Invisible Romans: [electronic resource] Prostitutes, outlaws, slaves, gladiators, ordinary men and women ... the Romans that history forgot

What survives from the Roman Empire is largely the words and lives of the rich and powerful: emperors, philosophers, senators. Yet the privilege and decadence often associated with the Roman elite was underpinned by the toils and tribulations of the common citizens. Here, the eminent historian Robert Knapp brings those invisible inhabitants of Rome and its vast empire to light. He seeks out the ordinary folk—laboring men, housewives, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers, and gladiators—who formed the backbone of the ancient Roman world, and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. He finds their traces in the nooks and crannies of the histories, treatises, plays, and poetry created by the elite. Everyday people come alive through original sources as varied as graffiti, incantations, magical texts, proverbs, fables, astrological writings, and even the New Testament. Knapp offers a glimpse into a world far removed from our own, but one that resonates through history. Invisible Romans allows us to see how Romans sought on a daily basis to survive and thrive under the afflictions of disease, war, and violence, and to control their fates before powers that variously oppressed and ignored them. This book brings Rome's invisible inhabitants to life. Robert Knapp seeks out the tradespeople, innkeepers, housewives, priests, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers and gladiators who formed the fabric of everyday life in ancient Rome and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. Robert Knapp brings invisible inhabitants of Rome and its vast empire to life. He seeks out the ordinary men, housewives, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers, and gladiators, who formed the fabric of everyday life in the ancient Roman world, and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. He finds their own words preserved in literature, letters, inscriptions and graffiti and their traces in the nooks and crannies of the histories, treatises, plays and poetry created by members of the elite. He tracks down and pieces together these and other tell-tale bits of evidence cast off by the visible mass of Roman history and culture, and in doing so recreates a world lost from view for two millennia. We see how everyday Romans sought to survive and thrive under the afflictions of disease, war, and violence, and to control their fates before powers that variously oppressed and ignored them. Chapters on each of the main groups reveal how their worlds were linked in need, dependence, exploitation, hope and fear. Slaves and ex-soldiers merge into the world of the outlaw; slaves become freedmen; the sons of freedmen enlist as soldiers; and, the concerns of women transcend every boundary. We see them all at last in the tumult of a great empire that shaped their worlds as it reshaped the wider world around them 'Invisible Romans' seeks out the ordinary men, housewives, prostitutes, slaves, soldiers and gladiators, who formed the fabric of everyday life in the ancient Roman world. The author tracks down and pieces together various bits of evidence cast off by the visible mass of Roman history and culture. Robert Knapp seeks out the ordinary people who formed the fabric of everyday life in ancient Rome and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. They are the housewives, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers, and gladiators who lived commonplace lives and left almost no trace in history - until now. But their words are preserved in literature, letters, inscriptions and graffiti and their traces can be found in the histories, treatises, plays and poetry created by the elite. A world lost from view for two millennia is recreated through these, and other, tell-tale bits of evidence cast off by the visible mass of Roman history and culture. Invisible Romans reveals how everyday Romans sought to survive and thrive under the afflictions of disease, war, and violence, and to control their fates under powers that both oppressed and ignored them. Their lives - both familiar and foreign to ours today - are shown against the tumult of a great empire that shaped their worlds as it forged the wider world around them 'invisible Romans' Seeks Out The Ordinary Men, Housewives, Prostitutes, Slaves, Soldiers, And Gladiators, Who Formed The Fabric Of Everyday Life In The Ancient Roman World. The Author Tracks Down And Pieces Together Various Bits Of Evidence Cast Off By The Visible Mass Of Roman History And Culture. Introduction : Seeing The Invisible -- In The Middle : Ordinary Men -- Lives Of Their Own : Ordinary Women -- Subjection And Survival : The Poor -- Coping In Bondage : Slaves -- After Slavery : Freedmen -- A Living At Arms : Soldiers -- Sex For Sale : Prostitutes -- Fame And Death : Gladiators -- Beyond The Law : Bandits And Pirates. Robert Knapp. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The Roman world was filled with people whose lives usually go unnoticed. This book goes in search of the invisible Romans—plebs, trades people, women, outlaws, freedmen, slaves, and soldiers. By probing cultural remains and painstaking examinations of historical, literary, and archaeological evidence, Robert Knapp brings vividly to life the Roman worlds of its most numerous inhabitants.