Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up

Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (Sather Classical Lectures Book 71) (Volume 71)

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 fearâ‚¬"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 writingâ‚¬"from essays on rhetoric to a surviving Roman joke bookâ‚¬"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.Â 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 Romansâ‚¬ jokes?
Country USA
Manufacturer University of California Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-07-11
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	University of California Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-07-11
Format	Kindle eBook

Laughter in Ancient Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (Sather Classical Lectures Book 71) (Volume 71)