Stories of Daily Life from the Roman World
Extracts from the Ancient Colloquia

This book provides English translations of newly discovered texts in an easily understandable presentation, with extensive illustrations.

Eleanor Dickey (Edited and translated by)

9781316627280, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 31 August 2017

178 pages, 59 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 0.9 cm, 0.26 kg

'Eleanor Dickey's [book] deserves serious consideration for those tasked with introducing the ancient world to students … Stories of Daily Life, in short, will prove to be a versatile, potent, and inexpensive supplement to a variety of courses on the ancient world, even for students with little familiarity with antiquity more broadly.' Charles McNamara, Gnomon

What did Roman children do first when they arrived at school in the morning? What excuse for missing school could be counted on to stave off a whipping from the teacher? What did a Roman banker do when someone came to borrow money? What did a Roman wife say when her husband came home drunk? The answers to such questions can be found not in mainstream ancient literature (whose writers had their minds on higher things) but in language textbooks for ancient Latin learners. These 'colloquia' offer an ancient introduction to Roman culture, covering such areas as shopping, banking, bathing, dining, arguing, and going to school; recently rediscovered, they are here presented for the first time in a format aimed at readers with no prior knowledge of Latin, Greek, or the ancient world. They come complete with introductory material, extensive illustrations, and a full explanation of their fascinating history.

1. Introduction
2. Days in the lives of schoolchildren
3. Let's go to court
4. Financial transactions
5. Supporting friends
6. What to say when things do not go so well
7. Lunch time
8. Afternoons at the baths
9. Dinners
10. Bedtime
11. Passages providing additional context for the Colloquia
12. Further information about the colloquia
Appendix: a school whipping at Pompeii?

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Language: history & general works [CBX]