A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome
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- Create Date：2021-04-03 11:51:30
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Emma Southon
- ISBN：1419753053
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Summary
An entertaining and informative look at the unique culture of crime， punishment， and killing in Ancient Rome
In Ancient Rome， all the best stories have one thing in common—murder。 Romulus killed Remus to found the city， Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic。 Caligula was butchered in the theater， Claudius was poisoned at dinner， and Galba was beheaded in the Forum。 In one 50-year period， 26 emperors were murdered。
But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd？ In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum， Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture， including how perpetrator， victim， and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people。 Inside Ancient Rome's darkly fascinating history， we see how the Romans viewed life， death， and what it means to be human。
In Ancient Rome， all the best stories have one thing in common—murder。 Romulus killed Remus to found the city， Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic。 Caligula was butchered in the theater， Claudius was poisoned at dinner， and Galba was beheaded in the Forum。 In one 50-year period， 26 emperors were murdered。
But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd？ In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum， Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture， including how perpetrator， victim， and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people。 Inside Ancient Rome's darkly fascinating history， we see how the Romans viewed life， death， and what it means to be human。
Reviews
CR
，
This book is amazing。 I highly recommend it to anyone who loves history， Ancient Rome， or just some interesting murder stories。 I was initially drawn in by the awesome cover and intrigued by the promise of the real-life homicide cases。 I can say I was not disappointed at all with this one。 The author has a way of making the history fun amd not tedious or boring。 I found myself laughing quite a few times as I read through the history and various laws and cases。 It is a bit long but it is well wor This book is amazing。 I highly recommend it to anyone who loves history， Ancient Rome， or just some interesting murder stories。 I was initially drawn in by the awesome cover and intrigued by the promise of the real-life homicide cases。 I can say I was not disappointed at all with this one。 The author has a way of making the history fun amd not tedious or boring。 I found myself laughing quite a few times as I read through the history and various laws and cases。 It is a bit long but it is well worth the read。 I also thought the glossary at the end was great and useful for anyone not already familiar with Ancient Rome。 。。。more
Martina
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A wonderful blend of history， humor and homicide。
Ross Owen
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A book that really makes you wonder why peoplehave such a boner for Rome。The irreverence and wit of the author bring a nice overlay of humor to what would otherwise be a horribly distressing topic。 It still is distressing when you think about， but at least it didn't linger on the distressing bits， even if it did come back to them over and over。I look forward to more books by Emma Southon。 A book that really makes you wonder why peoplehave such a boner for Rome。The irreverence and wit of the author bring a nice overlay of humor to what would otherwise be a horribly distressing topic。 It still is distressing when you think about， but at least it didn't linger on the distressing bits， even if it did come back to them over and over。I look forward to more books by Emma Southon。 。。。more
Heather
，
This book just made my nerdy， Ancient Rome loving heart so happy！ I knew death and murder were viewed differently in those times but there was so much about the laws that I didn’t know about that was covered in this book。 Emma Southon has a way of making what is usually an exhaustingly boring subject rather entertaining。 I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the history and different types of murder in Ancient Rome。
Bronwyn
，
I’m not really a big Roman history person overall， but every so often something gets me。 I loved the I， Claudius miniseries （have yet to read the books）， I love the Totalus Rankium podcast， and I really enjoyed Emma Southon’s episode on Agrippina on Rex Factor and now listen to her podcast。This was such a fun and fascinating book！ Parts made me laugh out loud， parts made me groan in horror （and made my husband ask what was wrong）。 The concept of what makes a murder in Ancient Rome and all the di I’m not really a big Roman history person overall， but every so often something gets me。 I loved the I， Claudius miniseries （have yet to read the books）， I love the Totalus Rankium podcast， and I really enjoyed Emma Southon’s episode on Agrippina on Rex Factor and now listen to her podcast。This was such a fun and fascinating book！ Parts made me laugh out loud， parts made me groan in horror （and made my husband ask what was wrong）。 The concept of what makes a murder in Ancient Rome and all the different avenues explored were really interesting。 I have Emma Southon’s book on Agrippina to read， and I want to bump it up my pile。 She’s such a fun historian and makes it all so enjoyable to read about。 。。。more
Anja Fruelund
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It’s a horrible book， but important I think as well。 And it is horrible because it alterenates between “laughing out loud passages” with references to modern pop-culture （I have never before read a book on Ancient Rome， with references to Ender’s Game， X-files， Monty Python etc。） and then you are brought back to detailed accounts of the terrifying deaths slaves and animals were subjected to all in the name of Roman politics， entertaining， religion and moralising。 The death-entertainmemt in Roman It’s a horrible book， but important I think as well。 And it is horrible because it alterenates between “laughing out loud passages” with references to modern pop-culture （I have never before read a book on Ancient Rome， with references to Ender’s Game， X-files， Monty Python etc。） and then you are brought back to detailed accounts of the terrifying deaths slaves and animals were subjected to all in the name of Roman politics， entertaining， religion and moralising。 The death-entertainmemt in Roman culture was insanity and so was their view and definition of humans and value of human life。 Reading it I was constantly sick to my stomach because her descriptions doesn’t spare you。 Not from the pain nor the horror of the victim。 And then she makes you consider the views we have today on death penalty and the value of a human life and I look around me and wonder if we have come so very far since then 。。。 But it made me realise that it is not exactly a culture that maybe deserves to represented and revered as it does。 But as she herself points out， their moral compass and world view meant that they felt entitled to do these things， so in principle they can’t be judged。 Studying classical languages in High School this subject was glossed over， the many deaths and the methods were an aside， if at all mentioned。 They do deserve our attention though， so though this is not an entirely plesant read， it is a highly educating one despite a language that may come over as glib。Should I give it five stars？ 。。。more
Anna
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Honestly， if more history books were written like this we'd probably know a lot more about the past， because we'd actually want to read about it。 I hope she starts working on textbooks。 Honestly， if more history books were written like this we'd probably know a lot more about the past， because we'd actually want to read about it。 I hope she starts working on textbooks。 。。。more
Terra
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Often hilarious， at many points gruesome， thoughtful throughout。 Not for the queasy of stomach， but uses the lens of murder， its definition， its perpetrators， and its victims， to explore what a society （or at least its leaders） values - and very much doesn’t value - and what it fears。 I think I’ll probably just read whatever Emma Southon writes from here on out。
Dan Seitz
，
Southon takes an extremely snarky view of Romans and their approach to human life （hint: It's terrible。） This is a deeply informative， thoughtful， and intermittently funny book， but Southon can't quite sustain the snark in the face of what's frankly some rather appalling things。 Southon's fundamental point is that murder， a crime， is different from homicide， which is just killing somebody and could possibly be a crime depending on context， and while we can't trust the Roman sources， we can read Southon takes an extremely snarky view of Romans and their approach to human life （hint: It's terrible。） This is a deeply informative， thoughtful， and intermittently funny book， but Southon can't quite sustain the snark in the face of what's frankly some rather appalling things。 Southon's fundamental point is that murder， a crime， is different from homicide， which is just killing somebody and could possibly be a crime depending on context， and while we can't trust the Roman sources， we can read between the lines。It's a bit uneven， in terms of tone， but it will definitely make you think about Roman history differently， and also ask why we don't interrogate the society these guys lived in more。 。。。more
Kathleen
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Knowledgeable， witty， thought-provoking。 A great read。
BooknIt
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Star review isn't working so ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Star review isn't working so ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 。。。more
Amanda
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review。Is it weird to say that a book about murder was delightful？ Because this book was honestly so entertaining。 Emma Southon writes with such irreverence， particularly when it comes to the emperors， that it makes a subject like murder quite enjoyable。 If you know anything about Ancient Rome you know they really enjoyed killing off their leaders and senators。。。。and really anyone else that didn't fall in line。 I found myself high Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review。Is it weird to say that a book about murder was delightful？ Because this book was honestly so entertaining。 Emma Southon writes with such irreverence， particularly when it comes to the emperors， that it makes a subject like murder quite enjoyable。 If you know anything about Ancient Rome you know they really enjoyed killing off their leaders and senators。。。。and really anyone else that didn't fall in line。 I found myself highlighting a lot of really great， random references like the following。 "In a move of extraordinary ballsiness， Clodius went full Shaggy in court and declared that it wasn't him in Caesar's house because he hadn't even been in Rome that day。" When was the last time you read a history book with references to Shaggy and Monty Python？ Never more than likely。If you don't like this， or authors who interject comments on repetitive names and things like， "bear with me we're getting to the good stuff"， this might not be for you。 These things aside， the research is really well done and the author balances these with a lot of respect for the murders of the common people。 Surprising no one， they really really didn't care when the murder was of a slave or anyone deemed expendable。 While I feel that having an idea of who the major players are， the author does a good job of making it relatable to readers who are not well versed in Ancient Rome。 I highly recommend this one， if for no other reason than it was nice to see some of these emperors knocked off their pedestals a bit。 。。。more
Austin
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Reads like the Hitchhiker's Guide to Ancient Rome。 I listened to the audio book version and the authors sense humor and timing really come through while listening to it。 Plus there's all that well researched history as a bonus。 Reads like the Hitchhiker's Guide to Ancient Rome。 I listened to the audio book version and the authors sense humor and timing really come through while listening to it。 Plus there's all that well researched history as a bonus。 。。。more
Annie
，
The Romans were very， very stabby people。 Emma Southon makes ancient history very informative and funny！ This wonderful book covers vast swathes of the Roman Empire with each chapter covering a different kind of murder - marriage， senate floor， by magic （？！）， in the slave state， and more。 She explains well how murder of a person wasn't really considered something in which the state should be involved， and was more a private matter within a family - unless it concerned a famous， rich person， or t The Romans were very， very stabby people。 Emma Southon makes ancient history very informative and funny！ This wonderful book covers vast swathes of the Roman Empire with each chapter covering a different kind of murder - marriage， senate floor， by magic （？！）， in the slave state， and more。 She explains well how murder of a person wasn't really considered something in which the state should be involved， and was more a private matter within a family - unless it concerned a famous， rich person， or the continuation of the emperor。 Historical non-fiction can be so dry。 Like a sand sandwich with no beverage。 But this book is so well-written that it keeps your interest， and it's funny， too！ 。。。more
KathyNV
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Wow！！ Emma Southon makes history interesting！ She brings reality to the much hyped glory of the ancient Roman Empire in “A Fatal Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum。 It’s reality。。。。gritty， funny， sad and at times horrifying。 A wonderfully rich， well researched study of murder in it’s many forms and meanings in Ancient Rome。 Her writing is entertaining and straightforward。。。you can see the sites， feel the heavy air and smell。。。oh my！ I was hooked from page one！ From magic and slaves， to freem Wow！！ Emma Southon makes history interesting！ She brings reality to the much hyped glory of the ancient Roman Empire in “A Fatal Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum。 It’s reality。。。。gritty， funny， sad and at times horrifying。 A wonderfully rich， well researched study of murder in it’s many forms and meanings in Ancient Rome。 Her writing is entertaining and straightforward。。。you can see the sites， feel the heavy air and smell。。。oh my！ I was hooked from page one！ From magic and slaves， to freemen and philosophers all the way to Rome’s great Emperors， no stone is left unturned。 I was transfixed and could not put this book down！ Thank you so much to Abrams Books！！ The glasses Hollywood provided have come off and I have a more realistic appreciation of the brutality and power Roman leaders held over their slaves， citizens and families。 The Roman Empire and its philosophers。。。power and perception。 I highly recommend it！ 。。。more
Laura
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Interesante reflexión acerca del concepto de asesinato en Antigua Roma， plagada de anécdotas y notas de humor que pone la autora y que hacen este ensayo muy disfrutable。4/5 estrellas - 04/03/2021
Ed Morland
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A highly amusing if also horrifying trip through the various ways you could be killed， from full-on murder through to execution in Ancient Rome。 It moves through its various topics quickly but informatively and never let's you get away from the sheer different cultural assumptions between then and now。 A highly amusing if also horrifying trip through the various ways you could be killed， from full-on murder through to execution in Ancient Rome。 It moves through its various topics quickly but informatively and never let's you get away from the sheer different cultural assumptions between then and now。 。。。more
Alisa
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[Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC]I haven't spent a lot of time feeling grateful for being alive in the current age， but I should probably reconsider that。 Because， according to this book， being alive during the Roman Empire was horrifying， gruesome， and very stabby （if you weren't a disgustingly rich male Roman citizen， of course）。 Even then， quite a few rich Roman guys and even emperors experienced the stabby part。Some things I learned about the Roman government's attitude towards murder:Murder [Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC]I haven't spent a lot of time feeling grateful for being alive in the current age， but I should probably reconsider that。 Because， according to this book， being alive during the Roman Empire was horrifying， gruesome， and very stabby （if you weren't a disgustingly rich male Roman citizen， of course）。 Even then， quite a few rich Roman guys and even emperors experienced the stabby part。Some things I learned about the Roman government's attitude towards murder:Murder of citizens: "eh， not our problem"Murder of slave by master: "well deserved"Murder of criminals: “dress them up in costumes and feed them to the beasts so the public has a grand time”Parricide: "WHAT NOW？？ ACTIVATE THE FULL FORCE OF JUSTICE"In short， the Roman government’s lack of consideration for human life was staggering。 Their culture， beliefs， and laws when it comes to the sanctity of life are so far removed from ours。 Nevertheless， I really enjoyed this glimpse into all the forms of Ancient Roman murder – legal or otherwise。 The author’s tone made it very entertaining， which is not something you would typically say about a murder book。 。。。more
Christine
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Are you looking for a window to the past， complete with murder， drama， and enormous amounts of humor？ This is that book。 Get this book。Full disclaimer: I've never studied anything about Roman history。 All I know comes from reading the "Asterix" comic book series and， sure， the occasional Tumblr call-out post about Cicero。 Apparently he is problematic。 I did not understand why。But now I do！ And more than that， I could not stop reading Emma Southon's clear-as-crystal takes on Senate fights， be the Are you looking for a window to the past， complete with murder， drama， and enormous amounts of humor？ This is that book。 Get this book。Full disclaimer: I've never studied anything about Roman history。 All I know comes from reading the "Asterix" comic book series and， sure， the occasional Tumblr call-out post about Cicero。 Apparently he is problematic。 I did not understand why。But now I do！ And more than that， I could not stop reading Emma Southon's clear-as-crystal takes on Senate fights， be they petty or fatal （and sometimes both）。 Southon starts strong with the Head Honcho himself， Julius Caesar and the men who paved the way to his murder。 Along the way， she dispels dozens of misconceptions spread by pop culture。 Luckily， she replaces the falsities with equally entertaining truths。 After the Senate， Southon goes "full history" but never drops the charm。 She lays out murder in all kinds of other areas of Roman society: law， family， magic， slavery， royalty， and （of course） more politics and coups， because who are we kidding？ This is Rome！ The murder never stops。I especially loved how Southon doesn't actually have to hype the contents。 It sounds exciting （because it is）， but Southon never forgets the concrete horrors and banalities associated with murder in Ancient Rome。 She doesn't shy away from discussing the legwork involved in history （and what might have skewed the objectivity of historians we rely on。。。 like Cicero！）， and she also spends time discussing the things often left out， i。e。 the regular people living with these various laws， murders， and way too frequent political upheavals （plus the occasional festival with nude senators。。。 look， you need the context for that so please read this book， I'm not going to do it justice）。Highly recommended to anyone who's never touched Roman history in their life and is just looking for a way to get their foot in the door while also having fun。 It's edutainment！ Very well-researched edutainment。 Thank you to Netgalley， Abrams Books， and the author for granting me a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Christopher McKeon
，
Strong early contender for my favourite book of the year， this is in parts much funnier than a book about ancient murder should be。But that humour and the conversational style this is written in should not be mistaken for a lack of seriousness。 There is a very serious point here about the cheapness of life in the Roman Empire。 The Romans had a mind-boggling number of words for killing， and reading this you can understand why - they did a huge amount of it。And within the stories of various ancien Strong early contender for my favourite book of the year， this is in parts much funnier than a book about ancient murder should be。But that humour and the conversational style this is written in should not be mistaken for a lack of seriousness。 There is a very serious point here about the cheapness of life in the Roman Empire。 The Romans had a mind-boggling number of words for killing， and reading this you can understand why - they did a huge amount of it。And within the stories of various ancient homicides， Southon keeps reminding us of the horrific human reality of a blood-drenched empire based on slavery， where murder was a political weapon， violence against women was rampant， millions of humans were treated as property and subject to casual violence and the worth of human life was not intrinsic but depended on your prestige。It is the final chapter on Roman punishments that really drives this home - the horrendous suffering of crucifixion， the innumerable executions in the arena and the pressure to find ever more inventive ways of carrying out capital punishment。 And all of this to kill people whose names and crimes are not recorded - for the men writing about these events， they simply did not matter。 。。。more
agata
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A funny and informative look into the history of murder in ancient Rome。 I enjoyed how well researched and accessible it was， the author’s commentary was delightful and made me chuckle a couple of times。
Nicky
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I worried from the title and first few pages that this might prove too flippant and shallow from me， but I was wrong to worry。 I quickly settled into it， and it’s obvious that Southon knows her stuff， takes deep joy in it， and knows where she can skimp on explanations a bit in order to get to the meat of things。 She gives a lot of context without getting too bogged down in it， while telegraphing that the point is coming; if you really hate comments like “bear with me， we’re getting to the good s I worried from the title and first few pages that this might prove too flippant and shallow from me， but I was wrong to worry。 I quickly settled into it， and it’s obvious that Southon knows her stuff， takes deep joy in it， and knows where she can skimp on explanations a bit in order to get to the meat of things。 She gives a lot of context without getting too bogged down in it， while telegraphing that the point is coming; if you really hate comments like “bear with me， we’re getting to the good stuff”， then it won’t work for you… but mostly， I thought she did a really good job。The idea of a book about murder in Rome gave me a bit of pause， since I didn’t think they really had such a concept… and indeed， I was right， and Southon acknowledges that it’s a very modern way to interrogate these sources， and that in many of the cases described， no one batted an eyelid （the murder of slaves， particularly）。 As she says， though， the deaths and the attitudes to those deaths still tell us a lot about Roman society and the place of various people within it。I was intrigued by the topic， but didn’t expect to find it a pageturner; that it was says something about how engaging Southon’s writing was。 I found it deeply enjoyable — particularly as it was one of those books that had me turning to my wife to delightedly ask ‘did you know？’ and read bits out or wave my hands excitedly as I connected up bits and shared the fun。 。。。more
Fran Allen
，
Listened to this on audible and enjoyed so much！ So interesting and engaging， can’t wait to read the author’s other work :））
Kristy
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My degree is in East Asian history， so it goes without saying that I am a huge history nerd。 One of the gaps in my knowledge is Roman history。 I know the important bits， the stuff you learn in survey courses and what not。 So I was super excited to get the opportunity to read a book featuring history and murder and I wasn't disappointed。 Dr。 Emma Southon is an expert in her field and it shows， but that's only part of the story。 She makes each story fun and engaging to read， even though the end re My degree is in East Asian history， so it goes without saying that I am a huge history nerd。 One of the gaps in my knowledge is Roman history。 I know the important bits， the stuff you learn in survey courses and what not。 So I was super excited to get the opportunity to read a book featuring history and murder and I wasn't disappointed。 Dr。 Emma Southon is an expert in her field and it shows， but that's only part of the story。 She makes each story fun and engaging to read， even though the end result is death。 But its not all blood and poison， Dr。 Southon also boils down the complicated boring bits so the reader gets some of the important background without feeling like they are getting an info dump。 There were several parts that had me laughing out loud， garnering some concerned looks from my children。 I had such a great time reading this that I will definitely be seeking out more works by Dr。 Emma Southon， including her podcast History is Sexy。Thank you Netgalley for making a free copy available for me to read in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Julia Gorst
，
Well-written and researched， often funny but also balanced with a serious and compassionate look at the reality of murder in Rome。
Hasmeen/Jasmine-Grace
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eCopy in exchange for an honest review。 I know it's very early in the year but this is honestly one of the best books I've read and I'm certain it's going in my Top 2021 Reads list。 This was unexpectedly laugh-out-loud hilarious which is not what you'd reckon a non-fiction-true-crime-ancient-history book would be。 This was such a joy to read and the humour is so well-done that it doesn't overshadow or disrespect the material。 I lo Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eCopy in exchange for an honest review。 I know it's very early in the year but this is honestly one of the best books I've read and I'm certain it's going in my Top 2021 Reads list。 This was unexpectedly laugh-out-loud hilarious which is not what you'd reckon a non-fiction-true-crime-ancient-history book would be。 This was such a joy to read and the humour is so well-done that it doesn't overshadow or disrespect the material。 I love reading history books， both academic and non-academic ones， but even I find a good number of them to either be quite dry or too sensational。 That is not the case with this book。 I am so in love with Southon's writing and her ability to keep things interesting without the subject being muddled。 The book flows really nicely from chapter to chapter and the chapters build on each other well。 Even if you don't know much about Ancient Rome， I don't think you'd feel lost。 It has chapter endnotes （it might be footnotes on the physical copy） and a good glossary， making this book fairly accessible to non-academics。 As a history buff/student， I greatly appreciated Southon's handling of sources。 She actually cites sources in-text and gives context of who they were writing for， when they were writing， and their probable biases。 I honestly wish I could have had Southon as a professor。 Her passion for the subject is clearly reflected in her work。 If you like history or true crime， or both， or you just want to pick up an entertaining and educational read， this is the book for you。 。。。more
John
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Absolutely brilliant — thoroughly well-researched and laugh-out-loud funny。 I loved Emma Southon's Agrippina and I loved this follow-up — just a fantastic， informative， hilarious and sometimes deeply serious book。 Absolutely brilliant — thoroughly well-researched and laugh-out-loud funny。 I loved Emma Southon's Agrippina and I loved this follow-up — just a fantastic， informative， hilarious and sometimes deeply serious book。 。。。more
Rosemarie
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Sweary， irreverent， fascinating exploration of murder/homicide in late Republican/early/high Empire Rome。
Kara
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Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley; the below review is my own opinion。Southon takes the reader through the Roman Empire and shows just how relative the idea of murder is。 Amazingly to the modern audience， the government almost never got involved when one person killed another - it was a private matter for families to deal with。 And often seen as no big deal if it was "just" a slave。 Southon works hard to give voice to the voiceless across centuries， and find the few names recorde Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley; the below review is my own opinion。Southon takes the reader through the Roman Empire and shows just how relative the idea of murder is。 Amazingly to the modern audience， the government almost never got involved when one person killed another - it was a private matter for families to deal with。 And often seen as no big deal if it was "just" a slave。 Southon works hard to give voice to the voiceless across centuries， and find the few names recorded of the many nameless who were abused in life and cast aside in death。And then there were the high level kills - killing emperors and other high ranking politicians as an almost daily way to get political work done， and， wow， its scary that that has suddenly become relevant this first week of January， 2021。Southon has a light， breezy tone， irrelevantly comparing ancient history to modern reality shows， humorously cracking jokes throughout， but underneath that you can feel her rage towards the marginalized who never received justice and at how casually the Romans treated human life。 。。。more
Amy Freeman
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