Pompeis Difficile Est

"Cicero used the phrase Pompeis difficile est to describe the intensity of political life in ancient Pompeii. Drawing on thousands of fragmentary writings - campaign posters, graffiti, inscriptions, and business receipts - recovered in the excavations of lava- and mud-covered Pompeii, James L. Franklin, Jr., assembles evidence from the eras of emperors Augustus through Vespasian to prove the validity of Cicero's statement.". "By collecting, sifting, and cross-referencing these varied documents, Franklin proves it possible to trace the major political alliances of the times, as well as to…