What Was It Like To Live In Rome?

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

According to Juvenal, "men do not easily rise whose poverty hinders their merit" (Beatty, p. 225).
Juvenal goes on to depict the physical dangers that exist in the city. According to him, people are always afraid of dangers such as fires, collapses of buildings, noisy and overcrowded streets, and nighttime attacks on the street. He describes the dangers as "the thousand risks of this terrible city" (Beatty, p. 222). He feels that the city is extremely an unsafe place to live in when he says, "bolts and padlocks and bars will never keep out all the burglars" (Beatty, p. 225). He also complains that Rome has become a cosmopolitan city and is being overrun by foreigners. In the Satire, Juvenal's anger of the foreigner is specifically directed against the Greeks at one point.
Based on the satire, readers may feel that Rome was as dirty and debauched as a city could get. However, it is difficult to prove whether Juvenal's description of his city is true or not. There are several ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE: