Ah, the sights, sounds and (especially) smells of the ancient world

Prof. Gregory S. Aldrete of Humanistic Studies has written a chapter for the book, A Cultural History of the Senses in Antiquity, due out soon from Bloomsbury Publishing and edited by Jerry Toner, director of classics for Churchill College at the University of Cambridge. Aldrete’s chapter is “Urban Sensations: Opulence and Ordure.” It considers some of the ways that inhabitants of ancient cities, such as Rome, would have experienced urban life through their senses, especially those of sound, smell, touch, and sight. It looks at both the good and the bad, from the stench of vast open pits of sewage to the delights of public baths and gardens. The chapter also explores how your sensory experiences would have been determined by your rank, and social and economic status, and how savvy city dwellers could negotiate their city and gain knowledge of what was happening in it through their knowledge of distinctive sounds and smells.