Carving a Professional Identity: The Occupational Epigraphy of the Roman Latin West

by Rada Varga

Carving a Professional The occupational epigraphy of the Roman Latin West presents the results of long-term research into the occupational epigraphy from the Latin-language provinces of the Roman Empire. It catalogues stone epigraphs of independent professionals (thus excluding state workers, imperial slaves, freedmen and military personnel), comprising some 690 people, providing quantitative as well as qualitative analyses of the raw data. A glossary translating the occupational titles is also included. The book reveals a very lively work market, where specialisation responded to demand and brought social and economic status to the worker. The coherence of epigraphic habits and manifestations within a professional group, along with all the other existing clues for a rather unitary use of symbols, endorse once more the existence of a Roman provincial, commercial, middle class.

Table of Contents

I. Introductory notes

II. Historiographic coordinates for Roman-era occupational epigraphy

Professions, occupations and Roman economy

Ancient middle classes

Historiographic outline

III. Quantitative analyses on the primary data

Demography and representativeness

Encoding the attested occupations

Space and time

People and monuments

IV. People and professional identities

Tales of trade and friendship

Doctors – the healing science

Crafting for a living

Entertaining the masses

Case local identities

V. Concluding remarks

Index

Glossary

Catalogue

References

Abbreviations used in the catalogue

126 pages, Paperback

Published February 10, 2021