Paperback, 704 pages
English language
Published Sept. 1, 1992 by Belknap Press.
A History of Private Life, Volume I, From Pagan Rome to Byzantium
From Pagan Rome to Byzantium (History of Private Life)
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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.
Subjects
- Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE
- Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 500 to c 1500
- European history: BCE to c 500 CE
- European history: c 500 to c 1500
- Social history
- World history
- World - General
- Family
- Civilization
- History - General History
- Manners and customs
- History: World
- Ancient Rome
- Byzantine Empire
- History
- History / General
- Europe - General
- Europe