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Romans and Aliens

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If you are looking for a good sourcebook on Roman society and cultural attitudes, I highly recommend ROMANS And ALIENS by J.P.V.D. Balsdon (with his full name being John Percy Vivian Dacre Balsdon, it's understandable why the man preferred to publish acronymously).

Written in an entertaining narrative form (with sources linked by endnotes), the book details Roman relations with its neighbors and subject peoples, from the early years of the Republic up to to the period of the Late Empire.

The following is a breakdown of the contents of ROMANS And ALIENS:

Preface

Chapter 1. Romans, the Gods' Own People; Rome, Capital of the World
(I)....Romans in Italy
(II)...Romans on their history
(III)..The city of Rome
(IV)...The city populace
(V)....Life in Rome

Chapter 2. Snobbery Begins at Rome

Chapter 3. The Roman Outlook 1: The Greeks

Chapter 4. The Roman Outlook 2: Other Peoples
(I)...North and South
(II)..East and West
(III).Other peoples in particular
(IV)..Patrons and clients

Chapter 5. Romans Abroad

Chapter 6. Enslavement and the Purchase of Slaves

Chapter 7. Admission: Becoming a Roman
(I)...Enemy deserters, allied fighters
(II)..Automatic grants of citizenship
(III).Freedmen
(IV)..General reasons for granting Roman citizenship
(V)...Becoming a Roman

Chapter 8. Expulsion From Rome, Italy or Your Homeland
(I)...Deprivation of citizenship
(II)..Expulsion of aliens from Rome
(III).Exiles

Chapter 9. Communication 1: Latin and Greek
(I)...Survival of variety of spoken languages
(II)..The spread of Latin in the West
(III).Greeks and Latin
(IV)..Spoken Latin
(V)...Latin in the Eastern Empire
(VI)..Spoken Greek

Chapter 10. Communication 2: Barbarous Languages and Interpreters

Chapter 11. A Problem of Names: The Polyonymous Romans
(I)...Romans, the people with three names
(II)..Changing names
(III).How Romans referred to other Romans
(IV)..Foreigners and Roman names

Chapter 12. A Bad Press For Rome
(I)....Greeks (in particular) and Romans
(II)...Liberty, servitude, words, words, words
(III)..Material complaints
(IV)...Roman offensiveness and insensitivity abroad
(V)....Romans: a liking for loot
(VI)...The Romans and their ghastly bad taste
(VII)..Roman success: all a matter of luck
(VIII).Bricks to throw at the Romans
.......(a) Skeletons in the Roman cupboard
.......(b) Tu quoque
(IX)...Anti-Roman writing
.......(a) Historians
.......(b) Lucian
.......(c) Martyr-literature, especially in Alexandria
.......(d) Prophecies of Roman disaster

Chapter 13. A Generally Good Press for Rome

Chapter 14. Different Peoples: Their Looks and Habits
(I)....Looks
(II)...Colour
(II)...Clothing
(IV)...Drink, cooking, food, vegetarianism
(V)....Homosexuality
(VI)...Eunuchs
(VII)..Circumcision
(VIII).The seven-day week
(IX)...Polygamy
(X)....Monotheism and aniconic religion
(XI)...Religious spread
(XII)..Seeing into, even controlling, the future
.......(a) Oracles
.......(b) Dreams
.......(c) Astrology
.......(d) Magic
.......(e) The critics
(XIII).Variations on the theme of death
.......(a) Ritual murder
.......(b) Disposal of the aged and euthanasia
.......(c) Suicide
.......(d) Disposal of the dead
.......(e) Consecration and ruler-cult
Abbreviations
Notes
Index

As you're perhaps able tell from the contents' listings, Balsdon covers much ground in one volume; however, if you need concise but incisive commentary and reference you are more than likely to find what you're looking for within the book's 300 pages.