A Companion to the City of Rome by Amanda Claridge Claire Holleran & Amanda Claridge

Author:Amanda Claridge,Claire Holleran & Amanda Claridge
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781118300701
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published: 2018-08-27T00:00:00+00:00

PART VI

DYING IN ROME

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Hazards of Life in Ancient Rome: Floods, Fires, Famines, Footpads, Filth, and Fevers

Gregory S. Aldrete

Introduction

The glories of ancient Rome, its creative, awe‐inspiring works of architecture and its lavish spectacles and public entertainments, are well documented, but there was a darker side to life in the city as well. Rome was, quite simply, a crowded, noisy, smelly, and dangerous place to live. Its people were subject to all the standard ills found in any big city, as well as a few others particular to it. While wealth and privilege could partially shelter Rome’s elite from some of these perils, others affected all of those who dwelled in the city, rich and poor. Among the more significant and omnipresent of the sundry hazards endured by Rome’s inhabitants were six which might be characterized as the six F’s: floods, fires, famines, footpads, filth, and fevers.

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