Book description
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. 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.
