A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives

Name: A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Philip Matyszak
ISBN: 9798350837889

Author: Philip Matyszak, Joanne Berry

Narrator: Anne Flosnik

Unabridged: 9 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/04/2023

Categories: Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Roman History

Synopsis

One hundred vivid portraits of real-life characters bring to life the highs and lows of Rome's dramatic history.

A vibrant portrait of a lost world, A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives reveals the mightiest civilization of antiquity through the eyes of one hundred of its citizens. The book gives a voice not just to Rome's most famous generals and rulers, such as Caesar and Caligula, but also to its builders, sculptors, poets, historians, gladiators, shepherds, enslaved people, and courtesans. The book begins with Faustulus, the foster father of Romulus and Remus, and closes with the final emperor, Romulus Augustulus. The stories of Roman women are given their due as well—from Servilia, Caesar's lover; to Agrippina, the murderous wife of Claudius; Amazonia, the sword-swinging gladiator; and Hypatia, philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. Exploring every level of society and using the latest archaeological evidence as well as ancient texts, the authors build up a picture of what it meant to live in Ancient Rome.

About Philip Matyszak

Philip Matyszak holds a doctorate in ancient history from St John's College, Oxford University, and has been studying, teaching and writing on the subject for over twenty years. He specializes in the history of Classical Greece and of the Late Republic and Early Imperial periods of Rome. Matyszak has personal military experience both as a conscript in Rhodesia and with the Territorial Army in Britain. These days he splits his time between writing in his home in Canada's Monashee Mountains and providing e-learning courses for Cambridge University's Institute of Continuing Education.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Daniel on September 19, 2023

There are some people missing in the early sections, and considering their stature (Romulus & Remus, Marius, Scipio Africanus) one would think they would be there. But some omissions aside, I find this to be an excellent one-stop-shop biographical encyclopedia.......more

Goodreads review by Emily on January 13, 2024

*3.75 Stars* A very brief introduction of Ancient Rome through its people. Sometimes too brief, sometimes too wordy in military accomplishments (shocking for Ancient Rome I know…) but I still came away knowing way more than I did before starting so that’s a positive!......more

Goodreads review by Maggie on March 05, 2025

A really cool way to explore the history of Ancient Rome......more

Goodreads review by Bren on March 13, 2024

What I liked about this book is that it generally spoke of the more powerful or famous people of the Roman Empire, but there were plenty of depictions of more minor people such as slaves, soldiers, poets, etc. There were also a fair amount of women in the book. Each person receives roughly 1- 3 page......more

Goodreads review by Kara on January 09, 2025

The book covers all of ancient Rome, from the adopted father of Romulus and Remus, to the last emperor of Rome - appropriately also named Romulus - with a wide swath of people in between, from well-known and well-documented emperors and saints, to slaves and soldiers who only show up in tantalizing......more