The Roman Empire is known for its extraordinarily rich cultural legacy. This encyclopaedia provides comprehensive and interdisciplinary coverage of the people, places, events and ideas of this remarkable period. Spanning almost 500 years of turmoil and triumph, each of the nearly 2000 entries in this second edition has been reviewed and updated to reflect advances in archaeology, historical and literary criticism, and social analysis. New entries have been added on daily life, engineering, science, law and the role of women in Roman society, among others. Complementing these historical essays are photographs, maps, tables and sidebars; reading lists for major entries; an updated bibliography; and a revised index.