POPULUS: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome

POPULUS: Living and Dying in Ancient Rome
By Guy de la Bédoyère

Frenzied crowds, talking ravens, the stench of the Tiber River: life
in ancient Rome was stimulating, dynamic, and often downright
dangerous. The Romans relaxed and gossiped in baths, stole
precious water from aqueducts, and partied and dined to excess.
Everyone from senators to the enslaved crowded into theaters and
circuses to watch their favorite singers, pantomime, and comedies
and scream their approval at charioteers. The lucky celebrated their
accomplishments with elaborate tombs. Amid pervasive inequality
and brutality, beauty also flourished through architecture, poetry,
and art.

From the smells of fragrant cookshops and religious sacrifices to the
cries of public executions and murderous electoral mobs, Guy de la
Bédoyère’s Populus draws on a host of historical and literary sources
to transport us into the intensity of daily life at the height of ancient
Rome.

Guy de la Bédoyère has written many books on the ancient world,
including, most recently, Gladius: The World of the Roman Soldier and
Pharaohs of the Sun. He was part of Channel 4’s archaeology series
Time Team for many years, has lectured widely, and is a Fellow of
the Society of Antiquaries.

US Publication Date:
April 4, 2024
Cloth $30.00
496 pages | 6 x 9in
32 color plates
3 halftones
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-83294-4

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