From Asterix to Up Pompeii to Life of Brian, there are lots of
modern comedies about the Romans, but what did the Romans
themselves find funny? In this episode, Mary and Charlotte share
their favourite Roman jokes and ask the bigger questions: what can
Roman humour tell us about the world of ancient Rome itself? Can we
still ‘get’ Roman jokes and do any of them still have the power to
make us laugh now? Fortunately, there’s a surprising number
of Roman jokes that survive today - whether graffiti, on papyrus
and an actual joke book called Philogelos. Despite the contemporary
image of Rome as an autocratic, relentlessly bloodthirsty society,
their jokes tell a different story. Works like Apocolocyntosis (The
Pumpkinification of the divine Claudius) by Seneca show a huge
irreverence to imperial grandeur, while the surviving jokes we have
very rarely exhibit the cruelty we associate with a society hooked
on slavery and gladiatorial games. They also suggest a widespread
anxiety around self-identity - jokes about people who don’t know
who they are really or how they fit into society. Finally,
Mary reveals her favourite Roman joke of all time. But will
Charlotte laugh? The stakes are high. Listen to find out.
@instaclassicpod for Insta, TikTok and YouTube @insta_classics for
X email: instantclassicspod@gmail.com Mary and Charlotte recommend
some further reading: Charlotte recommends Laughter in Ancient
Rome: On Joking, Tickling, and Cracking Up (UCal press pb, new ed.
2024) by one Mary Beard as ‘the’ book on Roman humour. Mary
got a lot out of: J, Bremmer and H. Roodenburg, A cultural history
of humour (Polity pb, 1997) J. Clarke, Looking at Laughter:
Humour, Power and Transgression in Roman visual culture (UCal
press, 2007). It includes the wonderful images of the philosophers
on the lavatory. S Critchley, On Humour (Routledge pb, 2002) Though
she warns that books on laughter are often quite serious!
Available online – a translation of Seneca’s Apocolocyntosis …and
of the Philogelos And there are other selections from that
collection, usually omitting the ones we don’t get! Try
https://diotima-doctafemina.org/translations/greek/45-jokes-from-the-laughter-lover/
The jokes of the Emperor Augustus are collected in Macrobius,
Saturnalia Book 2 (you can find a translation in the Loeb Classical
Library, Harvard UP) Instant Classics handmade by Vespucci
Producer: Jonty Claypole Executive Producer: Natalia
Rodriguez Ford Video Editor: Jak Ford Theme music: Casey Gibson
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