A review by arachan
A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon

dark informative sad slow-paced

4.75

This is not the book I expected. It's not really about famous murders, the way a true crime book would be.  It's about how 'murder' as a concept did not exist in Ancient Rome and what we can learn about the culture by seeing how they reacted to violent death.  It's refreshing, particularly the brutal reality of slavery and what the Romans thought (or didn't) think about violence against them.  Compared to the typical Roman history, written by authors who aren't willing to challenge the privilege of their sources, it's almost shocking to see a historian bluntly call them out as monsters.
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