Roman Diary

Title: Roman Diary
Author: Richard Platt
Series: Historical Diaries
Major Themes: Rome, Diaries, Slavery
Synopsis: After being captured by pirates while en route from Greece to Egypt, Iliona and her brother Apollo found themselves sold as slaves in Rome.

Lately, we have studied ancient history, and one book I read to my eight-year-old as a supplement was Roman Diary. This is the imaginary journal of a young slave in Rome. The children found the story engrossing, and liked the pictures, even though they are caricatures instead of realistic pictures. In fact, the day I first read a few pages to my daughter, the next thing I knew, she was reading it herself.

Young Iliona and her brother Apollo were traveling with their parents from Greece to Egypt when their ship was attacked by pirates. Most of the people on board were killed, but Iliona and Apollo were taken captive, brought to Rome, and sold as slaves. The same person bought both of them, and their new life began.

Apollo was sent to the farm to work there, and Iliona became a house servant. One of her primary jobs was to care for the baby. In the course of helping her mistress, Iliona experienced much of the life of Rome. She went to the baths, to see gladiatorial games at the Colosseum, and learned all about aqueducts. At one point, she traveled to the farm with the family and saw how Apollo was working there.

If you want to know what life is like in Rome in the second century, Roman Diary is a good way to learn. If my children are any indication, this style of learning is quite appealing. As I said, the pictures are not great, but they certainly get the point across. Some of the story is a bit irreverent, such as when they went to the theatre and the women actors took off their clothes so, as with most books, parental guidance will be needed.

WARNING: Page 6: Pirates attacked the ship and many people were killed. Page 15: Women at the baths, showing their backs or their arms tightly crossed across their chests. Page 20: A man pinches a girl’s bottom. Page 40: gladiator fight. Page 46: risqué theatre production.

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