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Скрытая жизнь Древнего Рима
Крупный американский историк Роберт Напп, более 30 лет преподававший в Калифорнийском университете в Беркли историю и культуру Древнего Рима, делает героями своего исследования простых, "незаметных" жителей Римской империи: рабочих, домохозяек, нищих, рабов, солдат, гладиаторов, грабителей, проституток, тех, о чьей жизни известно гораздо меньше, в отличие от императоров, философов, сенаторов, то есть видных представителей государства. Автор охватывает период римской истории от императора Октавиана Августа до императора Константина Великого, создавая более ясную и полную картину повседневной жизни низов империи, ее негативных сторон.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published November 5, 2011
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April 6, 2012I particularly enjoyed the sentence, "Unfortunately it is impossible to tell which might be lusty wives and concubines, and which out-and-out whores."
August 28, 2011
This is a superb treatment of the invisible classical world – invisible, that is, to several centuries of admiration for a small propertied elite that produced great material and textual works but who subsisted on a vast mass of persons who created the conditions for their wars and pleasures.
Knapp does not start with the elite treatment of the mass of the population but uses a relatively small amount of surviving data from papyri, inscriptions, fictional works and dream books to construct a highly plausible account of what it was like to live under Rome for most persons.
What Knapp cannot say but the reviewer can is that the genius of the book lies in his own humanity and observation.
He does not fall into the trap of using ethnographic or non-Roman historical parallels (except, to good use, towards the end on pirates) but follows an anthropological Occam’s Razor – what is the simplest explanation of the data available? There is no grand theory just observation.
The result is a picture not so much of Roman culture as of human culture in pre-modern conditions when the governing class has no ideology beyond its own valuation and enrichment, before the great religions gave greater sanction to systematic exploitation of the masses.
Knapp not only covers men in general and women in general and the poor in particular but the specific condition of slaves, freedmen and freedwomen, the soldiery, prostitutes, gladiators, bandits and pirates.
The general picture is one of people not so dissimilar from us, struggling with insecurity, (pre-modern) market economics, lack of policing (the military machine of Rome was rarely employed to do much more than protect the elite’s investments or make ‘acquisitions’) and relationships.
Roman slavery was nothing like the racially-fixed slavery of the American South, sexuality was open and natural as well as exploitative, exploitation came from poverty, the culture was brutal, soldiers had a relatively good life and outlaws and bandits were rational actors.
What is interesting is to think about is what in this narrative represents humanity under similar conditions elsewhere and what was culturally specific.
Some things seem ‘natural’ – a system of oppression and exploitation based on ultimate military sanction, patronage and preparedness for draconian punishments.
Similarly, there are the ways that the ‘little people’, free and slave alike, and sometimes together, created micro-societies for their own protection and pleasure. Perhaps the visceral pleasure taken in sex and violence.
More ambiguously, we have the strutting of a masculine culture being ‘manly’ or ‘vir-ile’, the widespread calculations of women that their allure was an economic asset, the a-political egalitarianism of bandits and pirates, who come out of this better than most of the masters ...
There are also insights into the very Roman-ness of Christianity. It was, perhaps, an agent of order and of representation simultaneously. It never criticised the slave holding aspects of the society. Its sexual mores were scarcely understanding of the condition of many women in poverty.
As always, Christianity is not what it appears. It likes to present itself as a liberatory step forward, against pagan moral turpitude, but it looks here more like an elite adaptation to the problems of maintaining order in a ‘global society’.
The elite strategy, under pressure, of allying with the aspirant and respectable general community at the expense of the really poor, the slaves and women with an ideology of conformity and repression is fairly standard communitarian fare.
To adapt Nietzsche, the elite enslaved themselves in order to keep their property – a situation not entirely unfamiliar from later periods of history. The poor, meanwhile, stayed poor – a situation not entirely unfamiliar from later periods of history.
A masterful – I would say magisterial if Knapp was not determinedly presenting the case for those for whom the magistracy was more of a threat than a beacon of hope – introduction not only to Roman culture but to the human condition under conditions of economic scarcity and elite organisation.
The further reading, illustrations and notes are exceptional. In short, it is highly recommended.
Knapp does not start with the elite treatment of the mass of the population but uses a relatively small amount of surviving data from papyri, inscriptions, fictional works and dream books to construct a highly plausible account of what it was like to live under Rome for most persons.
What Knapp cannot say but the reviewer can is that the genius of the book lies in his own humanity and observation.
He does not fall into the trap of using ethnographic or non-Roman historical parallels (except, to good use, towards the end on pirates) but follows an anthropological Occam’s Razor – what is the simplest explanation of the data available? There is no grand theory just observation.
The result is a picture not so much of Roman culture as of human culture in pre-modern conditions when the governing class has no ideology beyond its own valuation and enrichment, before the great religions gave greater sanction to systematic exploitation of the masses.
Knapp not only covers men in general and women in general and the poor in particular but the specific condition of slaves, freedmen and freedwomen, the soldiery, prostitutes, gladiators, bandits and pirates.
The general picture is one of people not so dissimilar from us, struggling with insecurity, (pre-modern) market economics, lack of policing (the military machine of Rome was rarely employed to do much more than protect the elite’s investments or make ‘acquisitions’) and relationships.
Roman slavery was nothing like the racially-fixed slavery of the American South, sexuality was open and natural as well as exploitative, exploitation came from poverty, the culture was brutal, soldiers had a relatively good life and outlaws and bandits were rational actors.
What is interesting is to think about is what in this narrative represents humanity under similar conditions elsewhere and what was culturally specific.
Some things seem ‘natural’ – a system of oppression and exploitation based on ultimate military sanction, patronage and preparedness for draconian punishments.
Similarly, there are the ways that the ‘little people’, free and slave alike, and sometimes together, created micro-societies for their own protection and pleasure. Perhaps the visceral pleasure taken in sex and violence.
More ambiguously, we have the strutting of a masculine culture being ‘manly’ or ‘vir-ile’, the widespread calculations of women that their allure was an economic asset, the a-political egalitarianism of bandits and pirates, who come out of this better than most of the masters ...
There are also insights into the very Roman-ness of Christianity. It was, perhaps, an agent of order and of representation simultaneously. It never criticised the slave holding aspects of the society. Its sexual mores were scarcely understanding of the condition of many women in poverty.
As always, Christianity is not what it appears. It likes to present itself as a liberatory step forward, against pagan moral turpitude, but it looks here more like an elite adaptation to the problems of maintaining order in a ‘global society’.
The elite strategy, under pressure, of allying with the aspirant and respectable general community at the expense of the really poor, the slaves and women with an ideology of conformity and repression is fairly standard communitarian fare.
To adapt Nietzsche, the elite enslaved themselves in order to keep their property – a situation not entirely unfamiliar from later periods of history. The poor, meanwhile, stayed poor – a situation not entirely unfamiliar from later periods of history.
A masterful – I would say magisterial if Knapp was not determinedly presenting the case for those for whom the magistracy was more of a threat than a beacon of hope – introduction not only to Roman culture but to the human condition under conditions of economic scarcity and elite organisation.
The further reading, illustrations and notes are exceptional. In short, it is highly recommended.
October 11, 2013
So much of history, especially that of antiquity, is structured around the beliefs, interests and words of elites. This of course makes sense as the majority of history is either written by elites or at the behest of elites. Much of the written word period is done by elites and thus the perspectives of history often tend to reflect what elites considered important.
That is what makes a work like 'Invisible Romans' so interesting. It takes a perpondance of sources, from funerary tablets to written instructions on dream interpretation and graffiti in pompei to examine the lives of the 'ordinary citizens' of Rome.
With Chapters on Ordinary Men and Women, Slaves, Freedmen, Gladiators, SOldiers, Outlaws and Prostitutes, the book is very encompassing and very engrossing. It's use of primary sources in interesting in that it uses a combination of sources that each in themselves perhaps are not revelatory, but put together paint interesting pictures. It is up front with it's potential for ignorance, since there is so much we simply cannot know, but what it does reveal opens up the world of the poor, the slaves, and all the others who formed the bulk of roman society away from the Forum and the Palatine.
A thoroughly enjoyable book for the avid historian and the amateur alike.
That is what makes a work like 'Invisible Romans' so interesting. It takes a perpondance of sources, from funerary tablets to written instructions on dream interpretation and graffiti in pompei to examine the lives of the 'ordinary citizens' of Rome.
With Chapters on Ordinary Men and Women, Slaves, Freedmen, Gladiators, SOldiers, Outlaws and Prostitutes, the book is very encompassing and very engrossing. It's use of primary sources in interesting in that it uses a combination of sources that each in themselves perhaps are not revelatory, but put together paint interesting pictures. It is up front with it's potential for ignorance, since there is so much we simply cannot know, but what it does reveal opens up the world of the poor, the slaves, and all the others who formed the bulk of roman society away from the Forum and the Palatine.
A thoroughly enjoyable book for the avid historian and the amateur alike.
June 25, 2020
Otra dosis de hombres y mujeres corrientes, esclavos, bandoleros, soldados, prostitutas y gladiadores.
El volumen trabaja con fábulas de la época, epigrafía y arqueología, pero descansa sobre todo en el conocimiento (y la imaginación) propio.
Bien escrito, aunque peca en ocasiones de academicismo, se deja leer. Hay partes más interesantes que otras, para mí la de los gladiadores es la mejor.
Buen ensayo para profundizar en las vidas de la gente corriente.
El volumen trabaja con fábulas de la época, epigrafía y arqueología, pero descansa sobre todo en el conocimiento (y la imaginación) propio.
Bien escrito, aunque peca en ocasiones de academicismo, se deja leer. Hay partes más interesantes que otras, para mí la de los gladiadores es la mejor.
Buen ensayo para profundizar en las vidas de la gente corriente.
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March 29, 2017Did not finish.
I reached the phrase "subelite economic unit" and lost the will to continue reading.
I reached the phrase "subelite economic unit" and lost the will to continue reading.
February 19, 2022
As someone who writes fiction inspired by Ancient Rome, I am always fascinating by the lives of the ordinary people. I find the adventures of the ones comprising 99.5% of the population much more fascinating than the movers and shakers.
What to Expect
Expect a review of non-elite (as much as possible) sources, where Knapp reconstructs the world of the majority of population during the Roman empire: ordinary men and women, slaves and freedmen, prostitutes and gladiators. By using epigraphy (from tombstones to graffiti) and sources clearly written by and intended for them, he explores their worries, their joys, their pride and sorrows, everything that comprises their mind world.
What I liked
I loved the detective work Knapp does, and how he guides the reader through it, in reconstructing the world of the ordinary people. So much of classic sources was written by and for elites, and for years was taken as a true and complete representative of the complete Roman culture. Knapp shows how this is far from the truth, and how those people had their own world and concerns apart from the 'big' events of the dramatic historical figures.
This book certainly exposed me to sources I didn't know about, which I plan to pursue further. For example, Artemidorus dream interpretations should sit right next to Gaeger's curse tablet on the shelf of any author dealing with Romans, whether writing paranormal mysteries of just plain family drama.
What to be aware of
Knapp focuses on the high empire, the first three centuries CE. That is only natural given the scope of the work. While anyone who's interested in other periods (like the earlier Republic) may do some extrapolation or adjustment - especially around life of the legions and legionaries - this work is still extremely valuable.
Knapp focuses on sources not commonly discussed, from epigraphy and letters to books about dream interpretation, to reconstruct the mind-world of the people; he pays little attention to archaeology, as that mostly informs about living conditions, which isn't the subject here.
Felix's Review
Felix thought this book was long overdue. While I did skim through it before writing his adventures, he pointed out that his world is very much the underbelly of society. He's been telling me for years that I got a few details wrong, and that I should listen to him more often.
Summary
The seminal work on the lives of ordinary people and their views on life. If you have any interest in the period, this is an absolute must read.
Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck is that Felix fellow? Glad you asked! He's the protagonist of the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome.
Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
What to Expect
Expect a review of non-elite (as much as possible) sources, where Knapp reconstructs the world of the majority of population during the Roman empire: ordinary men and women, slaves and freedmen, prostitutes and gladiators. By using epigraphy (from tombstones to graffiti) and sources clearly written by and intended for them, he explores their worries, their joys, their pride and sorrows, everything that comprises their mind world.
What I liked
I loved the detective work Knapp does, and how he guides the reader through it, in reconstructing the world of the ordinary people. So much of classic sources was written by and for elites, and for years was taken as a true and complete representative of the complete Roman culture. Knapp shows how this is far from the truth, and how those people had their own world and concerns apart from the 'big' events of the dramatic historical figures.
This book certainly exposed me to sources I didn't know about, which I plan to pursue further. For example, Artemidorus dream interpretations should sit right next to Gaeger's curse tablet on the shelf of any author dealing with Romans, whether writing paranormal mysteries of just plain family drama.
What to be aware of
Knapp focuses on the high empire, the first three centuries CE. That is only natural given the scope of the work. While anyone who's interested in other periods (like the earlier Republic) may do some extrapolation or adjustment - especially around life of the legions and legionaries - this work is still extremely valuable.
Knapp focuses on sources not commonly discussed, from epigraphy and letters to books about dream interpretation, to reconstruct the mind-world of the people; he pays little attention to archaeology, as that mostly informs about living conditions, which isn't the subject here.
Felix's Review
Felix thought this book was long overdue. While I did skim through it before writing his adventures, he pointed out that his world is very much the underbelly of society. He's been telling me for years that I got a few details wrong, and that I should listen to him more often.
Summary
The seminal work on the lives of ordinary people and their views on life. If you have any interest in the period, this is an absolute must read.
Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck is that Felix fellow? Glad you asked! He's the protagonist of the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome.
Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic - for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
March 11, 2016
Little bit of irony involving my library copy – someone had placed the barcode sticker on top of the word “Invisible” in the title – further masking these overlooked people.
Knapp ruthlessly scrubs off all veneers of romanticism, discussing issues such as urinary tract infections, extortion, food scarcity, and superstitions with a clinical detachment, showing that there was much left to be desired in the oft totted Pax Roma.
This book goes through different categories of non-elite ancient Romans - ordinary men, ordinary women, slaves, freedmen, soldiers, prostitutes, gladiators, and outlaws. As he examines these different groups Knapp works diligently to find sources about them as well as get beyond the biases of the upper classes that colored most of those sources.
Two of his main primary sources are gravestones and the Bible. While I was wary of both at first, he managed to demonstrate that there is actually had a wealth of information to mine.
Gravestones in Ancient Rome tended to be very detailed, including a wealth of information such as a person’s full name, age, occupation, status of slave or free, and immediate family members. The gravestones lack the veracity and spontaneity of primary sources such a conversations, but it does show what these people considered to be important, and that tended to be that the dead were missed by their parents / children / spouses.
Marriages could be arranged, children might be an investment, parents might be ruling authorities – but there was still an overwhelming amount of evidence from these gravestones that families from this time and place developed extremely strong emotional bonds and were not ashamed to show it.
As for the Bible – when placed in its proper context, there actually are quite a few facts to be gleaned from the well-known stories. Knapp shows how a belief in magic was commonplace in the empire, and how the “magic tricks” of the New Testament was viewed as plausible by people of the time.
Knapp attempts to dig into these people’s heads, and gets farther than you’d think, noting how common suicide was with slaves, which is suggestive of their emotional state, as well as looking at books of dream interpretations, which would site common images people would dream of, showing quite a lot of what was on the average person’s mind, and quoting from many personal family letters - relatives in different places in the empire writing to each other, asking for and sharing the latest news and gossip, loves and gripes, with a lot of complaining about “kids today.”
Of the different sections, the ordinary men and women sections dragged a bit, the lives of salves and freedmen was well done, the section on prostitutes was a fascinating lens to examine the ancient Roman economy, but Knapp does seem to lose steam at the end with the outlaws, padding things out a bit by talking about 18th century pirates.
Excellent examination of the Romans that don’t often get as much attention with a great reexamination of source material and primary sources.
August 7, 2025
Such an interesting and scholarly dive into the lifeblood of the empire which pulsed quietly in the background of senatorial grandeur. Knapp invites us into the often ignored world of slaves, women, prostitutes, paupers, and outcasts. Those who lived far from the gilded heights of the Palatine and yet formed the spine of Roman society. It was refreshing to read about them in a non sensationalised way ✨
Although I found the writing quite heavy and formal in places, making this a three star read for me, I liked the way Knapp lifted these stories like an archaeologist unearths precious artefacts. He was brilliant at excavating voices long buried beneath the sediment of elite histories. Drawing upon graffiti, legal records, epitaphs, and letters—fragments of forgotten humanity. Knapp does not romanticize the suffering of the lower classes nor does he overstate their agency. Instead, he restores their humanity, painting them in colour where history has left only silhouettes ✨
The most gripping of these resurrections was that of the gladiators. The brutalised icons of Roman entertainment who, despite their fame, lived lives often invisible in historical consciousness. Their visibility in the arena did not protect them from invisibility in history. For the first time however. you can begin to see them less as mythic warriors or cinematic titans, and more as complex individuals shaped by violence, spectacle, and survival. Gladiators could earn adoring fans and even freedom through exceptional performance, but they were always subject to commodification ✨
Although I found the writing quite heavy and formal in places, making this a three star read for me, I liked the way Knapp lifted these stories like an archaeologist unearths precious artefacts. He was brilliant at excavating voices long buried beneath the sediment of elite histories. Drawing upon graffiti, legal records, epitaphs, and letters—fragments of forgotten humanity. Knapp does not romanticize the suffering of the lower classes nor does he overstate their agency. Instead, he restores their humanity, painting them in colour where history has left only silhouettes ✨
The most gripping of these resurrections was that of the gladiators. The brutalised icons of Roman entertainment who, despite their fame, lived lives often invisible in historical consciousness. Their visibility in the arena did not protect them from invisibility in history. For the first time however. you can begin to see them less as mythic warriors or cinematic titans, and more as complex individuals shaped by violence, spectacle, and survival. Gladiators could earn adoring fans and even freedom through exceptional performance, but they were always subject to commodification ✨
May 1, 2014
An interesting book dealing with the little known aspects of Roman society as most sources deal with the elite - largely because the elite and those who write for and about them left far more sources from which to work. Most of the sources used here are from funerary or fiction accounts, such as Golden Ass or the graves of slaves and other poor workers.
It was nice to see someone speaking up for the 'Invisibles' in this society - such as slaves/freedmen, women, the poor and the more common soldier or gladiators and mostly the topics were dealt with in some detail, sources were referenced and the authors arguments were coherent.
However, the chapter on outlaws and pirates was a bit vague and I am not sure was needed, although the authors comments about 'otherlaw' vs 'outlaw' and the bandits not wanting to actually change the ruling elite just simply not be subject to its laws were interesting. There were also quite a few generalisations and the bible was quoted and used as source material, which I am not sure really worked for me. Although some of it may be reasonably contemporary I felt it was used too much as a valid source.
3.5 stars.
It was nice to see someone speaking up for the 'Invisibles' in this society - such as slaves/freedmen, women, the poor and the more common soldier or gladiators and mostly the topics were dealt with in some detail, sources were referenced and the authors arguments were coherent.
However, the chapter on outlaws and pirates was a bit vague and I am not sure was needed, although the authors comments about 'otherlaw' vs 'outlaw' and the bandits not wanting to actually change the ruling elite just simply not be subject to its laws were interesting. There were also quite a few generalisations and the bible was quoted and used as source material, which I am not sure really worked for me. Although some of it may be reasonably contemporary I felt it was used too much as a valid source.
3.5 stars.
November 4, 2018
This book was well researched and covers such parts of Roman society such as soldiers, prostitutes, outlaws and slaves. These people kept Roman society going.
I found this a bit dry in parts and sometimes I found it didn’t hold my attention.
I found this a bit dry in parts and sometimes I found it didn’t hold my attention.
July 12, 2017
A solid, easy-to-read overview of a number of different inhabitants of the Roman Empire who tend to get lost behind the glory of emperors & battles. This is how to present information concisely yet informatively, and it becomes yet another tool to use with my history classes. The section on slavery & prostitution are particularly revealing and fascinating.
March 18, 2022
Nuestra idea de la vida en Roma viene distorsionada por la visión de la élite a la que pertenecían los autores clásicos que leemos. Knapp recurre a otras fuentes (epigrafía y obras menos conocidas) para dar voz a la gente corriente que vivía al día, sobreviviendo en un mundo duro y hostil. ¿Somos tan diferentes?
March 3, 2013
Knapp sets out to do something rarely done, and potentially very interesting - to show us what life was like for ordinary Romans. Starting (rather unimaginatively) with ordinary men, he moves on to various other groups - women, slaves, freedmen, soldiers, prostitutes, gladiators, bandits and outlaws. It's a valuable perspective because most of us don't realise that our concept of Ancient Rome is founded on the writings of a tiny elite, and that includes their prejudices. For example, they tended to distrust freedmen, but in fact they made up an important class of small business men in many urban communities. And we think of the Roman Empire as being legally well organised and regulated, but for the vast majority of people going to law was fraught with risk and uncertainty, particularly if you couldn't afford to bribe officials, and there was nothing resembling an efficient police force.
The problem is, predictably, that the sources for this kind of material are few and far between. Knapp leans heavily on memorial inscriptions, which were within the reach of most ordinary people thanks to saving through funeral plans, and could be quite detailed. Other sources he uses are fictional works, particularly the only Latin novel to survive in its entirity, The Golden Ass, and accounts of dream interpretations and spells (very important to Romans. Another source is the New Testament, and it's interesting to see familiar stories in a new light. In The Acts of the Apostles, Paul runs into trouble on several occasions when people begin following his religion and his growing following conflicts with honouring a popular local deity, and in another example he upsets one of the locals by curing his slave girl of her irritating prophecy habit, which was raking in the cash for the owner. Such stories make a lot more sense when seen in the context of the omnipresent belief in the supernatural in all its manifestations which characterised daily life at that time.
The chapters on soldiers, prostitutes and gladiators are the liveliest. Surprisingly, the outlaws one fell completely flat, consisting mainly of comparisons with accounts of 18C pirate culture and society. The more generic topics could sometimes be a bit of a plod. There are only so many memorial inscriptions you can take before they make your eyes glaze over, and the paucity of sources, though well explained in an afterword, makes the frequent lengthy quotations given a bit repetitive.
In general, a useful book, but let down by rather a flat style. We need a Brian Cox of the ancient Romans - maybe Mary Beard would fit the bill?
The problem is, predictably, that the sources for this kind of material are few and far between. Knapp leans heavily on memorial inscriptions, which were within the reach of most ordinary people thanks to saving through funeral plans, and could be quite detailed. Other sources he uses are fictional works, particularly the only Latin novel to survive in its entirity, The Golden Ass, and accounts of dream interpretations and spells (very important to Romans. Another source is the New Testament, and it's interesting to see familiar stories in a new light. In The Acts of the Apostles, Paul runs into trouble on several occasions when people begin following his religion and his growing following conflicts with honouring a popular local deity, and in another example he upsets one of the locals by curing his slave girl of her irritating prophecy habit, which was raking in the cash for the owner. Such stories make a lot more sense when seen in the context of the omnipresent belief in the supernatural in all its manifestations which characterised daily life at that time.
The chapters on soldiers, prostitutes and gladiators are the liveliest. Surprisingly, the outlaws one fell completely flat, consisting mainly of comparisons with accounts of 18C pirate culture and society. The more generic topics could sometimes be a bit of a plod. There are only so many memorial inscriptions you can take before they make your eyes glaze over, and the paucity of sources, though well explained in an afterword, makes the frequent lengthy quotations given a bit repetitive.
In general, a useful book, but let down by rather a flat style. We need a Brian Cox of the ancient Romans - maybe Mary Beard would fit the bill?
September 10, 2019
The author obviously did a lot of research for this book to find information about the lives of the other 90% who are not represented by the literature that has remained from the time. I'm sure it was very challenging trying to delve into the world of people from two thousand years ago whose voices no one cared about and who were mostly illiterate.
However, in reading this book, I feel like the author had no real understanding of what is like being in a margenalized group. And all these groups, except perhaps soldiers, were margenalized. I felt like the author casually acknowledged true horrors that these people had to face - rape on men, women, and children, but it's OK coz if they were lucky their rapist might take a shine to them and give them gifts!
Not only were there physical hardships, starvation, violence, rape, constant struggle for survival, but the author completely skipped over the psychological effects of being marginalized, abused, refused rights, discriminated against, powerless over their own lives, considered less than because you were poor, a slave, a woman, a homosexual, a prostitute, etc. because he said these people just accepted the status quo because they didn't know any better. Just because the author never found any manifestos by a slave about a new utopia doesn't mean they didn't feel the weight of injustice upon them or carry its psychological impact. Lots of other sources from others in similar situations shows this.
That's why I have this book a harsh rating.
However, in reading this book, I feel like the author had no real understanding of what is like being in a margenalized group. And all these groups, except perhaps soldiers, were margenalized. I felt like the author casually acknowledged true horrors that these people had to face - rape on men, women, and children, but it's OK coz if they were lucky their rapist might take a shine to them and give them gifts!
Not only were there physical hardships, starvation, violence, rape, constant struggle for survival, but the author completely skipped over the psychological effects of being marginalized, abused, refused rights, discriminated against, powerless over their own lives, considered less than because you were poor, a slave, a woman, a homosexual, a prostitute, etc. because he said these people just accepted the status quo because they didn't know any better. Just because the author never found any manifestos by a slave about a new utopia doesn't mean they didn't feel the weight of injustice upon them or carry its psychological impact. Lots of other sources from others in similar situations shows this.
That's why I have this book a harsh rating.
July 28, 2013
I might not necessarily agree with Knapp on how universal his conclusions are for whole groups of Romans in a vast empire over a rather long period of time - but even so it is a detailed and interesting study with lot of written material presented to the reader (which also gives the opportunity to from time to time draw your own conclusions, perhaps somewhat different from the author, if you are so inclined). Even if it isn't reflecting everybody in these categories presented, there are quite enough of evidence for the study to be generally relevant all the same.
Knapp himself admits that he hasn't made use of the archaeological material in such a high degree as others could have and I think that's a pity, when it comes to people who might not always leave so much impressions in written material it would have been a valuable addition to this story.
But all in all, it's a very nice introduction to those ordinary humans who made up most of the Roman empire, but leave very little footprints in general history texts.
Knapp himself admits that he hasn't made use of the archaeological material in such a high degree as others could have and I think that's a pity, when it comes to people who might not always leave so much impressions in written material it would have been a valuable addition to this story.
But all in all, it's a very nice introduction to those ordinary humans who made up most of the Roman empire, but leave very little footprints in general history texts.
September 15, 2014
This shed light on the New Testament Book of Acts and some of the Epistles. I learnt a number of intriguing details about ordinary life for the non-elite in the Roman world.
However, despite a genuine desire to do otherwise, Knapp has produced a text book. Not, obviously, in layout. But definitely in style. The subject constantly interested but my mind wearied with tediousness of the writing.
Still, Knapp has tried to find the authentic voice of ordinary Romans. He relies heavily on epitaphs and the New Testament. He questions the perceptions and prejudices of the elite who have left us the most written material of the time. And in all this he has done something useful.
Liked it.
However, despite a genuine desire to do otherwise, Knapp has produced a text book. Not, obviously, in layout. But definitely in style. The subject constantly interested but my mind wearied with tediousness of the writing.
Still, Knapp has tried to find the authentic voice of ordinary Romans. He relies heavily on epitaphs and the New Testament. He questions the perceptions and prejudices of the elite who have left us the most written material of the time. And in all this he has done something useful.
Liked it.
June 27, 2013
This is an enjoyable and readable book, although forced into a somewhat contorted shape by the author's choice to leave all texts produced by the Roman elites strictly alone, which leaves him with a very constrained selection of 'inscriptions and papyri, and [...] admittedly problematic insights from fiction, fable, Christian sources, fortune-telling and magic', not to mention the chapter where he just straight-up talks about 17th century pirates because there are good sources and he thinks they were pretty similar to Roman pirates as far as we know and come on, pirates, who doesn't want to read about pirates? I have to admit, I did enjoy the pirates.
May 30, 2014
Some wonderful insight into the hidden world of everyday life in the Roman empire, but written in style that was too dry and unexciting for my taste.
I have to disagree with those reviewers who crticised the author's use of the Bible as a credible source. The NT is a indirect product of the Roman empire, and thus gives some insight into daily life of its population.
I have to disagree with those reviewers who crticised the author's use of the Bible as a credible source. The NT is a indirect product of the Roman empire, and thus gives some insight into daily life of its population.
May 26, 2012
If you are as fascinated with the Roman empire as I am, then this book is a must read. It's an exceptionally well written piece on how Rome was for the less fortunate people. The people that usually, history forgets.
February 7, 2017
Knapp takes a different part of Roman society and discusses each in a separate chapter. He talks about the lives of ordinary men and women, slaves and prostitutes, among others. Some interesting points although there is some repetition due to overlap of certain people in society.
April 26, 2025
Somehow this book really clicked with me, for all that I suspect it might have some methodological flaws. I have heard about the ancient Romans my whole life, I literally lived in Rome for five years, and I still learned so much from this book, in fact I learned all the *interesting* things that escaped the dry history lessons of high school. The book tries to reconstruct what it must have really been like to be a normal person in Ancient Rome, not one of the elites that had the privilege of writing history. This book relies on unusual sources to uncover the inner world of all the people who didn’t write; relying on fortune telling and dream interpretation manuals, letters, fables, and grave epitaphs. As such, I suspect the resulting picture will not be 100% accurate. In addition to the lack of source material, I felt certain biases of the author emerge, noticeable with the benefit of hindsight; the “default male” position that has been often criticized in recent years is the backbone of this book, which starts with the “ordinary man”, and only then the next chapter is about how ordinary women differ from this, and of course inserting all the marriage and family aspects in the women’s chapter, despite for every married woman there also had to be a married man. If anything, discussing children would have made even more sense in the men’s chapter, as the father had unprecedented power and control over their children, to the point of life or death. It’s really hard to break out of this default male mold, especially when looking into history that has so thoroughly been written by men, but if there was ever a time to do so, it would have been when trying to understand the “invisible Romans”.
That aside, the topics this book covers are fascinating. Almost all the strata of society described in this book will be largely alien to most modern readers. The concerns and challenges people faced back then are almost unthinkable today. Personally, I was most struck by the juxtaposition of the life of the poor (defined as those who were not guaranteed food every day and lived continuously on the edge) vs. slaves, and the unexpectedly challenging question of who had it worse off. While the typical thing to focus on would be the material aspects (slaves were fed and housed, the poor only sometimes), what this book highlighted instead were the mental models these two groups had. The poor were striking in that they had no hope of improving their lives; their social and economic reality was such that if they ever tried to do so, by working harder, saving money, any form of entrepreneurship, they would be dragged down by the same social ties that would otherwise keep them afloat; they faced a harsh reality of diminishing returns for any extra work so they never did more than was strictly necessary for survival, and could therefore never escape their poverty. Slaves on the other hand, while supposedly the least free a person could be, they actually had real agency to improve their lives; if they worked better they were rewarded and realistically had the chance of earning or eventually buying their own freedom, their close contact with the wealthy gave them opportunities to start businesses once they did so, and even when they were not given such opportunities, they always had the possibility of escape (they were not physically different from the rest of the population, and were often not marked as slaves). So slaves had hope and agency in a way that the poor just didn’t. To be clear, the lives of slaves could be absolutely horrible, and the book does not shy away at all from describing this. I just found it remarkable how despite the awful physical reality of slaves, which stemmed from attempts to mentally wear them down into subservience, these were still people with very strong identities, and with genuine possibilities that didn’t often exist in the ancient world and one would least suspect from the class of slavery.
Anyway, these are my own reflections inspired from the book. The book itself, while painting a creative picture of the past based on minimal evidence, is largely descriptive rather than philosophical or opinionated about any of this. It was a description of life that I had tried to piece together from whatever scraps I came across, also from fiction, but what I needed all along was this book, that just systematically reconstructs the lives of real people in the distant past. I loved it.
That aside, the topics this book covers are fascinating. Almost all the strata of society described in this book will be largely alien to most modern readers. The concerns and challenges people faced back then are almost unthinkable today. Personally, I was most struck by the juxtaposition of the life of the poor (defined as those who were not guaranteed food every day and lived continuously on the edge) vs. slaves, and the unexpectedly challenging question of who had it worse off. While the typical thing to focus on would be the material aspects (slaves were fed and housed, the poor only sometimes), what this book highlighted instead were the mental models these two groups had. The poor were striking in that they had no hope of improving their lives; their social and economic reality was such that if they ever tried to do so, by working harder, saving money, any form of entrepreneurship, they would be dragged down by the same social ties that would otherwise keep them afloat; they faced a harsh reality of diminishing returns for any extra work so they never did more than was strictly necessary for survival, and could therefore never escape their poverty. Slaves on the other hand, while supposedly the least free a person could be, they actually had real agency to improve their lives; if they worked better they were rewarded and realistically had the chance of earning or eventually buying their own freedom, their close contact with the wealthy gave them opportunities to start businesses once they did so, and even when they were not given such opportunities, they always had the possibility of escape (they were not physically different from the rest of the population, and were often not marked as slaves). So slaves had hope and agency in a way that the poor just didn’t. To be clear, the lives of slaves could be absolutely horrible, and the book does not shy away at all from describing this. I just found it remarkable how despite the awful physical reality of slaves, which stemmed from attempts to mentally wear them down into subservience, these were still people with very strong identities, and with genuine possibilities that didn’t often exist in the ancient world and one would least suspect from the class of slavery.
Anyway, these are my own reflections inspired from the book. The book itself, while painting a creative picture of the past based on minimal evidence, is largely descriptive rather than philosophical or opinionated about any of this. It was a description of life that I had tried to piece together from whatever scraps I came across, also from fiction, but what I needed all along was this book, that just systematically reconstructs the lives of real people in the distant past. I loved it.
January 2, 2023
- The author believes that the dominant life of the Romans that's remain today are of the elites'. And the day-to-day life of the typical Romans (from freeman to slaves, to prostitutes) are often invisible
- Wealth inequality is very much a thing during Roman period: elite together held 80%+ of the wealth
- Ordinary man don't have any prejudice against craftsmen and merchants
- Work is part of the self-identity for the ordinary
- For elites, they don't mention work: they don't feel it's something they're proud of
- Superstition is very much dominant for the ordinary: they turn to it whenever they face something they can't control (such as infant mortality, which was incredibly high (great percentage of children die by the age of 10) or death, which for the norm as half of the population is dead by 20)
- Loan is used rather widespread
- Unemployment is often a recurring theme for the ordinary, as the theme of the economic cycle repeats itself. Out of work men and part time workers are rather common in Rome
- Romantic love is rarely mentioned, and is probably more of a luxury that men can't afford
- The ordinary also often worry about marriage full of arguments, faithfulness of his wife (and vice versa) or worse - if the wife is a lesbian
- There's a preference of male children over female
- Parents are for raising the children and giving them inheritance (wasteful spending by the offsprings are often mentioned)
- Slavery is present, however race of the slave is very much similar to other freeman. Slavery is also not a huge component of the farming world, they're more often being used as domestic servants.
- Slaves are expensive: only 1 household in 7 owns a slave, with most of these owned by the elites
- "Poor use their wives and offspring to do what slaves would normally do" (Politics 5.1323A)
- Several ways for someone to become slaves: war captives (frequent during the Roman expansion period, dwindles thereafter); births to slaves; human trafficking; sold by own kinship; contract oneself to become slave for money or lastly, become slave by crime (however, one does not become slave due to unpaid debt according to the Roman law)
- Sexual excess is very much a thing in the Roman elite world (when the ordinary believe those people should have better moral compass)
- Roman legal system very much left sex work alone since it doesn't consider sex work harmful to family life or society (in addition, such work is taxed per "tricks")
- Women become prostitute because sex work is easy and makes far more than weaving or wet-nursing, the other 2 major works for women
- 1 in every 100 women in Pompeii was a prostitute. However, adjusted for eligibility, it could be estimated that 10%-20% of the fertile women are prostitutes
- In a brothel, privacy was not seen as a concern
- High-end call girl exists, and she often has her own place rather than a brotel
- Wealth inequality is very much a thing during Roman period: elite together held 80%+ of the wealth
- Ordinary man don't have any prejudice against craftsmen and merchants
- Work is part of the self-identity for the ordinary
- For elites, they don't mention work: they don't feel it's something they're proud of
- Superstition is very much dominant for the ordinary: they turn to it whenever they face something they can't control (such as infant mortality, which was incredibly high (great percentage of children die by the age of 10) or death, which for the norm as half of the population is dead by 20)
- Loan is used rather widespread
- Unemployment is often a recurring theme for the ordinary, as the theme of the economic cycle repeats itself. Out of work men and part time workers are rather common in Rome
- Romantic love is rarely mentioned, and is probably more of a luxury that men can't afford
- The ordinary also often worry about marriage full of arguments, faithfulness of his wife (and vice versa) or worse - if the wife is a lesbian
- There's a preference of male children over female
- Parents are for raising the children and giving them inheritance (wasteful spending by the offsprings are often mentioned)
- Slavery is present, however race of the slave is very much similar to other freeman. Slavery is also not a huge component of the farming world, they're more often being used as domestic servants.
- Slaves are expensive: only 1 household in 7 owns a slave, with most of these owned by the elites
- "Poor use their wives and offspring to do what slaves would normally do" (Politics 5.1323A)
- Several ways for someone to become slaves: war captives (frequent during the Roman expansion period, dwindles thereafter); births to slaves; human trafficking; sold by own kinship; contract oneself to become slave for money or lastly, become slave by crime (however, one does not become slave due to unpaid debt according to the Roman law)
- Sexual excess is very much a thing in the Roman elite world (when the ordinary believe those people should have better moral compass)
- Roman legal system very much left sex work alone since it doesn't consider sex work harmful to family life or society (in addition, such work is taxed per "tricks")
- Women become prostitute because sex work is easy and makes far more than weaving or wet-nursing, the other 2 major works for women
- 1 in every 100 women in Pompeii was a prostitute. However, adjusted for eligibility, it could be estimated that 10%-20% of the fertile women are prostitutes
- In a brothel, privacy was not seen as a concern
- High-end call girl exists, and she often has her own place rather than a brotel
September 24, 2022
This is a strange book that I can't quite like but also can't quite hate. On the one hand, I am thoroughly sympathetic to its goal, which is "to understand what life was like for the great mass of people who lived in Rome and its empire." Knapp is concerned in these pages with "ordinary" Romans, not the elites. This is a concern of crucial importance, and it is also one that historians of the ancient world so frequently ignore. Because the discipline of history is so dependent on the written record, it is often too easy to forget whose writings we are studying. These are generally not the words of the "ordinary" Romans, but the elites.
Moreover, the texts that are extant today are only a small segment of elite literary production. And this is where my primary issue with the book resides. In order to uncover what life was like for the ordinary Roman, Knapp focuses almost exclusively on the written record. He does bring in some epigraphic and archaeological evidence (particularly that from Pompeii), but most of the book is focused on literature. The end result, then, is not really what life was like for the ordinary Roman, but what the elites believed life was like for the ordinary Roman. Knapp acknowledges this difficulty in an appendix on sources. In my view, such an appendix would have been better used as an introduction.
By far one of the strangest things about this book, however, is that Knapp treats New Testament documents as "the single richest collection of literature written by what I call invisibles and expressing their outlook" (321). In the early chapters he is particularly drawn to Paul as the spokesperson of the common Roman. While I am glad that Knapp treats early Christian literature as part of the broader corpus of Roman literature, seeing it as somehow categorically different, as penned by non-elite authors, or at least as being more sympathetic to non-elite persons, is a truly unusual position that's not really supported by the evidence. At the end of the day, however, this is probably still a useful book, if only as a categorized collection of primary sources that speak about day to day life in the Roman world. Or at least one angle on day to day life.
Moreover, the texts that are extant today are only a small segment of elite literary production. And this is where my primary issue with the book resides. In order to uncover what life was like for the ordinary Roman, Knapp focuses almost exclusively on the written record. He does bring in some epigraphic and archaeological evidence (particularly that from Pompeii), but most of the book is focused on literature. The end result, then, is not really what life was like for the ordinary Roman, but what the elites believed life was like for the ordinary Roman. Knapp acknowledges this difficulty in an appendix on sources. In my view, such an appendix would have been better used as an introduction.
By far one of the strangest things about this book, however, is that Knapp treats New Testament documents as "the single richest collection of literature written by what I call invisibles and expressing their outlook" (321). In the early chapters he is particularly drawn to Paul as the spokesperson of the common Roman. While I am glad that Knapp treats early Christian literature as part of the broader corpus of Roman literature, seeing it as somehow categorically different, as penned by non-elite authors, or at least as being more sympathetic to non-elite persons, is a truly unusual position that's not really supported by the evidence. At the end of the day, however, this is probably still a useful book, if only as a categorized collection of primary sources that speak about day to day life in the Roman world. Or at least one angle on day to day life.
April 24, 2019
Robert Knapp’s book aims to highlight some of what can be known about the lives of the “ordinary” people of ancient Rome, by this he means those outside of the elite, whose texts and ideas have traditionally consumed the majority of the discussions about the ancient world. Each of the nine chapters is devoted to a different group: ordinary men, ordinary women, the poor, slaves, freedmen/freedwomen, soldiers, prostitutes, gladiators, and bandits/pirates. Knapp intends to paint a generalizing picture of each of these groups. While he does an excellent job of stitching together a wide array of textual and material evidence for the lives of these typically “invisible” people, many of his generalizations and interpretations are certainly questionable, as he himself admits at the end of the book, meaning that the reader should not take these broad depictions seriously. The further reading sections on each chapter will be immensely helpful for anyone seeking more scholarly works on any of the groups covered here. Overall it is an interesting and entertaining read, if for nothing else than the fresh perspective that it provides. As Knapp states: “There is a certain importance to the lives of the nonheadline makers; in them we glimpse the crowd in which the rich and famous move, and understanding them helps us to understand the whole culture and society.” (p. 316)
October 21, 2023
A book that anyone interested in the Roman empire should read because it builds its portrait of the Roman world not from the ancient classic literary texts but from the archaeological record of inscriptions on tombs and memorials, tavern and brothel images as well magical, divination and spell texts. All these go to create a portrait of what the world experienced by ordinary men and women was like. I would go so far as to say that even if your interest is ancient Greece it is still worth reading because the lesson of thinking outside the tropes laid down the surviving classical authors (all of whom wrote for and about a tiny elite section of the population) is instructive.
There is nothing particularly new in this book any academic historian will rightly point out that all of it has been said before - but as a popular history presenting the complex reality of what it was like to live in the Roman world it is, if not unique, certainly one of the best and most challenging, entertaining and well written accounts available.
I keep resisting the temptation to pick out particularly interesting examples and themes from this wonderful book because once stared I wouldn't know where to stop - if you are interested in ancient Rome mark this book down as essential reading.
There is nothing particularly new in this book any academic historian will rightly point out that all of it has been said before - but as a popular history presenting the complex reality of what it was like to live in the Roman world it is, if not unique, certainly one of the best and most challenging, entertaining and well written accounts available.
I keep resisting the temptation to pick out particularly interesting examples and themes from this wonderful book because once stared I wouldn't know where to stop - if you are interested in ancient Rome mark this book down as essential reading.
March 21, 2020
This scholarly book (the bibliography and end notes are extensive and impressive) took me a little while to get through. I'm satisfied with that, because I wanted to absorb it properly. I picked it up in the bookstore at Herculaneum earlier this year, but I am confident in its wide availability elsewhere.
Historian Robert Knapp takes us deep into the world of the lesser known Romans ... the everyday people. He shows us what their religious beliefs were, their social mores, and so on. Not only does he look at the everyday person in general, but certain specific groups like slaves, bandits, gladiators, and prostitutes ... all of whom were common in ancient Roman times.
The end result is that we get to see a more complete picture of what life was like for the ancients than we might by reading about the various emperors, senators, etc., who were less common but more wealthy.
Understanding the proverbial "man on the street" is crucial to historical research. This book is an outstanding secondary source that I would highly recommend to anyone studying ancient Roman life (as I am presently doing).
Historian Robert Knapp takes us deep into the world of the lesser known Romans ... the everyday people. He shows us what their religious beliefs were, their social mores, and so on. Not only does he look at the everyday person in general, but certain specific groups like slaves, bandits, gladiators, and prostitutes ... all of whom were common in ancient Roman times.
The end result is that we get to see a more complete picture of what life was like for the ancients than we might by reading about the various emperors, senators, etc., who were less common but more wealthy.
Understanding the proverbial "man on the street" is crucial to historical research. This book is an outstanding secondary source that I would highly recommend to anyone studying ancient Roman life (as I am presently doing).
May 10, 2024
The lives of ordinary people do not really feature in the surviving Latin literature since the elite Romans who wrote that literature were entirely uninterested in the welfare of those outside their own social class. Consequently, the job of conjuring up a picture of those countless numbers of people who were effectively invisible to the ruling class is not easy. Robert Knapp is obliged to rely on monumental inscriptions, grave-markers, graffiti, scraps of papyrus, amulets, curse tablets, and what can be gleaned from a variety of secondary sources including books of interpretations of dreams, fables, and biblical writings. With the material he has, he does a very good job, shining a light on the lives of ordinary men and women, labourers, slaves, sex-workers, soldiers and gladiators, but his style is sometimes a bit dry and didactic. Nevertheless, it’s certainly an illuminating read, and there are often moments when the ordinary person who walked those ancient streets springs to life once more in the reader’s imagination.
May 8, 2019
The premise is quite interesting and challenging. After all, there are not lots of information about common people, hence the name of invisible romans. As expected, there is a lot of speculation, indirect evidence from the New Testament, graffitis and tombs. Despite that, I think Knapp does a remarkable work writing about how common people lived in the Roman Empire. One valid criticism is that there is no discrimination on time and location, so Knapp talks about "romans", no matter if they are from the eastern or western part of the empire, from Caesar's time, the republic, etc..
For me the only big issue is that this book is *dry*. It is really hard to read, even though the information provided is interesting. The writing is too academic and convoluted for people who are not historians.
For me the only big issue is that this book is *dry*. It is really hard to read, even though the information provided is interesting. The writing is too academic and convoluted for people who are not historians.
March 15, 2018
As others have commented, easy to read and definitely intended for a popularized audience. I didn't love that the entire Roman period was treated as all the same - I suspect that there were at least a few societal changes, historically speaking! - and that got even more grating in the section on pirates (which was operating on pretty flimsy evidence to begin with), which had several pages on eighteenth-century pirates from which the author... sort of... extrapolated backwards? I didn't know what was going on there. The subject of the book was really interesting and I'm definitely looking forward to tracking down some of the sources mentioned.
July 18, 2024
This was a challenging read for me, I picked up the book when I was at the Colosseum in Rome because I wanted to know more about the history of the people of the Roman Empire. However, I found this book to be somewhat inaccessible to those who are new to the history of the Romans. I found it difficult to follow the narrative while reading the excerpts from Roman sources and often got lost in web of people and places. If you are already quite familiar with the Roman Empire, then you may find it an easier read, but if you're like me and knew very little going into the book, you might want to start elsewhere. Definitely an academic read more than a recreational one.
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