Aspects of Greek and Roman life

In The Etruscan Cities and Rome, H. H. Scullard examines the cities of Etruria, the dominant power on the Italian peninsula just prior to the ascendancy of Rome. Though eventually conquered by the Romans, the Etruscans exerted enormous influence on Roman political and social institutions. Scullard describes the mysterious origins of these people, their years of conquest and expansion, and their encounters with Greeks, Romans, Celts, and others. Generously illustrated, the book admirably captures the distinct qualities of Etruria's various urban centers - from the southern cities, where art and handicrafts flourished, to the metal-working northern cities, to the outlying Etruscan areas of Latium and Campania.

299 p. 23 cm

Never before available in paperback, J. M. C. Toynbee's study is the most comprehensive book on Roman burial practices. Ranging throughout the Roman world - from Rome to Pompeii, from Britain to Jerusalem - Toynbee's book examines funeral practices from a wide variety of perspectives. Toynbee first examines Roman beliefs about death and the afterlife, revealing that few Romans believed in the Elysian Fields of poetic invention. She then describes the rituals associated with burial and mourning: commemorative meals at the gravesite were common, with some tombs having built-in kitchens and rooms in which family could stay overnight. Toynbee also includes descriptions of the layout and finances of cemeteries, the tomb types of both the rich and the poor, and the types of grave markers and monuments, as well as tomb furnishings.