
✨ Featured Offer
Brand New
$29.82
List Price: $29.95
🚚
See all 5 offers from $16.03 FREE standard delivery by: 04 Apr 2026
Overview
What made the Romans laugh? Was ancient Rome a carnival, filled with practical jokes and hearty chuckles? Or was it a carefully regulated culture in which the uncontrollable excess of laughter was a force to fear--a world of wit, irony, and knowing smiles? How did Romans make sense of laughter? What role did it play in the world of the law courts, the imperial palace, or the spectacles of the arena?
Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writing--from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke book--Mary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient "monkey business" to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising. But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really "get" the Romans' jokes?
Laughter in Ancient Rome explores one of the most intriguing, but also trickiest, of historical subjects. Drawing on a wide range of Roman writing--from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke book--Mary Beard tracks down the giggles, smirks, and guffaws of the ancient Romans themselves. From ancient "monkey business" to the role of a chuckle in a culture of tyranny, she explores Roman humor from the hilarious, to the momentous, to the surprising. But she also reflects on even bigger historical questions. What kind of history of laughter can we possibly tell? Can we ever really "get" the Romans' jokes?
| ISBN-13 | 9780520277168 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0520277163 |
| Weight | 1.40 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 6.00 x 1.26 x 9.00 In |
| List Price | $29.95 |
| Edition | 1st Edition |
| Format | Hardcover |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Pages | 336 pages |
| Publisher | University of California Press |
| Published On | 2014-06-25 |
View All Offers
Sort by:
Price
Condition
Seller
Seller Comments
Price
Used, Good
Seller details
Zoom Books Company
Lynden, WA, USA
Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also i...
Free delivery by: 04 Apr 2026
Used, Very Good
Seller details
HPB-Emerald
Dallas, TX, USA
Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and ...
Free delivery by: 04 Apr 2026
Used, Very Good
Seller details
Faith In Print Books
Cumming, GA, USA
Book. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Very nice clean copy. tightly bound. clean covers. pages clean and unm...
Free delivery by: 04 Apr 2026
Used, Like New
Seller details
Voyageur Book Shop
Milwaukee, WI, USA
8vo-over 7¾-9¾" tall Full number line on the copyright page. Previous owner's name and blind stamp ...
Free delivery by: 04 Apr 2026
✨ Brand New
Seller details
Alibris
Sparks, NV, USA
Print on demand Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 336 p. Contains: Illustrations, ...
Free delivery by: 04 Apr 2026