Death and Burial in the Roman World


Book Description

The most comprehensive book on Roman burial practices—now available in paperback Never before available in paperback, J. M. C. Toynbee's study is the most comprehensive book on Roman burial practices. Ranging throughout the Roman world from Rome to Pompeii, Britain to Jerusalem—Toynbee's book examines funeral practices from a wide variety of perspectives. First, Toynbee examines Roman beliefs about death and the afterlife, revealing that few Romans believed in the Elysian Fields of poetic invention. She then describes the rituals associated with burial and mourning: commemorative meals at the gravesite were common, with some tombs having built-in kitchens and rooms where family could stay overnight. Toynbee also includes descriptions of the layout and finances of cemeteries, the tomb types of both the rich and poor, and the types of grave markers and monuments as well as tomb furnishings.




Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire


Book Description

"Life, Death, and Entertainment in the Roman Empire gives those who have a general interest in Roman antiquity a starting point informed by the latest developments in scholarship for understanding the extraordinary range of Roman society. Family structure, gender identity, food supply, religion, and entertainment are all crucial to an understanding of the Roman world. As views of Roman history have broadened in recent decades to encompass a wider range of topics, the need has grown for a single volume that can offer a starting point for all these diverse subjects, for readers of all backgrounds."--Page 4 of cover.




Memory and Mourning


Book Description

This volume challenges boundaries between traditional academic disciplines and utilizes current approaches in Scholarship. It-highlights how death was interwoven with Roman life and brings together diverse evidence such is poetry, oratory, portraiture, epigraphy, and funerary monuments. These chapters individually and collectively demonstrate the significance of studying the evidence for Roman death and death rituals, and how concerns for memory and mourning both shaped and were reflected in that evidence. --Book Jacket.




The Ancient Roman Afterlife


Book Description

In ancient Rome, it was believed some humans were transformed into special, empowered beings after death. These deified dead, known as the manes, watched over and protected their surviving family members, possibly even extending those relatives’ lives. But unlike the Greek hero-cult, the worship of dead emperors, or the Christian saints, the manes were incredibly inclusive—enrolling even those without social clout, such as women and the poor, among Rome's deities. The Roman afterlife promised posthumous power in the world of the living. While the manes have often been glossed over in studies of Roman religion, this book brings their compelling story to the forefront, exploring their myriad forms and how their worship played out in the context of Roman religion’s daily practice. Exploring the place of the manes in Roman society, Charles King delves into Roman beliefs about their powers to sustain life and bring death to individuals or armies, examines the rituals the Romans performed to honor them, and reclaims the vital role the manes played in the ancient Roman afterlife.




A Roman Death


Book Description

Historical thriller set in Ancient Rome. Lucius, the attractive fiance of a high-society girl is poisoned at the pre-wedding banquet. In the trial that follows, Roman society is shocked when the girl's mother, Helvia, is accused of incest as well as murder. Cicero comes to Helvia's defence, but the killer's identity remains a mystery ...




Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family


Book Description

This innovative study of the patriarchy belies the accepted notion of the father figure as tyrannical and exploitative.




Death and the Emperor


Book Description

"Davies sets out to ask, How did the Romans bury Caesar? And with what monuments did they sing his praises? . . . The architectural elaboration of these structures, their siting in the capital, the lines of vision and approaches that exposed them to view, the paths their complex outworks formed for visitors to walk, are all picked out with skill and presented with care in Death and the Emperor." ?Times Literary Supplement "This concise and lucidly written book is a very valuable new contribution to the studies of Roman imperial cult, political propaganda, and topography, and has the added benefit of discussing complex scholarly disputes in a manner that the non-specialist will probably follow with ease. . . . There is material in this volume that will be immensely useful to researchers in many areas: archaeology, history of architecture, iconography, history of religion, and Roman political propaganda, to name just a few. I strongly recommend it to scholars interested in any or all of the above topics." ?Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Even though its focus is on only seven specimens of architecture, the book touches upon a broad array of aspects of Roman imperial culture. Elegantly written and generously illustrated . . . this book should be of great interest to the general public as well as to the scholarly community." ?American Journal of Archaeology




Roman Death


Book Description

An original study of the role and rituals of death in Roman civilization.




The Death of Myth on Roman Sarcophagi


Book Description

This book explores the disappearance of Greek mythic imagery from the Roman sarcophagi in the 3rd Century.




Et Tu, Brute?: The Deaths of the Roman Emperors


Book Description

A cartoonist’s wry and bloody romp through Roman history. A work of cartoon history with a touch of Edward Gorey’s dark wit, Et Tu, Brute? is an irreverent, illustrated compendium of the deaths of all the Roman emperors, from Augustus to Romulus Augustulus. Here in all their glory are Nero (stabbing himself in the throat), Tiberius (smothered in his sleep by his successor), Caligula (killed by his own praetorian guard), Claudius (fed poisonous mushrooms by his wife), Commodus (strangled by his wrestling partner), Antoninus (died of a surfeit of cheese), and many more.