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In this animated history documentary we team up with Daniel Greene (https://www.youtube.com/c/DanielGreeneReviews) to discuss what literature was like in the Roman era. We first begin by discussing who might even be able to read at this time. Such literacy rates were higher than you might imagine though there are large ranges when it comes to estimating numbers. Naturally this all would have varied based on time, location, and demographics. We then turn to the various forms of Roman literature which were available. This ranged from letters to poems and novels. All would have had their own genres and a wealth of diversity.

We look specifically at the remaining Greco-Roman novels we have today. "A True Story" for instance was written as a satire of fantastical tales relayed by the likes of Herodotus and stands as one of the earliest works of sci-fi. "Daphne and Chloe" is a great example of a classic romance with "The Aethiopica" acting as more of an adventure novel. Then you have more comedic literature like "The Metamorphoses" of Apuleius which tells the hijinks of when a man accidentally turned himself into a donkey. We have on the wonderful Daniel Greene to give us his take on the matter. You can watch his full review here: https://youtu.be/2YK7QI6cByA

We finally conclude our episode by seeing how these various works of literature were produced and distributed. This includes a vast array of public and private libraries which preserved and maintained such pieces over the Roman era.

Stay tuned for more How They Did It Episodes on daily life in the past! What should we cover next?

Credits:
Research = Chris Das Neves
Script = Chris Das Neves
Narration = Invicta
Artwork = Penta Limited

Sources and Suggested Reading:
“Literacy in the Roman World” by A.K Bowman
“Graeco-Roman Literacy and Comparative Method” by William V. Harris
“Literacy and orality in ancient Greece” by Rosalind Thomas
“Bookrolls and Scribes in Oxyrhynchus” by William A. Johnson

#history
#documentary
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“The Ancient Book” by Roger S. Bagnall
“Scribes and Scholars” by Reynolds, L.D. and N.G. Wilson