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Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town

Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town

Author(s): Mary Beard

Location(s): Pompeii

Genre(s): Nonfiction

Era(s): 79AD and Modern

Location

Content

Pompeii explodes a number of myths – from the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought: the hygiene of the baths which must have been hotbeds of germs: and the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one, to the massive death count which was probably less than ten per cent of the population. Street Life, Earning a Living: Baker, Banker and Garum Maker (who ran the city), The Pleasure of the Body: Food, Wine, Sex and Baths, these chapter headings give a surprising insight into the workings of a Roman town. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica. A fast-food joint on the Via dell’ Abbondanza introduces food and drink and diets and street life. These are just a few of the strands that make up an extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain’s leading classicist.

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