Roman Voices Download
Carol Clemeau Esler, Author
Roman Voices is a collection of inscriptions, letters, and other writings written by everyday Romans. It’s a wonderful way for students to explore non-literary writing in Latin and get a sense of how ordinary Romans spoke and wrote. This is a revised, expanded, and updated version of the earlier edition of Roman Voices, with many more texts added and the notes and vocabulary updated to reflect current scholarship.
See the support material below for links to images and more information on the readings in this work.
$15.00
Roman Voices
Chapter One: WHAT THEY TALKED ABOUT AT TRIMALCHIO’ S PARTY
- 1.15 Bene elatus est. . . planctus est optime — funeral procession (relief from Amiternum)
- 1.123 de lucerna equites — oil lamps portraying gladiators (only a few of many): 1, 2, 3
- 1.143 carduelis (goldfinch) and mustella (weasel)
- 3.3 “candelabrus” — lampstand from the House of Pansa, Pompeii (click on circled object in upper right corner)
- 3.15 naves aedificavi, oneravi — loading a merchant ship (fresco from Ostia)
- 3.34 mathematicus Graeculio, consiliator deorum — Roman zodiac from Egypt, 1st or 2nd century A.D. (click to enlarge)
Chapter Two: CURSES, CHARMS, AND ORACLES
- Curse Tablets of Roman Britain
- The Lydney Hound: Bronze, 4″” long; one of several dog figurines found at Lydney; they suggest that Nodens was either a hunting deity or a healer (dogs are often associated
with healing sanctuaries in antiquity). - Barbara McManus has assorted images of magic nails (approximately 2/3 of the way down the page.)
- Curse Tablet
- Image of a second century Greco-Roman “Voodoo” Doll
- Reconstruction of the sanctuary, Lydney (II.8)
- Reconstruction of the temple complex, Uley (II.34-36)
Chapter Three: AMPHITHEATER AND RACETRACK
- Mosaic of the Bulls and Banquet (III.12a)
- The Magerius mosaic (III.12b) http://www.flickr.com/photos/markabel/2405291417/
- Chariot racer from the Bardo
- Horses and their trainers
- Ancient Coins for Education has a slideshow of mosaics of animals.
- The Bull “Homicide”
- Braciatus
- A gruesome “Welcome mat” mosaicfrom Pompeii (House of the Wounded Bear). A strange motif with which to greet visitors, but perhaps the householder was a fan of the Circus.
- Chariot mosaic from Merida
Chapter Four: STREET AND TAVERN
Tavern Signs (IV.11-15)
- At the Sign of the Pitchers shop sign image on Flickr and Picasa, as well as in context
- Fortunatus’ Tavern IV.14 mosaic
- Pacatus image & Secundus image(IV.21-22)
Tavern Talk (IV.44)
- Replica flagon saying ‘bene te’
- Doughnut-shaped flask “(Aspects of Daily Life > Discoveries > Ceramics > Flask)
- ‘Mitte Merum’
- ‘Accipe’ (“Trinkbecher,” ¾ of the way down the page)
- Replica saying ‘Frui’
Gambling (Nos. 47, 49-54)
Tavern Frescoes (IV.46-47)
- Life in a tavern (Search on ‘Caupona van salvius’)
- Dice players
Game Boards (IV.52)
Game-Pieces (IV.55)
“The Reckoning” IV.48
Successus IV.56
Popular songs (IV.58-63)
- Signet rings and more signet rings; search for ‘signet’
A Menu
Mule cabs
Chapter Five: POLITICS AND POLITICIANS
General pictures
V.16 (Cucuta graffito)
V.41 (pomari universi for M. Holconius)
V.63 (Asellina’s endorsement of C. Lollius)
Chapter Six: FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Vindolanda
Less colorfully presented pictures of all the Vindolanda letters can be found at Vindolanda Tablets Online (http://vindolanda.csad.ox.ac.uk/) under the relevant tablet-numbers (those included in Roman Voices are 346, 291, 292, 629, and 164).
Wood tablets (VI.43-47)
Scroll down for this set of four tablets
Vindolanda 310
VI.44 The Vindolanda birthday invitation (Tab. Vindol. 291)
Slave or dog tag
A Roman dog (or slave) tag from the British Museum.
Papyrus letter (VI.36: Suneros)
Click to enlarge the papyrus image
Ostrakon
Click on last item in list; illustrations are at end of article, which is a pdf. No. 3 is VI.40.
Animals
Dog names — Hunting Dogs (VI.49)
Vincentius and his mouse
This mosaic can be found in the article Jacques Aymard, “A propos de la mosaïque au chat de Volubilis,” Latomus 20 (1961), 52-71. It is available with JSTOR access.
For animal names, the essential source is J. M. C. Toynbee, “Beasts and Their Names in the Roman Empire,” Papers of the British School at Rome 16 (1948), 24-37. The entire article with its many illustrations is available online through JSTOR and is well worth downloading.