Juvenal was the most savage of all the Roman satirists ... Although brutal at times, Juvenal’s writing brings Rome to life and some of his phrases – such as “bread and circuses” and ...

And what they were learning to read and write was, of course, Latin. This is a wax tablet and it's what school children in Roman Britain would have used when they were learning to read and write.

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 ...