Welcome to Litsy!

The title is a bit too cute for me, but the blurb by Tom Holland clinched the deal and I got my next non-fiction read. Anyway I am a big fan of ancient Rome, and a big fan of murder as well.

From today perspective - that was really interesting look at homicide ‘traditions‘ in Ancient Rome, very interesting look at what they treated as plain murder, and what was justified violent death. Serious topic, but author managed to lighten things up with some humorous comments. #NonFiction2022 #RuleBreaker

The author begins with the most famous murder of them all and discusses various murders and killings collected together based on who was killing who and in what context. It is by and large very entertainingly written but the author does not shy away from or gloss over the ways in which the Romans were quite horrifyingly different from us and how much (from our perspective) cruelty and suffering their social system involved.

This was fun—I snort-laughed a great deal—but the paragraphs were HUGE! I felt like I was drowning in a barrage of (wittily relayed) information. Probably better to read a bit at a time for that reason.

"Looking at murder in the Roman world allows us to see the Empire's grim underbelly, its brutal barbarism so often obscured by neoclassicism and an imagined dream of 'Rome'. .... Murder offers us a glimpse at both how like and unlike us they were. "
Discussion of what murder meant in Rome - informally written (including reality tv references and f-bombs) but packed with historical references.

What conspiracy theories tell us is what people think is 'really ' happening in their world...

The Romans were starting an empire and gladiatorial games turned out to be an extraordinarily good way of repeatedly reinforcing the power of the state to enslave and kill people in such a way that the people would voluntarily turn up to swallow the message.

Always remember that he took his troops across the Rubicon not to save Rome, but because he had refused to give up his job as governor of Gaul as it protected him from being prosecuted in Rome for crimes he had committed. Imagine if your least favourite world leader just refused to stop being in charge when their term ended because they just didn't want to and that they also had an enormous personal army.

🤔🤔

Romans were, without a doubt, a bunch of ruthless, bloodthirsty bastards, but I find them and their culture endlessly fascinating. The Roman views on murder are so alien to our current western civilization, that they don't just seem from a different time, but from a different planet and species all together. 4 🏛🏛🏛🏛 1/2
2nd book for #AnyWayYouReadathon @kimmypete1 @Eggbeater @MidnightBookGirl

I really must stop listening to Book Riot‘s For Real podcast! 🤣

You can tell I'm enjoying this because I should be working but I keep taking breaks to read a bit more. >.>

I'm being super grasshopper-minded at the moment, as folks can maybe tell from the range of stuff I've been reading. This one has a gossipy feel which might start to annoy me, but right now it feels like the author's excited about her subject and bringing it across to an audience who don't have the necessary in-depth knowledge... without boring them with too much to wade through, so she goes lightly sometimes.

In spite of their achievements, I've always thought the Romans were probably a bunch of bastards. But Southon very knowledgeably, and very accessibly reveals depths to their utter depravity which really took my breath away.

You'll never again read a breathless article about the discovery of a Roman villa without thinking of the lives of the slaves who supported it.

Really good option for both the casual reader and historian alike. Strong pick.