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The Roman Way of Life

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Daily Life

Many Romans lived in cities throughout the Roman Empire. Roman cities were places for culture,

business, and government. 

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The Empire's Chief City

In the ancient world, one of the biggest cities was Rome. Around A.D. 1, more than a million people lived there. People traveled to Rome from every part of the empire. Rome was carefully planned, it was put out in a square with the main streets crossing at right angles.

In Rome, there was a beautiful palace on the top of a hill, in which the emperor lived in.

At the bottom of the hill was a Forum. This was a big open space that was made as a marketplace and public square. In the marketplace, Romans bought food and luxury stuff, played games, and talked to friends. Ziggurats and other public buildings circled the Forum.

Similar to the emperor, wealthy Romans dwell in big, comfortable houses on the hills of the city.

The homes were made of marble walls, tiled floors, and water. Homes were made around a courtyard named an atrium, which is open to the sky. They also had gardens. But wealthy Romans had homes called villas on big farms outside of the city.

Romans who weren't as wealthy had jobs as artisans or shopkeepers. But the majority of Romans however, were poor. Many were unemployed , while some did unskilled labor, like delivering goods. Poor Romans dwell in dirty, crowded, noisy neighborhoods in apartment buildings seven stories tall made out of wood. These buildings often collapsed or caught fire. People threw litter on the streets, and thieves scoured the areas at night.

To support Rome's poor, political leaders gave "bread and circuses." Sometimes teams of chariot racers competed in the Circus Maximus, which was a arena seating more than 150,000 people. And on other day, people watch gladiators brawl each other to the death or even fight wild animals in stadiums such as the Colosseum! Most gladiators were enslaved people, criminals, or even prisoners of war, or just poor people. The gladiators' skills and bravery favored the Romans.

 

 

 

 

 

The Roman Family

In the heart of the Roman society was the family. When Rome was a republic, big families were common. Married youngsters most likely lived in the same house as their parents and relatives.The father closely watched his wife and her activities. The law even allowed youngsters to be sold into slavery or be put to death by their fathers. But in later days, fathers lost some of this power, and wives obtained some more rights. Families had less children, and Romans were likely to remarry after divorcing. Fathers  in upper-class families were accountable for the education of they youngsters. When they were young, wealthy girls and boys were taught from private lessons at home. As they grew older, boys from wealthy families went to schools where they practiced reading, arithmetic, writing, and rhetoric, or public speaking. Older girls continued  to practice  at home. But poorer Romans couldn't afford to go to school, but some learned enough reading, writing, and arithmetic to help them run a business. 

At approximately 15, a Roman boy celebrated starting a adult life. He would then burn his toys as offerings to the household gods. Then he would wear a white toga, a loose-fitting robe that Roman men wore. Once he matured, he might work for his family's business, join the army, or get a job in the government. Men intended to marry later, but women usually married around 14. Once they married, Roman women were now known as adult.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Was Life Like for Roman Women?

Women in early Rome weren't full citizens and few rights. They had a strong impact on their families, however, and often directed their husbands in private. When Rome was an empire, the wives of emperors began to obtain more power. The freedoms a Roman woman enjoyed came down to her husband's wealth and position. By the A.D. 100s, wealthy women had more abilities. They could sell and own properties and run businesses too. Enslaved did the house work while the owner managed it. This left women able to study literature, fashion, and art. They could also go to theaters, see races, and fights, but they had to sit away from men. 

Less money means less freedom for women. They spent their days doing housework or helping their husbands in shops. Though they were allowed to leave home to shop, see friends, worship at temples, and go to the baths. But a low number of women just worked alone outside their homes. Some served as priestesses, spreading out religious rituals in temples, while others worked as hairdressers and doctors.

 

 

 

 

 

Rome and Slavery

In early times slavery was a part of Roman life. Slave labor grew, but, as Rome got more territory. Conquered people were now prisoners by Roman soldiers. These captives were  brought to Rome and sold into slavery. By 100 B.C., roughly 40% of the people in Italy were enslaved.

Enslaved people did many different jobs. They harvested crops, worked in homes. They mined ore and helped build roads, bridges, and aqueducts throughout the empire. Many enslaved Greeks, though, were goodly educated. They worked as teachers, doctors, and artisans.

For most enslaved people, life was bad. They were sometimes forced to work hours and could be sold at any second. They were punished miserably for bad work or for trying to escape. To escape their hardships, they often rebelled. In 73 B.C., a gladiator named Spartacus moved a slave rebellion. As Spartacus and his army moved through Italy, their numbers came up to 70,000. Spartacus planned to get to the Alps. Once there, the enslaved people were able to return back tp their homelands. The Roman army, however, demolished the revolt. Spartacus was killed in war and 6,000 of his people were crucified, or put to death by getting nailed to a cross.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Religion and Philosophy

Romans believed that gods manipulated all parts life. Household spirits kept the home and the family safe. Gods protected the entire empire. Greek gods and goddesses were given Roman names. For example, Zeus became Jupiter, the sky god, and Aphrodite became Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. Beginning with Augustus, the Roman Senate officially made emperors gods. Romans worshipped their gods and goddesses by offering food and praying to them. Every Roman had an altar for its household gods. At altars, the top of the family made offerings of incense, honey, wine, and the family meal. Government officials made offerings in ziggurats where important gods and goddesses of Rome were honored. Ziggurats were open to all people. 

The Romans also modified ideas from Greek philosophy, such as the philosophy of Stoicism. For the Greeks, Stoicism was about looking for happiness through reason. Romans, however, believed Stoicism was about learning to live in a reasonable way. Stoic philosophers urged people to join in public affairs, to do their urban duty, and to treat conquered peoples well.

As the empire enlarged, Romans came into touch with people who rehearsed different religions. Rome let these people to rehearse their religions if they did not threaten the government.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Science and Art

As a republic and later as an empire, Greek civilization inspired the Romans. The Romans respected and studied Greek art, architecture, and philosophy. They copied the Greeks in many ways but changed what they borrowed for their own purposes.

 

 

 

 

Science

The Romans learned from Greek science. A Greek named Galen was a doctor who introduced many medical ideas to Rome. He made clear of the importance of anatomy, Galen wanted to learn about inner organs by cutting open dead animals and wrote his findings. In the Western world doctors studied Galen's work for more than 1,500 years. In the Roman Empire, an important scientist was Ptolemy. Ptolemy lived in the city of Alexandria, in Egypt. He studied the sky and mapped over 1,000 different stars. He studied the movement of the planets and stars and made rules to explain their motions. People who were educated in Europe accepted his ideas for centuries.

The Romans grew practical engineering skills. They made roads that connected Rome to every part of the empire. The first important Roman road, the Appian Way, connected Rome to southeastern Italy. Roman soldiers were able to travel faster to different regions because of the roads. Merchants used the roads, to trade goods in different regions throughout the empire. Roman engineers gave cities fresh water using aqueducts. They built aqueducts to transport water from the hills into the cities. Aqueducts were long troughs supported by high arches made of rows. Aqueducts carried water through long distances. In Segovia and Spain, a Roman built an aqueduct, and is still used today 1,900 years after it was finished. The Roman system of numerals (numbers), helped business people with their accounting. The system used letter symbols borrowed from Greeks and the Etruscans.

 

 

 

 

Art and Architecture

The Romans also took on many features of Greek art and architecture. However, Roman artists, developed their styles. The Greeks created statues that represent perfect-looking people with beautiful bodies. Roman statues were more realistic and contained wrinkles, warts, and other less attractive features. Roman architects also brought their own tricks to Greek ideas. They used arches for bridges, aqueducts and buildings. Rows of arches were often built opposite of each other to form arches. Using this method, the Romans were able to create domes from many rings of molded stone. Concrete was first mastered by the first people who where Romans. One of the most famous Roman structures is the Colosseum, a big arena completed about A.D. 80. Another structure is the Pantheon, a temple built to honor Rome's gods. Today, it is one of the oldest unharmed building in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

Literature

Like the Greeks, writers and philosophers were respected by the Romans. The Romans were also optimistic scouring for the definition of life. However, Roman writers went above the Greek myths and plays to make their own style. They honored their gods but also wrote comedies about them. The Romans wrote about failures in battle but also praised military successes. The Greeks gave inspirational plays ending in morals. The Romans were similar but added a touch of reality. Sometimes the setting didn't work out well for the characters. The Romans added a slight twist to their writing, unveiling a more human side to people. And they weren't scared to mock at the gods, political leaders, and heroes. A poet Virgil from Rome, drew ideas from the Odyssey, a epic poem by a Greek writer named Homer. Virgil's  epic poem, the Aeneid, tells the story of the founding of Rome. In the Aeneid, Virgil expresses the values that thought should guide Rome: Using Greek models, the Roman poet Horace wrote satires. Horace also wrote odes. Inspired by the Greek historian Herodotus, Tacitus and Livy wrote about Roman history. In his history of Rome, Livy describes Rome's rise to power. He said that moral lessons were in history to teach people. While Livy celebrated Rome's greatness, Tacitus took a more critical view. He assured that Rome's emperors had taken people's freedom. Tacitus also thought Romans were losing their worth that made them strong. He blamed them of throwing away time on sports and other desires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theater and Language

In pastimes, attending plays was one of the most popular activities in Rome. Roman dramas were performed during national or religious festivities. To hide the actors faces, they wore masks, and to represent characters. Actors were able to play other roles by using the masks. The majority of Rome's history was spent with men and boys playing every part in a play. Only the comedy plays known as mimes were open to women actors. Even more important than Roman texts was Latin, the language of the Romans. Up until around the year 1500, Latin was used in government, trade, and education throughout Europe. Many modern European languages, including Italian, French, and Spanish, have their roots in Latin. It also influenced a number of others. Latin is the source of some

of the English words we use today.

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Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

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