A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium

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About this book

First of the widely celebrated and sumptuously illustrated series, this book reveals in intimate detail what life was really like in the ancient world. Behind the vast panorama of the pagan Roman empire, the reader discovers the intimate daily lives of citizens and slaves--from concepts of manhood and sexuality to marriage and the family, the roles of women, chastity and contraception, techniques of childbirth, homosexuality, religion, the meaning of virtue, and the separation of private and public spaces. The emergence of Christianity in the West and the triumph of Christian morality with its emphasis on abstinence, celibacy, and austerity is startlingly contrasted with the profane and undisciplined private life of the Byzantine Empire. Using illuminating motifs, the authors weave a rich, colorful fabric ornamented with the results of new research and the broad interpretations that only masters of the subject can provide.

Book Details

ISBN13 9780674399747
ISBN10 0674399749
Series/Work OL17200205W View on OpenLibrary
Publisher Belknap Press/Harvard University Press
Language ENG
Created At January 30, 2025
Updated At January 30, 2025
Last OL update January 18, 2025

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