The Roman Household: A Sourcebook

by Jane F. Gardner, Thomas Wiedemann

With the help of a wide variety of source material, particularly legal documents and inscriptions, some of it made available for the first time in English, this book illustrates the activities associated with the household, demonstrating the different and frequently conflicting roles and moral values expected from its various members: male and female, old and young, freedman and slave.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Magpie6493 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and a good resource. More readable than I thought it was going to be.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

c1991. Definitely an academic book but readable for all that. Nice layout in that the additional notes are on the same page which means that you do not have to keep going backwards and forwards. There are some great anecdotes as well even if you are not that 'in' to history. Interestingly, it seems that some of the Benedictine rules were based on good ol' Roman principles. I am not quite sure of what to think about one of the paras ie " Egnatius Maecenius killed his wife by beating her with a stick for being drunk on wine. Not only was he not summoned to court for doing this, but he was not even criticised by anyone: all right thinking men considered that she deserved what she got because of her lack of self-control. It is agreed that any woman who drinks without restraint puts any virtue she may have at risk and risks falling prey to every vice. - Valerius Maximus 6, 3.9"

[Sonia]

Hearing about Ancient Roman life from their own mouths makes it a lot more interesting. :)