In her acclaimed book, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome , Beard challenges the tired narratives of toga-clad senators and brutal emperors. Instead, she pulls back the curtain to reveal how this legendary motto—and the society behind it—really functioned. 1. Rome Was Built on... Propaganda and Legends

It’s easy to walk past these four letters— Senatus PopulusQue Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome")—as just another souvenir from the past. But according to Cambridge professor and renowned classicist Mary Beard , these initials represent a gripping, chaotic, and shockingly relatable story of a city that transformed from a muddy village into a global superpower.

Beyond the Manhole Covers: Rethinking "SPQR" with Mary Beard

(e.g., jobs, food, housing)?

The "history" we know is often a hazy collection of possibilities, not set-in-stone facts. Beard encourages us to look at Rome not as a monolithic, orderly empire, but as a place that, like today, was trying to understand its own past through propaganda. 2. The Power Players and the People

While many histories focus solely on the scandalous lives of emperors like Nero, SPQR brings in the "small people" of history. Beard shines a spotlight on the marginalized—enslaved individuals, women, and the poor—whose lives were essential to the functioning of the city.