Philip Matyszak's previous books include Chronicle of the Roman Republic, Enemies of Rome, and Sons of Caesar.
Ancient Rome on Five Denarii a Day
Hardcover
$22.95
- ISBN-13: 9780500051474
- Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
- Publication date: 06/11/2007
- Product dimensions: 5.70(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.95(d)
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A time-traveler's guide to sightseeing, shopping, and survival in the city of the Caesars.
Welcome to Rome, city of the Caesars! This informative and entertaining guide provides everything that any tourist needs for a journey back in time to ancient Rome in AD 200. All you need is your imagination and a toothbrush—this book does the rest, describing all the best places to stay and shop, what to do, and what to avoid.
The guide first gives advice on arranging the sea journey to Italy, and then describes the road to Rome and what to see on each of the city's famous seven hills. You learn what to take to a posh dinner party (dining robe, your own napkin, and indoor shoes) and where to find the best markets, public baths, and brothels.
A series of walks covers all the sights of the eternal city, from the opulence of an imperial palace on the Palatine Hill through the bustle of the Forum to the grandeur of temples such as the Pantheon. The largest and most populous city in the ancient world has more than one hundred spectacles to offer, including chariot races and events at the Colosseum where gladiators battle to the death.
Witty and accessible, this book will appeal to history buffs, travelers, and anyone who has ever wondered what it would have been like to visit the greatest city of ancient times.
Advice for the traveler in ancient Rome...
• The best class of overnight accommodation is a hospitium. You will have to share your room with as many people as the landlord can cram in.
• The main course is so smothered in pungent sauce that you may not know what you are eating. Depending on how you feel about delicacies such assnails fattened on milk, this may not be a bad thing.
• If cost is not an issue you can spend over 100,000 denarii a pound for top-quality purple dyed silk, bearing in mind that you can expect to pay the same price for a pet lion.
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Oxford-educated historian Philip Matyszak has written knowledgably about the rise and fall of ancient Rome in critically acclaimed books like The Sons of Caesar. Now the acclaimed classical scholar gets a chance to strut his stuff in a more lighthearted manner with this amusing, tongue-in-cheek travel guide to the Eternal City, circa A.D. 200. Written in the breezy style of Rick Steves, this entertaining visitors' handbook provides the inside skinny on accommodations, food, sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, and local customs. (There's even a glossary of useful Latin phrases.) Parody, yes. But parody with a purpose. History has never gone down so smoothly!