The Culture of the Roman Plebs

Rating:
Summary: A welcome and long needed history
Review: Most histories of Roman antiquity principally focus on the elite aristocracy and the military generals that supported or overthrew them. The Culture Of The Roman Plebs by independent scholar Nicholas Horsfall is a welcome and long needed history that specifically addresses the life of the common people that populated and made possible what became known as the Roman Empire. From the noisy, active role of the common populace, to their songs, dances, music, shows, games, and daily life, The Culture Of The Roman Plebs fills in the larger picture. Of special note is the Nicholas Horsfall has meticulously translated and reconstructed what the average Roman talked and thought about as recorded in graffiti and the other odds and ends of notation derived from the records of ordinary Roman life as they have survived over the past two thousand years. The Culture Of The Roman Plebs is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to academic library collections and would make an excellent title for community library Ancient History collections for non-specialist general readers with an interest in Roman history.