Snack food and drink were an essential part of these gatherings, with Roman philosopher Seneca writing of the noisy "cake sellers, the sausage man and confectioner" who each hawked food to hungry ...

Later Roman authors provide more detail. Martial, a Roman poet writing in the first century A.D., for instance, describes a cinaedus’ dysfunctional penis as like a “soggy leather strap” in ...

he began writing history. His first books covered areas of particular interest – the life of his father-in-law, Agricola; a discussion of oratory and a description of Germania, the Roman ...