Lower Fourth students were treated to a swashbuckling talk on life in the Roman world by the renowned historical fiction writer Ben Kane. Mr Kane covered many aspects of Roman life to highlight his thesis that the Romans are both similar and different to us.
Mr Kane’s content dovetailed beautifully with the topics that the students are currently studying. It was fascinating to note that elite Roman women liked to hold a stylus (pen) in their official portraits to connote their intelligence (and status). Other highlights included: gladiators, street life, as well as an extended section on personal hygiene and sanitation.
There were gasps in the auditorium when Ben revealed that the Roman Chariot racer Diocles was the top-earning sports star in history; earning something approaching $13 billion US dollars (in contrast Ronaldo has earned no more than a rather modest $1 billion USD).
At the end of the talk, pupils (& Mr Lewthwaite) were delighted to handle authentic Roman military artefacts. Everyone left enthused and more curious about this enduring but enigmatic civilisation.
The pupils should be commended for asking a wide range of intelligent and insightful questions. The following were awarded a signed copy of one of Ben Kane’s novels because of the particularly high quality of their questions:
- Elias Agridiotis
- Oscar Buck
- Ethan Catterall
- Olivia Dos Anjos Araujo
- Lucas Finn
- Calista James
- Honor McGuinness
- Tom Wilson
