Part 3/9:
Cities like Rome burgeoned with populations exceeding a million, yet the Italian natives were increasingly outnumbered by a diverse array of inhabitants with little shared cultural or linguistic ties. The consequence of this was not merely a dilution of Roman identity, but an infusion of a variety of moral standards and social customs, some of which alarmed traditionalists of the time. Petronius’ Satyricon, for instance, is replete with imagery that shocks modern sensibilities: fetishism, sexual fluidity, and ethical upheaval, drawing a portrait of an empire that thrived yet seemed to compromise its core values.