Roman passions
Subtitle: a history of pleasure in Imperial Rome
By: Ray Laurence.
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 248
ISBN-13: 9781847250322
Subjects: Pleasure -- Social aspects -- Rome; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D; Rome -- Moral conditions; Rome -- Social life and customs
Description: Each chapter analyzes a first-century Roman pleasure or leisure activity, e.g., dining, architecture, bathing, sex, theater, violence, collecting, and gifts, drawn especially from erotic culture and supported by archaeological evidence. Linking the disparate subject matter is Laurence's examination of how each of the early emperors created a new culture of pleasure in his reign to reflect his individual greatness while appealing to a sense of tradition and stability. Comparisons between Roman and 21st-century lifestyles are instructive while avoiding anachronism, e.g., against expectations, geological evidence shows that imperial Rome was the greatest polluter before modern industrialized societies.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-235) and index.
Table of contents: title: Roman passions; title: Into the world of Roman pleasure; title: The emperor's pleasures; title: The aesthetics of the city; title: A little place in the country; title: The Roman body at the baths; title: Roman erotics; title: Dining; title: Food and wine; title: A great song and dance; title: Violence; title: Collectors and collections; title: Pleasure transforms Roman culture.