The Classical Roman Reader: New Encounters with Ancient Rome

The Classical Roman Reader brings the modern reader into direct contact with the literature, political thought, science, art and architecture, and psychology of classical Rome. Here are the wonders of the Roman world presented in a contemporary, accessible manner, with numerous photographs and illustrations to illuminate the text. Each selection is preceded by an introduction that identifies the author and provides information that allows today's reader to consider these texts in a new light. From Plautus' wildly comic plays to Cato's instructions on farming, and from Catullus' erotic poems to Petronius' descriptions of the decadent splendor of the declining empire. The Classical Roman Reader provides access to the literary, artistic, social, religious, political, scientific, and philosophical texts that shaped Roman thinking and helped form the backbone of Western culture.