The Roman House and Social Identity - Tapa dura

'The author ... explores the way in which many such paintings were fantastical manipulations of nature, and were not so much pale imitations of reality, but actually surpassed reality.' JACT

'... sound and well-argued ...' Architectural Review

'The volume constitutes a brave attempt to do something new and distinctive with the evidence provided by Roman housing.' Society of Architectural Historians

'Shelley Hales takes her reader on a witty tour of social identity as constructed by Roman housing.' Art History

'An important contribution to the study of domestic architecture in general and ... to our understanding of the politics of identity in the Roman Empire ... Thoughtful and well-conceived.' CAA Reviews

Examines a diverse range of house types in an effort to understand how people imagined and articulated their place in the Roman world, from Britain to Syria. Shelly Hales considers the nature and role of domestic decoration and its role in promoting social identities. From the Egyptian themes of imperial residences in Italy, to the viticultural designs found in the rock-cut homes in Petra, this decoration consistently appeals to fantasies beyond the immediate realities of their inhabitants. Hales contends that fantasy served a key role in allowing individuals and communities to meet expectations and indulge aspirations, to confirm and to compete within the diverse empire. Employing a wide range of approaches to the study of the house and acculturation in the Roman Empire, her book serves as the first synthesis of Roman domestic architecture and offers new insights into the complexities and contradictions of being Roman.