Roman society. The biographies of these individuals, whose stories range from the happy and uneventful to the tragic and dramatic, are pieced together from ancient art, artefacts and myths. Matyszak and Berry illuminate the sometimes surprising exploits of Rome's women, such as Amazonia, a sword-swinging gladiator, and Metila, a priestess of the cult of Cymbele. Romans of every class and creed are represented, from Faustulus, a shepherd said to have adopted the infant Romulus and Remus, to the poet Virgil, whose words still echo down the ages. Each of these lives forms part of a larger picture, together making up a rich mosaic that gives us a glimpse of what it meant to be a Roman.