{"product_id":"cabinet-of-roman-curiosities-a","title":"Cabinet of Roman Curiosities, A","description":"\u003cp\u003eHere is a whimsical and captivating collection of odd facts, strange beliefs, outlandish opinions, and other highly amusing trivia of the ancient Romans. We tend to think of the Romans as a pragmatic people with a ruthlessly efficient army, an exemplary legal system, and a precise and elegant language. \n\u003cbr\u003eA Cabinet of Roman Curiosities shows that the Romans were equally capable of bizarre superstitions, logic-defying customs, and often hilariously derisive views of their fellow Romans and non-Romans. Classicist J. C. McKeown has organized the entries in this entertaining volume around major themes--The Army, Women, Religion and Superstition, Family Life, Medicine, Slaves, Spectacles--allowing for quick browsing or more deliberate consumption. \n\u003cbr\u003eAmong the book's many gems are: \n\u003cbr\u003e- Romans on urban living: The satirist Juvenal lists \"fires, falling buildings, and poets reciting in August as hazards to life in Rome.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e- On enhanced interrogation: \"If we are obliged to take evidence from an arena-fighter or some other such person, his testimony is not to be believed unless given under torture.\" (Justinian) \n\u003cbr\u003e- On dreams: Dreaming of eating books \"foretells advantage to teachers, lecturers, and anyone who earns his livelihood from books, but for everyone else it means sudden death\" \n\u003cbr\u003e- On food: \"When people unwittingly eat human flesh, served by unscrupulous restaurant owners and other such people, the similarity to pork is often noted.\" (Galen) \n\u003cbr\u003e- On marriage: In ancient Rome a marriage could be arranged even when the parties were absent, so long as they knew of the arrangement, \"or agreed to it subsequently.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e- On health care: Pliny caustically described medical bills as a \"down payment on death,\" and Martial quipped that \"Diaulus used to be a doctor, now he's a mortician. He does as a mortician what he did as a doctor.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e \n\u003cbr\u003eFor anyone seeking an inglorious glimpse at the underside of the greatest empire in history, A Cabinet of Roman Curiosities offers endless delights.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oxford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44156249702638,"sku":"9780195393750","price":33.14,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/9612\/7726\/files\/9780195393750.jpg?v=1706209130","url":"https:\/\/bookland.com.au\/products\/cabinet-of-roman-curiosities-a","provider":"Book Land AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}