Cities of the Ancient World
Season 1, Episode 19: The Lives of the Poor in Rome
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Trace a day in the life of an immigrant glass blower in Rome, whose life would be considerably less fortunate thanks to xenophobia, dark and dank tenement housing, and the strong possibility of death by fire, flood, or famine. Then look at what alternatives poor Romans had, including life as a gladiator or soldier.
All Episodes - Season 1
Episode 1
The Lure of the City
Episode 2
Çatalhöyük—First Experiment in Urban Living
Episode 3
Jericho and Its Walls
Episode 4
Uruk—City of Gilgamesh
Episode 5
Mysterious Mohenjo-daro
Episode 6
Kahun—Company Town in the Desert
Episode 7
Work and Life at Deir el-Medina
Episode 8
Amarna—Revolutionary Capital
Episode 9
Knossos—Palace, City, or Temple?
Episode 10
Akrotiri—Bronze Age Pompeii
Episode 11
Mycenae, Tiryns, and the Mask of Agamemnon
Episode 12
Athens—Civic Buildings and Civic Identity
Episode 13
Athenian Domestic Architecture
Episode 14
Hippodamian Planning—Miletus and Ephesus
Episode 15
Olynthus—A Classical Greek City Preserved
Episode 16
Wonder and Diversity at Alexandria
Episode 17
Pergamon—The New Theatricality
Episode 18
The Good Life in Rome
Episode 19
The Lives of the Poor in Rome
Episode 20
Ostia—Middle-Class Harbor Town
Episode 21
Timgad—More Roman Than Rome
Episode 22
Karanis—On the Fringes of the Empire
Episode 23
Constantinople—The Last Ancient City
Episode 24
Lessons and Legacies of Ancient Urban Life