View source for Roman Private Life

=How decadent were the Romans?= 
[Roman morality]
Tertullian, De spectaculis; Plutarch, On the Greatness of Rome. Juv. 10, 13?
=Why was slavery never effectively challenged in the ancient world?= 

[Slavery; Freedmen]
 Petronius, Satyricon; Apuleius, Golden Ass.

=Is the nuclear family a historical constant, or is Roman family significantly different from the modern variety?= 
==[The Family]==

=Were Roman women oppressed?=
 [Women; Marriage] Ovid, Ars Amatoria 1. Laudatio Turiae. Juvenal Satire 6.
=Was homosexuality accepted in ancient Rome?=
 [Sex] Juv. 2.
=Was ancient Rome a capitalist society?=
 [Economics; Life in the Country] Juv. 3.
=Why didn’t the Romans invent the steam engine?=
 [Technology]
=How clean were Roman cities?=
 [Urban Conditions; Baths] Juv. 3, Martial.
=What did Roman aristocrats do all day?=
 [Government and Politics]
=How practical and useful was a Roman education?=
 [Education] Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Book 1. Quintilian.
=What might have been the appeal of a Roman soldier’s life?=
 [Army] Vegetius, De Re militari
=Were the Romans racist?=
 [The Provinces; Race and Ethnicity] Claudius’ speech. Juv. 
=Why were gladiatorial spectacles not thought to be cruel?=
 [Spectacles]
=Did Roman religion provide any moral guidance?=
 [Religion 1] Apuleius, Golden Ass Book 9.
=Did most people in the ancient world believe in astrology, magic, and demons?=
 [Religion 2] Apuleius, Pro se de magia. 
=Why did Christianity have little impact until the 4th century AD?=
 [Eastern Cults and Christianity]