The View From Below Flashcards
1
Q
Bread and circuses - Tacitus view
A
“Won over the soldiers with gifts, the people with corn and all men with the joy of leisure” (Annals 1.2)
2
Q
You need friends
A
Patronage system
Poor Roman often a client of the rich
3
Q
Bread
A
Rome can’t feed herself
Grain imported from Egypt and Africa
Claudius, Nero and Trajan’s works at Ostia and Portus
4
Q
Alimenta
A
Imperial - Trajan and Veleia
Private - Pliny the Younger at Comum
5
Q
Scarcity
A
Food supply a constant problem
6
Q
Why was food supply a constant problem?
A
Population Logistics Dependence on imports - dangers of interrupted supply Political instability Grain storage
7
Q
More provincial woes
A
Bread riots at Prussia
Baker’s strike at Ephesus
Anti-hoarding laws - Lex Irnitana
8
Q
Euergetism
A
“Doing good deeds”
Crucial part of the Roman system
Biggest donors - the emperors
