Water Culture in Roman Society (Brill Research Perspectives in Humanities and Social Sciences)

Water played an important part of ancient Roman life, from providing necessary drinking water, supplying bath complexes, to flowing in large-scale public fountains. The Roman culture of water was seen throughout the Roman Empire, although it was certainly not monolithic and it could come in a variety of scales and forms, based on climatic and social conditions of different areas. This discussion seeks to define ‘water culture’ in Roman society by examining literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence, while understanding modern trends in scholarship related to the study of Roman water. The culture of water can be demonstrated through expressions of power, aesthetics, and spectacle. Further there was a shared experience of water in the empire that could be expressed through religion, landscape, and water’s role in cultures of consumption and pleasure. Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Editors’ Note......Page 11 1 Introduction......Page 13 2 Ancient Roman Sources on Water......Page 16 3 Roman Water Management: Administration, Distribution and Legal Regulations......Page 22 4 Categories of Water Usage: Archaeological Evidence......Page 31 4.1 Prolegomena: Modern Scholarship on Roman Water......Page 32 4.2 Aqueducts and Water Supply Systems......Page 35 4.3 Baths......Page 43 4.4 Drainage and Sanitation......Page 51 4.5 Water-Displays......Page 58 4.6 Hydraulic Power......Page 68 4.7 Post-Roman Water Culture......Page 70 5 Empire-Wide Trends and Phenomena......Page 73 6 Water Culture and Its Implications......Page 75 6.1 Power......Page 76 6.2 Aesthetics......Page 80 6.3 Water as Spectacle......Page 82 6.4 Shared Cultural Experience of Water......Page 87 6.4.1 Religion......Page 88 6.4.2 Landscape......Page 90 6.4.3 Water’s Role in Cultures of Consumption and Pleasure......Page 93 7 Conclusions......Page 97 References......Page 99 Water played an important part of ancient Roman life, from providing necessary drinking water, supplying bath complexes, to flowing in large-scale public fountains. The Roman culture of water was seen throughout the Roman Empire, although it was certainly not monolithic and it could come in a variety of scales and forms, based on climatic and social conditions of different areas. This article seeks to define "water culture" in Roman society by examining literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence, while understanding modern trends in scholarship related to the study of Roman water. The culture of water can be demonstrated through expressions of power, aesthetics, and spectacle. Further there was a shared experience of water in the empire that could be expressed through religion, landscape, and water's role in cultures of consumption and pleasure. [Source : 4e de couverture] Contents 7 Acknowledgements 9 Editors’ Note 11 Water Culture in Roman Society 13 Abstract 13 Keywords 13 1 Introduction 13 2 Ancient Roman Sources on Water 16 3 Roman Water Management: Administration, Distribution and Legal Regulations 22 4 Categories of Water Usage: Archaeological Evidence 31 4.1 Prolegomena: Modern Scholarship on Roman Water 32 4.2 Aqueducts and Water Supply Systems 35 4.3 Baths 43 4.4 Drainage and Sanitation 51 4.5 Water-Displays 58 4.6 Hydraulic Power 68 4.7 Post-Roman Water Culture 70 5 Empire-Wide Trends and Phenomena 73 6 Water Culture and Its Implications 75 6.1 Power 76 6.2 Aesthetics 80 6.3 Water as Spectacle 82 6.4 Shared Cultural Experience of Water 87 6.4.1 Religion 88 6.4.2 Landscape 90 6.4.3 Water’s Role in Cultures of Consumption and Pleasure 93 7 Conclusions 97 References 99