Stephen L. Dyson has spent a lifetime studying and teaching the history
of ancient Rome. That unparalleled knowledge is reflected in his
magisterial overview of the Eternal City.
Rather than look only at the physical development of the city--its
buildings, monuments, and urban spaces--Dyson also explores its social,
economic, and cultural histories. This unique approach situates Rome
against a background of comparative urban history and theory, allowing
Dyson to examine the dynamic society that once thrived there. In his
personal effort to reconstruct the city, Dyson populates its streets
with the hurried politicians, hawking vendors, and animated students
that once lived, worked, and studied there, bringing the ancient city to
life for a new generation of students and tourists.
Dyson follows Rome as it developed between the third century BC and the
fourth century AD, dividing the great megalopolis into distinct
neighborhoods and locales. He shows how these communities, each with its
own unique customs and colorful inhabitants, eventually grew into the
great imperial capital of the Italian Empire.
Dyson integrates the full range of sources available--literary,
artistic, epigraphic, and archaeological--to create a comprehensive
history of the monumental city. In doing so, he offers a dramatic
picture of a complex and changing urban center that, despite its flaws,
flourished for centuries.
