Ray Laurence, professor of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Kent has created an educational cartoon depicting the life of a teenage boy in Ancient Rome. Ray also narrates the cartoon and even stars in it as a cartoon Roman.

The cartoon tells the tale of Lucius Popidius Secundus, a 17-year old living in Rome in 73 AD. At a time when only 50% of people would live until they were 15 years old, the cartoon tells of his daily activities such as going to communal baths with his friends and having dinner served by slaves. As it typical of ancient Rome, we see that his father is planning an arranged marriage for him, and we experience his brothers coming-of-age festival to mark the achievement of reaching adulthood. His life is a typical one of arranged marriages, coming-of-age festivals, and communal baths.

This cartoon is both interesting and educational and provides a fascinating insight into the ancient Roman world. The video can be watched from the link below and includes a fun quiz on what we have learnt through the cartoon. http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-glimpse-of-teenage-life-in-ancient-rome-ray-laurence.

Ray is a specialist in Roman History and Archaeology; further details of his teaching and research can be found here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/classics/staff/RayLaurence/.

Ray will also be presenting the research that led to the cartoon at his KIASH Inaugural Lecture on Thursday, 8 November 2012, 6:00 pm - Woolf Lecture Theatre, titled: 'Pompeii, Roads and the Spatial Turn was the Roman Empire an Early Form of Globalisation?'

Abstract:

The study of the Roman Empire has become a global phenomenon with radical research agendas in Brazil, new 3d TV programmes being made in Korea for a world market, and it continues to thrive in its European heartland. These are signs that the Roman Empire is becoming more relevant today. This lecture will set out a means to capture the nature of the Roman Empire seeking to relate the local, Pompeii, to the global, the Empire. The content will be drawn from Ray Laurence's own experience of working on space with a focus on understanding how the spatial turn can allow Roman historians and archaeologists to create new explanations for a subject that has a longevity of scholarship back to at least the 18th century. In so doing, a question is posed to provide a focus for the lecture: Was the Roman Empire a form of globalisation?

Download lecture poster (pdf)