Does anyone know of any books that have been written about just what life was like in Ancient Greece, or, similarly, about what life was like in Rome? Any recommendations would be appreciated.
"The Hemlock Cup," by Bettany Hughes, although it focuses on Socrates, contains quite a bit of material about daily life in Athens in Socrates's time for people of all social classes.
And you didn't ask about China, but this gives me at least a plausible reason to recommend "A Tale of Two Melons" by Sarah Schneewind, a historian of the Ming period, which contains quite a bit of information about daily life, thought, the economy, agriculture, government, etc., in the early decades of the Ming dynasty (circa the year 1390; not "ancient," of course).