Review of Robert Knapp, 'Invisible Romans'. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2011. Pp. 371. ISBN 9780674061996. $29.95.

Abstract

Knapp's 'Invisible Romans' seeks to provide for the general reader a revealing and readable account of what life was like for the great mass of 'ordinary' people who lived at Rome and its empire from Augustus to Constantine. Knapp examines what he terms the 'mind world' of ordinary men and women, slaves, freedmen and soldiers, in addition to some more extraordinary Romans: prostitutes, gladiators, and pirates. The book also offers for those more familiar with the topic areas some stimulating insights that will provoke thought and discussion, if not always agreement.