As the Romans Did offers a rich, revealing look at everyday Roman life. It provides clear, lively translations of a fascinating array of documents drawn from Latin and Greek source material--from personal letters, farming manuals, medical texts, and recipes to poetry, graffiti, and tombstone inscriptions. Each selection has been translated into readable, contemporary English. Extensive annotations, abundant biographical notes, maps, appendices, cross-references to related topics, and a newly-updated bibliography provide readers with the historical and cultural background material necessary to appreciate the selections. Arranged thematically into chapters on family life, housing, education, entertainment, religion, and other important topics, the translations reveal the ambitions and aspirations not only of the upper class, but of the average Roman citizen as well. They tell of the success and failure of Rome's grandiose imperialist policies and also of the pleasures and hardships of everyday life. Wide-ranging and lively, the second edition of As the Romans Did offers the most lucid account available of Roman life in all its diversity.

Jo-Ann Shelton's profile page

Pauline Ripat's profile page

Jo-Ann Shelton is Professor of Classics (Emerita), University of California, Santa Barbara

Pauline Ripat is Associate Professor of Classics, University of Winnipeg (Canada)

"The text is comprehensive in its coverage of many different aspects of Roman society and culture. The selections are well chosen and provide a vivid picture of Roman life. The introductions are clear and easy to understand, and the footnotes provide essential explanations of terms and other valuable information." --Marie-Thérèse Champagne, University of West Florida

"This text is an engaging look at the Romans' material and cultural world. It offers students the opportunity to delve deeply into topics such as Roman laws, the job market in the Roman world, women in Roman society, agriculture in antiquity, ancient medicine and many other aspects of daily life in ancient Rome. Shelton brings Roman social history to life in a way that will encourage the book's audience to see how this ancient society has influenced our modern world and also how life has changed over time." --Jennifer Rea, University of Florida

"As the Romans Did doesn't shy away from highlighting how the Roman world was a place of conflicting decisions and practices. The selections are not overlong, and the footnotes are pitched at an interested general reader." --Robyn LeBlanc, University of North Carolina, Greensboro