 18, 2017
Thorough, erudite, enlightening and readable; this is a step-by-step guide to life in ancient Rome - the end of Claudius´ reign and the start of Nero´s - and is filled with so much detail it should be considered a work of reference. My favourite chapters and nuggets were those on house building and public toilets but there´s something for everyone with an interest in the period here.
January 27, 2018
This was a pretty great book about Rome. Was good to have an academic approach to this culture. Far better understanding of now of the influences and transformations that make Italian culture distinctive. Totally recommend. Very interesting sections on slavery, gender and more.
March 13, 2010
We all know about the Roman Empire. But the Republic not only sets a better example of nobility and community, but has human figures with stories equally as compelling as during the empire: From Cincinnatus who in 457 BC accepted the Senate's pleas to take on dictatorship in a time of peril, then relinquished it 16 days later when the danger was past, to Cicero, one of the greatest orators of all time. This book looks at the little things, daily life at home, daily activities in the marketplace, the citizen militia, we get a great insight into the culture that supplied the foundations for all western culture
January 19, 2018
This book has the feel of much conjecture generated from limited sources, with some of it seeming to contradict itself. Some interesting ideas to think about, but I don’t completely hold the descriptions as indicative of Roman thought and customs.
February 28, 2024
Attualmente fra i miei preferiti della collana, un po' per la scrittura ma soprattutto perché la storia romana è sempre affascinante per me, e immergersi nella loro quotidianità, capire il pensiero dietro alle azioni politiche che studiamo e su cui continuano a fioccare saggi e analisi.
Ho personalmente apprezzo i capitoli:
Sulla distribuzione cittadina, come i luoghi sono formati a rappresentare la filosofia di vita di un popolo, a immagine dei rapporti sociali e delle necessità.
Sui vestiti, perché l'abbigliamento è il riflesso all' esterno di un messaggio che vogliamo mandare come persone e la moda è parte della cultura, seppur spesso non considerata
Sul tempo perché la concezione del passato era ben diversa dalla nostra e questo approfondimento permette di capire l' approccio degli storici e dei poeti.
Sulla famiglia, in quanto i rapporti interpersonali erano alla base della società e anche della politica, e la loro complessità così lontana dalla nostra teorica linearità ci fa capire come il concetto si evolva e dia chiavi di lettura anche per l'attualità
Ho personalmente apprezzo i capitoli:
Sulla distribuzione cittadina, come i luoghi sono formati a rappresentare la filosofia di vita di un popolo, a immagine dei rapporti sociali e delle necessità.
Sui vestiti, perché l'abbigliamento è il riflesso all' esterno di un messaggio che vogliamo mandare come persone e la moda è parte della cultura, seppur spesso non considerata
Sul tempo perché la concezione del passato era ben diversa dalla nostra e questo approfondimento permette di capire l' approccio degli storici e dei poeti.
Sulla famiglia, in quanto i rapporti interpersonali erano alla base della società e anche della politica, e la loro complessità così lontana dalla nostra teorica linearità ci fa capire come il concetto si evolva e dia chiavi di lettura anche per l'attualità
August 1, 2023
Lo stile retorico di Dupont fa sì che il libro sembri scritto da un vecchio senatore conservatore, nostalgico di una società perduta e dei suoi costumi tradizionali. La scelta (mai giustificata) di limitarsi alle fonti primarie e di non citare quasi mai testi specialistici o studi della cultura materiale romana rendono l'intera operazione sospetta: la Roma descritta è priva di contraddizioni, la sua cultura coerente e condivisa da tutti i "veri" romani.
Ciò detto, è un'opera interessante, ben strutturata attorno a quattro temi chiave: il nome e l'onore degli uomini; gli spazi della vita e il rapporto - molto religioso - che i romani avevano con i confini e le linee di demarcazione in generale; il tempo e le età della vita; la dimensione corporea, fatta di vestiti, cibo e sessualità.
Ciò detto, è un'opera interessante, ben strutturata attorno a quattro temi chiave: il nome e l'onore degli uomini; gli spazi della vita e il rapporto - molto religioso - che i romani avevano con i confini e le linee di demarcazione in generale; il tempo e le età della vita; la dimensione corporea, fatta di vestiti, cibo e sessualità.
March 30, 2016
Most histories of the Roman Republic cover wars and conquests, roads and architecture. This one tells us about how the people of Rome in the centuries prior to the Empire lived. It may suffer a bit from translation, but it's interesting. Their culture was much different from ours. In some ways, it seems oppressive, barbaric, but in others surprisingly civilized.
December 28, 2017
Having read a number of the reviews of this book on Goodreads, I started reading it with some trepidation. What kind of work could elicit such a range of responses?
I think I may have identified one reason for this, which I will discuss further below. However, as a starting point, I should state that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it to be interesting, challenging and enlightening.
One point that should be borne in mind is that the English title does not accurately reflect the scope of the book in the way that its original French title does. A more precise translation would be "Daily Life of Roman citizens under the Republic". Both the temporal and social restrictions implied by the French title are respected in the work. Although non-citizens (slaves, freed men, aliens and barbarians) are mentioned, their daily life is not the subject of detailed consideration. Their role is simply by reference to the life of Roman citizens. Similarly, Dupont restricts her consideration to Republican times and she rarely adverts to the different lives of inhabitants of Rome, Italy and the provinces during the Principate. The issues are mentioned in the book's conclusion, but the restriction to the Republic creates a somewhat abrupt termination at the accession of Octavian.
Although there are 250 (approximately) footnoted references, one disturbing feature is the significant number of unsubstantiated assertions contained in the book. It is not clear if the original French book included a more detailed critical apparatus and that the English publishers decided to make the book more accessible by removing the scholarly impediment of detailed footnotes. The consequence is that one is left to trust the author's consideration, analysis and synthesis of the sources used without their being specifically identified and associated with the relevant arguments. To some extent this is a quibble because it is tolerably clear from the matters that are quoted and can be checked that the writer has been generally faithful to her sources, but a work that is of potentially great significance would be improved by the invitation to review the arguments propounded by reference to the sources relied on.
While on the subject of sources, it is interesting that although several pieces of architecture, friezes et cetera are used as illustrations, there is little apparent use in the text itselfof non-literary sources. Perhaps this is because the wrtiter is a Professor of Latin and so sees the Roman Republican world principally through the lens of literary material. However, to integrate more of the other evidence that is available in the form of archaeology and its finds, sculpture, art, numismatics and epigraphy would add to the richness of the synthesis that Dupont presents.
Now to make good on my earlier assertion. I have used the word "synthesis" deliberately when describing the propositions advanced by the writer in this book. Dupont seems to me to be clearly in the tradition of the historical school founded by Marc Bloch and Lucien Fevre have which has come to be called Annaliste. What she presents is not simply the outward manifestations of the physical life of Roman citizens during the Republic. She seeks to bring all of those matters together to enable one to identify the unique mentality of those people as a group in time. This is a somewhat difficult and different exercise from that which English-speaking historians tend to attempt. It sees the physical world as a manifestation of a culture and seeks by understanding that culture on its own terms (and not by reference to a predisposed view of history) to understand the things that those people did and how they made sense to those people. Unlike the writer of historical fiction, who tends to make people of other times behave like those of the period in which the work is written so making the acts of historical characters vehicles for current views, Annaliste works seek to accept everything that people of that time and place dis and to explain their behaviour in terms of those own peoples' understanding and psychology.
Great examples of this approach to history are rare because the temptation to present something that is logically consistent to the writer's mind rather than consistent to the mind of the subjects of the study frequently becomes impossible to deny and that ultimately turns these into lesser works of historical fiction without the benefit of a compelling plot. When that temptation is resisted and the author allows the reader to hear the people who lead them their own lives explain those lives in their own terms and assists the readers to understand that explanation, works of this kind can be incredibly valuable and stimulating. However, it is because of the vaulting ambition which motivates these works that one wishes for a full scholarly critical apparatus to test the author's argument. It is also, in my view, so unusual to many readers that as many will find it confusing and prone to unsubstantiated flights of fancy as will find it compelling, stimulating and enlightening.
I think I may have identified one reason for this, which I will discuss further below. However, as a starting point, I should state that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it to be interesting, challenging and enlightening.
One point that should be borne in mind is that the English title does not accurately reflect the scope of the book in the way that its original French title does. A more precise translation would be "Daily Life of Roman citizens under the Republic". Both the temporal and social restrictions implied by the French title are respected in the work. Although non-citizens (slaves, freed men, aliens and barbarians) are mentioned, their daily life is not the subject of detailed consideration. Their role is simply by reference to the life of Roman citizens. Similarly, Dupont restricts her consideration to Republican times and she rarely adverts to the different lives of inhabitants of Rome, Italy and the provinces during the Principate. The issues are mentioned in the book's conclusion, but the restriction to the Republic creates a somewhat abrupt termination at the accession of Octavian.
Although there are 250 (approximately) footnoted references, one disturbing feature is the significant number of unsubstantiated assertions contained in the book. It is not clear if the original French book included a more detailed critical apparatus and that the English publishers decided to make the book more accessible by removing the scholarly impediment of detailed footnotes. The consequence is that one is left to trust the author's consideration, analysis and synthesis of the sources used without their being specifically identified and associated with the relevant arguments. To some extent this is a quibble because it is tolerably clear from the matters that are quoted and can be checked that the writer has been generally faithful to her sources, but a work that is of potentially great significance would be improved by the invitation to review the arguments propounded by reference to the sources relied on.
While on the subject of sources, it is interesting that although several pieces of architecture, friezes et cetera are used as illustrations, there is little apparent use in the text itselfof non-literary sources. Perhaps this is because the wrtiter is a Professor of Latin and so sees the Roman Republican world principally through the lens of literary material. However, to integrate more of the other evidence that is available in the form of archaeology and its finds, sculpture, art, numismatics and epigraphy would add to the richness of the synthesis that Dupont presents.
Now to make good on my earlier assertion. I have used the word "synthesis" deliberately when describing the propositions advanced by the writer in this book. Dupont seems to me to be clearly in the tradition of the historical school founded by Marc Bloch and Lucien Fevre have which has come to be called Annaliste. What she presents is not simply the outward manifestations of the physical life of Roman citizens during the Republic. She seeks to bring all of those matters together to enable one to identify the unique mentality of those people as a group in time. This is a somewhat difficult and different exercise from that which English-speaking historians tend to attempt. It sees the physical world as a manifestation of a culture and seeks by understanding that culture on its own terms (and not by reference to a predisposed view of history) to understand the things that those people did and how they made sense to those people. Unlike the writer of historical fiction, who tends to make people of other times behave like those of the period in which the work is written so making the acts of historical characters vehicles for current views, Annaliste works seek to accept everything that people of that time and place dis and to explain their behaviour in terms of those own peoples' understanding and psychology.
Great examples of this approach to history are rare because the temptation to present something that is logically consistent to the writer's mind rather than consistent to the mind of the subjects of the study frequently becomes impossible to deny and that ultimately turns these into lesser works of historical fiction without the benefit of a compelling plot. When that temptation is resisted and the author allows the reader to hear the people who lead them their own lives explain those lives in their own terms and assists the readers to understand that explanation, works of this kind can be incredibly valuable and stimulating. However, it is because of the vaulting ambition which motivates these works that one wishes for a full scholarly critical apparatus to test the author's argument. It is also, in my view, so unusual to many readers that as many will find it confusing and prone to unsubstantiated flights of fancy as will find it compelling, stimulating and enlightening.
November 11, 2025
I admit it took me some time to warm up to this one. Maybe I was simply disappointed to discover that it's a strictly historical book - as opposed to archaeological. And by 'strictly' I mean exactly that; there's literally zero information in here which wouldn't be sourced from ancient Roman writings. Might sound cool at first, but what it means in practice is that the only people who are given a voice in this book are wealthy, successful noblemen; and while they were writing about other sorts of people as well, thus enabling us also to glimpse into the lives of the less fortunate (and kudos to them for doing that!), those glimpses are still filtered through the lenses of Pliny, Livy or some other Cicero. As a result, the book, especially at the beginning, has a kind of bizarre tone to it. As another reviewer put it (I'm paraphrasing here), it reads like if it was written by an old man reminiscing about the good old days of honour and glory. So I was both put off by that vibe and sceptical about it accuracy (as we all know, more often than not 'the good old days' are just a product of rose-tinted lenses of nostalgia and are far from an accurate depiction of reality), and put this book on hold for good two months.
But when I eventually came back to it - oh boy! I don't know if I got used to the style or if it simply got better / less annoying in the later chapters, but in any case, the book picked up speed to such an extend that I couldn't put it down. There was just SO MUCH interesting stuff in here. Quite an over-inspiration, to be honest 😅 Thanks to the first chapter I never forgot not to take it all at face value, but even then... Goodness, those people were so damn weird. At times it felt like I was reading about some alien species. The whole family life chapter? I shudder to think what it must've been like to be born a girl in those times - to see all that stuff happening to other women around you, from your earliest days on, and being convinced that's just the way life is... The imperial Romans, with all their flaws, are somehow more comprehensible to me than that.
Oh, yeah, because here's the tiny detail which got lost in the French-to-English translation: it's actually 'Daily Life in Ancient Rome in the times of the Republic'. The author only occasionally mentions how this or that changed after Octavian; her general bottom line is that everything changed, because the entire way in which the society was organised got flipped upside down. I wish she'd written a follow-up about imperial Rome as well! Alas...
PS. Lately I came across The Rise of Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic Wars, which sounds like a story of republican Rome written by an archaeologist, a.k.a. possibly maybe exactly what I found missing from here - so I'm excited to try to get my hands on it 👀
But when I eventually came back to it - oh boy! I don't know if I got used to the style or if it simply got better / less annoying in the later chapters, but in any case, the book picked up speed to such an extend that I couldn't put it down. There was just SO MUCH interesting stuff in here. Quite an over-inspiration, to be honest 😅 Thanks to the first chapter I never forgot not to take it all at face value, but even then... Goodness, those people were so damn weird. At times it felt like I was reading about some alien species. The whole family life chapter? I shudder to think what it must've been like to be born a girl in those times - to see all that stuff happening to other women around you, from your earliest days on, and being convinced that's just the way life is... The imperial Romans, with all their flaws, are somehow more comprehensible to me than that.
Oh, yeah, because here's the tiny detail which got lost in the French-to-English translation: it's actually 'Daily Life in Ancient Rome in the times of the Republic'. The author only occasionally mentions how this or that changed after Octavian; her general bottom line is that everything changed, because the entire way in which the society was organised got flipped upside down. I wish she'd written a follow-up about imperial Rome as well! Alas...
PS. Lately I came across The Rise of Rome: From the Iron Age to the Punic Wars, which sounds like a story of republican Rome written by an archaeologist, a.k.a. possibly maybe exactly what I found missing from here - so I'm excited to try to get my hands on it 👀
June 15, 2023
Very detailed study of life in Rome during the Republic. Interesting and comprehensive, but I would not recommend this book as your first read on the subject. For that I'd suggest "Daily Life in Ancient Rome," by Jerome Carcopino.
January 1, 2018
Great details about everyday life in Rome, but not always the most engaging narrative.
February 16, 2023
A strange stream of consciousness recitation of facts, offered often without context. There are some interesting tidbits but overall it felt like it was written more for the author than posterity.
July 8, 2013
We used this book in an undergraduate course on "Roman Civilization Through Literature" - It contains excerpts from various literary sources that give a window on daily life. I found that approach to be very effective, especially with the quality translations into contemporary English that make it easy to imagine someone today writing very similar passages about modern life.
February 10, 2016
A truly enjoyable book. It is not focused on events and dates, but on anecdotes and stories that illustrate the daily life of Romans. It almost reads like a novel. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Roman customs and traditions particularly during the period of the Roman Republic.
January 7, 2011
I liked this one - I got it from the library, but would like to own it. Dupont does get inside the Roman mind fairly well. I disagreed with some of her conclusions, and noted a few errors in Latin (e.g. "homini" for "homines," etc.). Highly recommended to Romans and Latinists.
June 3, 2013
Informative without being so academic that it wasn't readable. I especially loved the many citations and stories on actual roman citizens to support their assertions on how the roman conducted his daily life.
August 18, 2013
This book was very enjoyable and interesting for me and for my 9 year old. It was quite easy and not boring at all. Looved it, would recommend it!
April 2, 2011
Lots of interesting cultural and day to day information about the Roman Republic, NOT the Roman Empire, though.
August 4, 2011
Very interesting if you like ancient history - a little hard to read at times though.
September 27, 2012
I didn't know much about ancient Rome, but after reading this book, I'm really interested. Not sure if it's the book or Rome or me, but the book certainly helped.
May 15, 2012
Clear, concise, all encompassing. Best book I have ever read on ancient Rome.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews