An Overview of Life in Ancient Rome

    Another "Overview of Life in..." post, this time about the Roman Republic and Empire.  I highly recommend the Yale Course "Roman Architecture," which is completely free and a great introduction to it subject matter.  (Also, I would like everyone to notice all the ways in which I did not make this about ancient Mediterranean agriculture, even though my heart yearns for it.)

General information
    Beard, Mary. "Women to the Front." British Museum. Posted March 6, 2024.
    Khan Academy. "Roman social and political structures | World History | Khan Academy." YouTube. Posted December 27, 2016.
    Lightfoot, Christopher. "The Roman Empire (27 B.C.–393 A.D.)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
    Smarthistory. "Ancient Rome — Reborn — thanks to virtual reality." YouTube. Posted May 14, 2019.
    —. "The Roman Republic." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.

Architecture and engineering
    Lepinski, Sarah. "Roman Stuccowork." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012.
    Lockey, Ian. "Roman Housing." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009.
    Sellers, Vanessa Bezemer, and Geoffrey Taylor. "The Idea and Invention of the Villa." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.
    Smarthistory. "Rome before the Empire, the Temple of Portunus." YouTube. Posted January 21, 2021.
    YaleCourses. "1. Introduction to Roman Architecture." YouTube. Posted September 14, 2009.

Clothing and fashion
    HistoryExtra. "How to dress like a ROMAN woman in ancient Britain." YouTube. Posted September 18, 2025.
    Lynn Museum. "How to Make an Ancient Roman Costume." YouTube. Posted July 20, 2020.
    Stephens, Janet. "Hairstyle and Costume of the Roman Bride." YouTube. Posted March 29, 2013.
    Stephens, Janet. "Roman Bead and Chain Jewelry." YouTube. Posted August 5, 2014.
    Stephens, Janet. "The hairstyles of Faustina the Younger." YouTube. Posted September 8, 2012.
    Stephens, Janet. "Vestal Hairdressing: recreating the 'Seni Crines'." YouTube. Posted January 4, 2013.
    University of Leicester. "How to wear a Toga - Dr Mary Harlow - University of Leicester." YouTube. Posted September 22, 2017.
    VindolandaTrust. "A big lasting impression: The Magna Roman Shoes." YouTube. Posted July 2, 2025.

Economy and trade
    Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. "Trade between the Romans and the Empires of Asia." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
    Holcomb, Melanie. "Barbarians and Romans." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002.
    NJ Spotlight News. "If coins could talk: History as told by ancient Roman currency." YouTube. Posted April 17, 2018.
    Smarthistory. "Markets of Trajan." YouTube. Posted December 4, 2014.
    Smithsonian Channel. "The Fishy Reason this Ancient Roman City was so Wealthy." YouTube. Posted December 13, 2019.

Food and drink
    English Heritage. "How To Cook - The Roman Way." YouTube. Posted September 13, 2011.
    PBS. "What Archeology Reveals About Fast Food in the Roman Empire 🐟 | Life in Ancient Times w/ ‪@DariusArya‬." YouTube. Posted March 4, 2025.
    Raff, Katharine. "The Roman Banquet." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011.
    The British Museum. "How to make 2,000-year-old-bread." YouTube. Posted June 14, 2013.
    The British Museum. "The first example of a Roman Pythagoras / Tantalus cup? I Curator's Corner S5 Ep2 #CuratorsCorner." YouTube. Posted August 11, 2019.
    White, Chantel. "Investigating Roman Foods at Lechaion Harbor, Greece." Expedition Magazine, vol. 63, no. 3 (2021).

Games and entertainment
    Coley, Jacob. "Roman Games: Playing with Animals." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010.
    Klar, Laura S. "Theater and Amphitheater in the Roman World." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006.
    Smarthistory. "Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)." YouTube. Posted March 18, 2012.
    Smithsonian Channel. "Why Romans Enjoyed Cruelty in the Colosseum." YouTube. Posted February 5, 2019.

Hygiene and cosmetics
    English Heritage. "Roman Bathing and Wellness: How Were Roman Baths Really Used?" YouTube. Posted January 10, 2024.
    English Heritage. "Roman Makeup Tutorial | History Inspired | Feat. Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth." YouTube. Posted September 18, 2019.
    HistoryExtra. "The plague that brought the Roman empire to its knees | HistoryExtra podcast." YouTube. Posted September 1, 2024.

Literature and education
    Lightfoot, Christopher. "Roman Inscriptions." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009.

Painting and sculpture
    Abbe, Mark B. "Polychromy of Roman Marble Sculpture." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.
    Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Roman Painting." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.
    Getty Museum. "The Making of a Roman Silver Cup." YouTube. Posted November 6, 2014.
    Smarthistory. "Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius." YouTube. Posted April 23, 2010.
    Smarthistory. "Veristic Male Portrait." YouTube. Posted January 22, 2013.
    Trentinella, Rosemarie. "Roman Glass." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.
    Trentinella, Rosemarie. "Roman Portrait Sculpture: Republican through Constantinian." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.

Religion and folklore
    Hemingway, Colette. "Medicine in Classical Antiquity." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.
    Karoglou, Kiki. "Mystery Cults in the Greek and Roman World." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013.
    Khan Academy. "Roman Empire and Christianity | World History | Khan Academy." YouTube. Posted January 13, 2017.
    Moser, Claudia. "Eastern Religions in the Roman World." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2007.

Warfare and empire
    Department of Egyptian Art. "Roman Egypt." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
    English Heritage. "How To Dress Like A Roman Soldier." YouTube. Posted September 13, 2011.
    Smarthistory. "Relief from the Arch of Titus, showing The Spoils of Jerusalem being brought into Rome." YouTube. Posted October 1, 2014.
    Smithsonian Channel. "Can This Ancient Roman Catapult Live Up to its Reputation?" YouTube. Posted June 9, 2020.
    The British Museum. "Hadrian and the Second and Third Jewish Revolts | Curator's Corner S5 Ep5 #CuratorsCorner." YouTube. Posted September 2, 2019.
    The British Museum. "Parthia V Rome: The battle of Carrhae I Curator's Corner S4 Ep 4 #CuratorsCorner." YouTube. Posted November 5, 2018.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

D&D Thinkpiece: Holy Symbols

Image
    I've been pondering the nature of holy symbols in Dungeons & Dragons and similar fantasy tabletop RPGs.  They're instantly recognizable, with strong lines and bright colors, and can be hugely fun to sprinkle throughout a dungeon as clues or emblazon on a character's shield to show their allegiance.  Yet, there seems to be a distinct lack of real-world analogs for D&D-style holy symbols.  How did that happen?      Although D&D was created by a deeply Christian man, E. Gary Gygax seems to have neglected the real-world use of holy symbols in his own religion, much less outside of Christianity.  Let's look at how the cross is used as a Christian symbol.     The cross or crucifix is, essentially, the ancient Roman equivalent of the gallows.  As the instrument of Jesus' suffering* and death*, it is the quintessential Christian symbol.  It can appear with or without Jesus (or other hanged martyrs), and w...
Read more

1910s Drafting, Tailoring, and Hatmaking

    There are a lot of resources out there for period patterns from the era(s) in question, at least from the 1800s onward, so I thought I'd add yet another series of posts to my blog.  Publication of sewing manuals seems to drop off after the 1910s, picking up again in the 1940s, but I will try to do as many decades as I can! General information      Bryner, Edna. Dressmaking and Millinery . Cleveland, OH: Survey Committee of the Cleveland Foundation, 1916.     Foster, Olivia Hyde. Sewing for Little Girls . New York, NY: Duffield & Company, 1911.      Ginsburg, Marcus O. Chart of Bias Cutting . New York, NY: The Public Press, 1919.     Goodwin, Emma E. Goodwin's Course in Sewing: Practical Instruction in Needlework for Use in Schools and at Home . New York, NY: Frank D. Beattys & Company, 1910.      Van Rensselaer, Martha, et al. A Manual of Home-Making . New York, NY: The MacMillan ...
Read more

A Young Person's Introduction to 18th-Century Western Fashion

     This is an unexpurgated version of a Tumblr post which had to be cut for length.  It was intended to be for those just getting into the subject, or those looking for more on a specific topic.  Unfortunately, it really doesn't treat fashion outside of Britain, France, and their colonies, but for Anglophone readers, I think it's a good starting resource! General information     Cox, Abby. " I Wore 18th-Century Clothing *Every Day for 5 YEARS & This Is What I Learned (Corsets Aren't Bad!) ." YouTube . May 10, 2020.     Dyer, Serena. " How much did 18th-century women know about their clothes? | Fast Fashion v Georgian Dress ." YouTube . July 30, 2020.      Rudolph, Nicole. " 18th century Fashion 101 : how media messes up ." YouTube . May 20, 2023.     Viljanmaa, Maria. " 1780s dressing the different social classes, english fashion ." YouTube . March 30, 2023.      McKnight, Cheyney. ...
Read more