543. Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome by Balsdon- I enjoyed reading this book so much. This comment is not meant in any way to detract from Balsdon’s scholarship. He is a giant. But there are so many delightful stories and anecdotes that there is pleasure in that alone. Not only do the Romans come to life but they are viewed as people, individuals, humans not much unlike us in ways.
My favorite part perhaps is his discussion of what they did for entertainment around the dinner table so to speak. They loved puzzles and rhymes and puns, watching skits, professional performances in the home and discussion about all manner of life and art and literature. In fact in reading this book one would come to like the Romans as people. So often the view we learn are the Romans the conquerors, the masters of the Mediterranean Sea. But here we see that they had sense of humors and took delight in each other’s company. The book however does not have the advantage of new scholarship on gladiatorial games. His information on this subject appears dated. But this is minor.
No comments:
Post a Comment