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SoSe 20: Everyday life of Romans

Klaus Geus

Information for students

Via blackboard

Additional information / Pre-requisites

Regular appointments: weekly Powerpoint presentations by the lecturer, available in Blackboard. Please note the announcements in Blackboard. The files are available under "course material".

Comments

Historians deal primarily with the analysis of political processes and problems and the description of the characters and goals of "great" persons. They rarely look at ordinary people and their everyday life, and rarely do they ask questions like: What were the needs, wishes and desires of the ancient Romans? Under what conditions did they grow up? What professions were open to them? How did they spend their spare time? What did they eat and drink? Who were the gods they worshipped? What was their attitude towards love, marriage and death? The present lecture tries to provide answers to these and other questions. It aims at both students and public audience interested in the everyday life of ancient Romans. close

Suggested reading

Blank, Horst: Einführung in das Privatleben der Griechen und Römer, Darmstadt 1976 (short introduction); Friedländer, Ludwig: Darstellungen aus der Sittengeschichte Roms in der Zeit von August bis zum Ausgang der Antonine. 9. Aufl. hrsg. v. Georg Wissowa, 2 Bde, Leipzig 1920 (huge and dispensable collection of source material); Weeber, Karl-Wilhelm: Alltag im alten Rom: das Landleben; ein Lexikon. Düsseldorf; Zürich: Artemis & Winkler, 2000; Weeber, Karl-Wilhelm: Alltag im Alten Rom: Das Leben in der Stadt; ein Lexikon. Düsseldorf; Zürich: Artemis & Winkler, 2011 (both lexica of Weeber provide detailed information and references to ancient sources). close