A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome

"For much of ancient Roman history, most murders weren’t legally crimes. In 81 BCE, the dictator Sulla made laws to discourage elite dudes from killing one another, and purposely inflicting death got more regulated from there. Yet many modes of violent dispatch were cool with the government. Southon, co-host of the podcast History Is Sexy, goes with a broader definition of murder, encompassing gladiatorial combat, crucifixions, offing one’s wife and more. Her approach is both gleeful (she revels in the deathscapades of the pompous rich) and disgusted (a dead slave was regarded as broken furniture). Southon’s chatty, knowing style makes the book, if not exactly a romp, not un-fun for one about death."