Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants

Frequently Asked Questions About the Ancient Greeks and Romans

By: Garrett Ryan

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Paperback | 6 September 2021

At a Glance

Paperback
228 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
26.1 x 16.5 x 4.4

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Why didn't the ancient Greeks or Romans wear pants? How did they shave? How likely were they to drink fine wine, use birth control, or survive surgery?

In a series of short and humorous essays, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants explores some of the questions about the Greeks and Romans that ancient historian Garrett Ryan has answered in the classroom and online. Unlike most books on the classical world, the focus is not on famous figures or events, but on the fascinating details of daily life.

Learn the answers to:

How tall were the ancient Greeks and Romans?
How long did they live?
What kind of pets did they have?
How dangerous were their cities?
Did they believe their myths?
Did they believe in ghosts, monsters, and/or aliens?
Did they jog or lift weights?
How did they capture animals for the Colosseum?
Were there secret police, spies, or assassins?
What happened to the city of Rome after the Empire collapsed?
Can any families trace their ancestry back to the Greeks or Romans?

About the Author

Garret Ryan, Ph.D, earned his PhD in Greek and Roman History from the University of Michigan, and has taught in the History and Classics Departments of three universities. The author of several articles in leading scholarly journals, he is one of the most-viewed authors -writing under the name toldinstone -on AskHistorians, the internet's premier public history forum on Reddit. On Quora, his answers have received more than 2,000,000 views in the past year.

His own website has an active following, as does his ongoing YouTube series "Questions about Ancient Greece and Rome (you were afraid to ask in school)."

Industry Reviews

"Bursting with colorful anecdotes, stuffed with vivid details, and with a 'you are there' immediacy, this highly entertaining, engagingly written book pairs a scholar's erudition with a lively sense of humor. Structured as answers to 36 common questions about Greek and Roman antiquity, this book covers everything from religion and politics to hobbies and pets. To the question, 'Are you not entertained?, ' the answer is emphatically yes. Readers will effortlessly learn an amazing amount of accurate information about life in the ancient world along the way." -Prof. Gregory S. Aldrete, author of Daily Life in the Roman City "Very easy to read and thoroughly researched, Garrett Ryan's book is packed full of fascinating nuggets of information. Ranging from the rough side of everyday life to the use of assassins and spies, and to some of the stranger beliefs held by its citizens, this book offers an intriguing and fresh approach to understanding the ancient world." - Dr. Jerry Toner, Director of Studies in Classics at Churchill College, University of Cambridge

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