Ancient Rome As A Museum

Ancient Rome as a Museum considers how cultural objects from the Roman Empire came to reflect, construct, and challenge Roman perceptions of power and identity. Rutledge argues that Roman cultural values are indicated in part by what sort of materials Romans deemed worthy of display and how they chose to display, view, and preserve them.

A brilliantly funny and fascinating look at what life was like for a child in prehistoric times!

Classical archaeology was long equated to ancient art history. Today these fields find themselves at a major crossroads. The influence on them-from the discipline of anthropology-has increased substantially in the past 15 years, adding to the ways in which scholars can study the Roman past. The classical archaeologist of the 21st century is likely to be versed in Greek and Latin, computer technology, ancient history, great monuments, various hard sciences such as physics or even astronomy, GPS, GIS, surveying, mapping, digitizing, artistic rendering, numismatics, geo-science, astronomy, environmental studies, material culture analysis and/or a host of other disciplines and sub-disciplines.Universities are seeking specialists whose talents embrace not one but several different fields of research. It is not necessary for each scholar to know everything about each discipline being used within the fields of art history, classical archaeology and anthropology, but these days a basic knowledge of all relevant disciplines is becoming indispensable. This book will layout the basic information and steps necessary to take the beginning archaeologist's search for knowledge of the past and lead them to adventures of the future. here have been numerous textbooks about the art history and monuments of ancient Rome. With this new work, the authors have attempted to create something slightly different. Students of the subject will still be able to gain the essential basic knowledge of the most important works of art and architecture that have been the focus of university art history courses for more than a century and remain the essential starting point for gaining a window into Roman Antiquity. In addition to this, however, anthropology, classical studies, social history and computer graphics have been used throughout this text in order to help the beginning student understand the daily life of the ancient Romans. The authors have sought to emphasize not only the greatest works of ancient art but have also included utilitarian objects which were more typical of the Roman life experience. It is hoped that this holistic approach can afford an appreciation not only of that estimated one-sixth that formed the Roman elite but also the remaining five-sixths who formed the majority of the Roman people. New technologies are being developed each year allowing increased possibilities for understanding the past. These range from innovations in museology as exemplified by the ruin within a museum approach of Rome's Capitoline Museums to the virtualreality 3D walk-throughs that allow the general public to experience the past first-hand by passing through museums or even reconstructed ancient buildings and sites. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the 21st century is showing that there is a growing desire to offer detailed and intimate snapshots that allow the past to resonate and reveal itself in ways not thought possible a generation ago. In this textbook the authors present more than 400 images, including over 100 new plans and specially commissioned reconstructions.

New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Kirkus Reviews Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction) Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) A San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide Selection A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A sweeping, "magisterial" history of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists shows why Rome remains "relevant to people many centuries later" (Atlantic). In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome "with passion and without technical jargon" and demonstrates how "a slightly shabby Iron Age village" rose to become the "undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean" (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating "the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life" (Economist) in a way that makes "your hair stand on end" (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this "highly informative, highly readable" (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come.

A complete introduction to the rich cultural legacy of Rome through the study of Roman art ... It includes a discussion of the relevance of Rome to the modern world, a short historical overview, and descriptions of forty-five works of art in the Roman collection organized in three thematic sections: Power and Authority in Roman Portraiture; Myth, Religion, and the Afterlife; and Daily Life in Ancient Rome. This resource also provides lesson plans and classroom activities."--Publisher website.

An accessible and beautifully illustrated survey of the world of Ancient Rome

A detailed exploration of nearly 200 objects from ancient Rome and museum collections around the world, gathered here into one handy, pocket-sized guide Pocket Museum: Ancient Rome brings together nearly 200 of the finest and most significant artifacts preserved in museums today—many of which could never be seen side by side—which serve to illustrate the social and cultural history of ancient Rome. These objects tell the story of the origin of the Roman state (Latium) from the Early Iron Age cultures of Etruria and the pseudo-historical “period of the kings” (753–509 BCE), through to the end of the Late Empire in the West in 476 CE. Over a period of more than 1,000 years, Roman culture evolved administratively, socially, and politically, with many elements still recognizable in the sociopolitical infrastructure of the modern Western world. Richly illustrated with detailed photographs of every object, the informative text reveals how each artifact is a key object in its own right—a creation that commemorates a great event or heralds the start of a new era in creativity or politics. From coins of the fifth century BCE to pottery made at the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, all the objects reveal an important insight into this highly influential ancient civilization.