I finished reading one of the books I bought at the Boxing Day sale today – Orgy Planner Wanted by Vicki Leon. It’s a book about occupations in ancient Greece and Rome and I picked it up because I rather enjoyed the British TV series Worst Jobs in History. (oh there’s a quiz… my results below!)* Being part of the SCA, you occasionally wonder what your life would have been like if you’d have lived in the medieval period or ancient times. We’d like to think that you would have had a pretty good life had you existed back then – but odds were you’d have been a peasant, worked hard all your life for little or no wages, ate crap food, slept hard and cold and then died young of some hideous (but now totally curable) disease. Which was probably par for the course but for a very privileged few.
The book was quite a good read, and right about my speed (given my limited concentration span these days) which means it was written as a piece of entertainment rather than as a historical essay for scholars…. not too heavy going and filled with interesting and often amusing anecdotes. I reckon I would have had to try and marry young or become a Vestal virgin. Maybe I could have been one of the charlatans making little lead curses for a fee or perhaps it would have been the whorehouse for me… options were pretty limited for women by the looks of it.
I’ve also been watching Rome again lately. I’ve been inflicting it on a friend (as you do when you’ve really enjoyed something) which means I get to watch it all over again. I loved this series, the vibrant way they bought classical history to life and served it up in an easily identifiable way for modern audiences. I particularly love how earthy they made it and thought had something for everyone enough nudity, violence, blood and gore for the boys, and enough politicking, backstabbing and conniving for the girls. Bonus! 🙂 Unfortunately it never got a run up here… the first episode or two I think were run at a ridiculously late time slot and then it got axed which is a shame cos it was certainly well worth it. And while Lucius Vorenis is no Captain Mal, we think he made a strong, hunky male lead anyway. 🙂
History’s Worst Jobs Career Guide Quiz
Your Score – You scored 20 points.
0 to 30 No one is saying that you’re work-shy, but a more sedentary occupation would suit you, even if it gets a trifle monotonous. It’s a little messy, but being an Executioner won’t put huge demands on your time. If you don’t mind getting wet or sitting still, Bath attendant or Artist’s model might do for you. Or if you’re not too squeamish about the sight of blood, pus or the odd taste of urine, try putting in an application form for some of the medical jobs: Leech collector, Barber-surgeon or Loblolly boy.
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