Roman Society: From Nero to Marcus Aurelius

by Samuel Dill

Contents: Aristocracy Under the Terror; World of the Satirist; Society of the Freedmen; Circle of the Younger Pliny; Municipal Life; Colleges and Plebeian Life; Philosophic Director; Philosophic Missionary; Philosophic Theologian; Superstition; Belief in Immortality; Old Roman Religion; Magna Mater; Isis and Serapis; Religion of Mithra.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

517 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1904

Reviews

[AphroPhantasmal · Rating 3 out of 5]

You're probably wondering, "How can she give this book 3 stars when she only read 41% of it?!" Well, dear reader, this book is so dry and verbose it takes a fascinating subject and turns it into the most boring, borderline torturous, affair you could ever attempt to endure. Prepare for points to be stressed multiple times.

The social life of the upper and lower castes? Prepare for points to be stressed multiple times. How amazing Juvenal and Pliny were? Prepare for points to be stressed multiple times. Prepare for points to be stressed multiple times? Prepare for points to be stressed multiple times.

While the book is broken up into chapters with different themes doing so seems like a formality. I can't tell you any difference between one chapter and the next because the same material is presented in each one just with different, and just as verbose, wording. This book earned 3 stars from me because it was too painful for me to finish it and I'm one of those people who feels guilt behind not finishing a book.

[Alistair Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slightly dry but comprehensive account of Roman society between the reigns of Nero and Marcus Aurelius. It isn`t a history per se and pre assumes a decent degree of knowledge of Roman history, having said that and given the age of the book it remains an engaging read.
Basically it covers the major themes of Roman society, religion (including the links between Christianity and Mithras, philosophy, the nature of Imperial rule, burial societies, children and other aspects of society.
In some ways the book is a reminder that people in the past were very similar to us today, in others that the past really is a very different country.
There are no maps or images, the book is essentially over 600 pages of text so it`s not a light read and as I say it`s not a historical or chronological account so as a general history of Rome or the emperors it`s not particularly useful but then the Roman market place is a somewhat crowded field so there is no shortage of such works, as an in-depth look at just what made the Romans tick this book is still to be recommended

[Heléne du Plessis · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and informative read. The author assumes that the reader has some knowledge of Roman history, and readers which understand some Latin and Ancient Greek will get more out of this. I did find the later chapters on religion and spirituality to be somewhat repetitive, but overall I would recommend this to readers with more than a passing interest in Roman history.