Our title-page portrait is, in fact, of an anonymous Romano-Egyptian lady from Al Fayoum in Egypt. The portrait was placed on her mummified body before burial.
Dating to around 150 AD, it's now in Manchester Museum.

Find out more about: ROMANO-EGYPTIAN PORTRAITS

Haterius' banquet is closely modelled on a famous fictional banquet portrayed in a Roman novel called The Satyricon written around AD 61 by Petronius - the Emperor Nero's own Judge of Good-Taste. Discover more about The Satyricon on this weblink.

Read Petronius' original story, The Satyricon. Scroll to page 18 to read this annotated account of his extravagant dinner party.

The farmer (representing the traditional virtuous citizen-farmer) takes his cow to market and passes a decaying shrine (representing the erosion of traditional Roman values and religion by expansion of empire and the influx of foreign, especially Greek, customs). 1st century B.C. In the Antiquities Museum in Munich.

An exploration of many aspects of Roman society, some covered in other Stages, but well worth a look. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

Follow the links for brief overviews of these - and other - main divisions in Roman society; from PBS.

A must-read! Detailed look at these social divisions and how they changed from Late Republic to Empire, importantly noting that the basis for the senatorial class was political while that of the equestrian class was economic.

Informative article on the social pecking-order in the Roman world, looking at the importance of such things as wealth, influence and status symbols.

The do's and don'ts of belonging to the Roman upper-class. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

Status often determined the type of clothes a Roman wore. You wouldn't want to make the mistake of wearing a toga with a broad purple stripe if you weren't entitled to!

Roman mosaic at the House of the Grain Measurers at Ostia.

As featured on p.72 of CLC BkIV; in situ at Ostia.

A stunning aerial picture.

CSCP's Romans In Focus website filmed an episode at Ostia about insulae (Roman tenement blocks). The port's ruins can be seen from 1 minute into the video linked to; there are also further weblinks, some relating to Ostia, others to how the masses lived.

A short descriptive tour with a basic map.

Reconstruction drawing of the tenement blocks in Ostia (scroll to the bottom to view).

By the imperial period Ostia couldn't cope with the number and size of ships unloading their supplies. So a huge new-port was built a few kilometres to the north. Known as Portus ("the port"), it has recently been surveyed. This website provides descriptions, plans and cgi reconstructions of this enormous facility.

A brief look at how politics worked in Rome, including the two main political parties.

A Roman politician had to work his way to the top of the political ladder: the cursus honorum. An excellent look at the Senate, the offices (or magistracies) that a senator could hold, and voting assemblies.

Find your way past the pop-up ads to a short, illustrated description of the Senate House - the home of Roman politics. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

8 computer reconstructions (use the red forward botton to advance) showing how it looked in the early Empire.

How it looks today: remarkably well-preserved since it was converted into a church in AD 630. Click here for further information.

Fly into the Senate House (Curia) in this virtual reality QuickTime movie.

A ceiling fresco from a Roman villa ("San Marco") at Stabia, near Pompeii. The figures represent the Seasons.
Now in the Antiquarium Museum at Stabia, and as illustrated on p.73 of CLC Bk.IV.

Don't panic! An easy introduction from the History For Kids website to a potentially confusing and complex topic. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

A much more detailed introduction for older students with links to names and works.

As simple as it gets for Stoic philosophy (only virtue is important in life; have strength in adversity). Aimed at kids, to be read by all!

One of the more easily intelligible websites about Stoic philosophy.

Terrific 7-minute video presenting the main ideas of this philosophy.

Simple introduction to Epicurus, the philosopher who believed that pleasure was obtained by knowledge, friendship, and living a virtuous and temperate life.

Death is nothing to us, as Epicurus puts it, for when we exist, death is not yet present, and when death is present, then we do not exist. Website dedicated to this Greek philosophy.

Good, fairly easy-to-read article on the main principles of Epicurus' philosophy, how we know about him, and his influence.

Another accessible article.

Easy-to-read account (for older students, at least) of this philosophy, the aim of which was happiness through self-sufficiency. Includes a section on Diogenes, the most famous of all Cynics.
If you're interested, see also this podcast from the 60 second philosopher which goes into a bit more philosophical depth.

Famous painting by J.W.Waterhouse depicting Diogenes shunning material goods, living in a large pot and with a lantern with which he is said to have vainly hunted by daylight for an honest man. In the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

The legend of Mithras, broken down. Scroll down the webpage to the "Myth of Mithras".

A more detailed examination of the Persian god Mithras, his mythology and spread of the religion. Remember, Mithraism was exceptional in that it insisted on a high moral code with emphasis on honesty, purity and courage; and it was especially favored by soldiers, officials and merchants.

There are ruins of a temple to Mithras at Carrawburgh on Hadrian's Wall, and a reconstruction in the Museum of Antiquities at the University of Newcastle.

Cave-like Temple of Mithras at Capua in Italy. Note the painting of Mithras slaying the bull on the back wall and the banqueting couches along the sides.

Dramatic sculpture of Mithras slaying the bull. In the Vatican Museum, Rome. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

A sculptural relief of Mithras slaying the bull.

Found in Rome, dating to the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD; now in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

Stone head of Mithras, typically wearing a curved "Persian" cap. In the Museum of London.

A circular relief depicting Mithras slaying the bull.
Found in Walbrook in the City of London in 1889, it certainly formed a major sculpture in the worship of Mithras and undoubtedly came from his temple.
As featured on p.76 of CLC Bk.IV.