Invisible Romans

What survives from the Roman Empire is largely the words and lives of the rich and powerful: emperors, philosophers, senators. Yet the privilege and decadence often associated with the Roman elite was underpinned by the toils and tribulations of the common citizens. Here, the eminent historian Robert Knapp brings those invisible inhabitants of Rome and its vast empire to light.

He seeks out the ordinary folk--laboring men, housewives, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers, and gladiators--who formed the backbone of the ancient Roman world, and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. He finds their traces in the nooks and crannies of the histories, treatises, plays, and poetry created by the elite. Everyday people come alive through original sources as varied as graffiti, incantations, magical texts, proverbs, fables, astrological writings, and even the New Testament.

Knapp offers a glimpse into a world far removed from our own, but one that resonates through history. Invisible Romans allows us to see how Romans sought on a daily basis to survive and thrive under the afflictions of disease, war, and violence, and to control their fates before powers that variously oppressed and ignored them.

Knapp wears his enormous learning very lightly, presenting a nuanced and convincing picture of Roman life. Drawing upon a wide range of evidence, this book provides a convincing reconstruction of social attitudes of the invisible multitudes of the Roman world. A deeply humane book from a senior scholar that enables us to better understand the human condition in Antiquity and in our own times. David Potter, University Of Michigan

One of the best synoptic books on Roman social history I've ever read. Writing directly from ancient sources - a particular strength of the work - Invisible Romans challenges assumptions and offers original insights. Knapp's exemplary erudition and commitment should inspire a new generation of scholars to return to the difficult art of reading sources. T. Corey Brennan, American Academy In Rome

A unique view of Roman life on the streets, in the arenas, and in the barracks, roughly from the first three centuries CE, written with an engaging prose. It is Everyman who is on view here, so while there are plenty of surprises, the pleasing overall effect is to realize how similar common lives then were to ours now... It is a pleasure throughout Invisible Romans to see how Knapp has used his obvious expertise and depth of knowledge to bring out facts from many diverse sources. His writing is clear, and often witty... [An] exhilarating show of scholarship at a popular level. Rob Hardy

Robert Knapp brings to light the laboring men, housewives, prostitutes, freedmen, slaves, soldiers, and gladiators who formed the backbone of the ancient Roman world, and the outlaws and pirates who lay beyond it. The lives of these invisible Romans emerge from graffiti, incantations, fables, astrological writings, and even the New Testament.

Robert Knapp is Professor Emeritus in the Classics Department at the University of California, Berkeley.

University of California Berkeley