Roman life | Alison Morton's Thrillers

Slaves, damnati and freedmen in ancient Rome

In 161 BC, the Roman jurist Gaius wrote: “Slavery is a human invention and not found in nature. Indeed, it was that other human invention, war, which provided the bulk of slaves, but they were also the bounty of piracy … or the product of breeding.” (Institutiones)

A cold, yet trenchant statement. As in many […]

Julian the 'Apostate' and that spear...

Of all the ‘what ifs’ of history, the death of Emperor Julian in AD 363 has to be one of the most intriguing. He rejected Christianity, demoted its by then prominent place in the Roman state and promoted Neoplatonic Hellenism in its place. His aim was to reduce Christianity to one of many also-ran eastern […]

Legion - Life in the Roman Army

It’s that exhibition that Roman enthusiasts are clamouring to see.

The British Museum is rather good at themed exhibitions; the Nero one was terrific as were those featuring Pompeii, the Celts and the World of Stonehenge. When ‘Legion – Life in the Roman Army’ was first announced in the members’ newsletter, I wept bitter […]