Life in Ancient Rome

They admired and studied Greek buildings, statues, and ideas. Though they copied some things, they changed them to suit their own needs.

Buildings: Romans borrowed porches and rows of columns from the Greeks, but added arches, vaults and domes

Romans invented concrete (volcanic ash, lime, and water)

Greek statues made people look perfect – Romans made them realistic and included wrinkles, warts, etc.

In one very important way the Greeks were different from the Romans. The Greeks loved to talk about ideas. To the Romans, ideas were only important if they could solve every day problems.

COLOSSEUM (TEXT P. 305, SPORTS AND CONTESTS P. 306)

Completed about AD 80

Seated 60,000 people

Arena for gladiators

Forum – an open space that served as a marketplace and public square

At the center of Rome

Temples and public buildings were built around it

Racecourse Up to 10 chariots at

one time 250,000 people Text p. 307

(pictures + More about the Art)

Virgil – Aeneid Horace – satires (make fun of human

weakness); odes (writing that expresses strong emotions about life); The Book of Epodes p. 304

Ptolemy – studied astronomy and mapped the stars (though he thought the Earth was the center of the universe)

Modern European languages are based on Latin (French, Spanish, Italian, English)

• The Romans admired the Greeks and copied some of their ideas, though they often changed what they borrowed

• Roman statues and art portrayed people with flaws (Greeks portrayed ideal people)

• Romans added arches, domes, and vaults to Greek architecture

• Engineers – advanced road system and aqueducts

Virgil – what did he write? Horace – what did he write? Ptolemy – what did he study? Modern European languages – what

about them? Which ones?

(see notes for details)

Rome was one of the largest cities in the ancient world. At the time of Augustus over a million people lived there.

It was a planned city laid out in a square with main roads crossing at right angles.

At its center was the Forum. Temples and public buildings were built around it.

Crowded, noisy, dirty (people tossed garbage into the streets from their apartments)

Thieves prowled the streets at night Most people in Rome were poor and lived

in apts. made of stone and wood (text p. 309)

High rent forced families to live in one room

Apartments were up to 6 stories high They often collapsed because they were

so poorly built Fire was a constant danger because

people used torches and lamps for lighting and cooking with oil

Once started, fires could destroy entire blocks of apartments

T/P/W or 4/2/1 W: What was life like in the city?

Lived in large, comfortable houses. Each house had large rooms, fine

furniture, and beautiful gardens. In the center was an inner court called an

atrium (text p. 308) Some wealthy Romans even had homes

called villas on their country estates T/P/W or 4/2/1/W What was life like for

wealthy Romans?

Family units were large and included not only parents and young children, but also married children and their families, other relatives, and enslaved servants.

Father was head of the household (paterfamilias) – he had complete control over the family. He punished severely and arranged marriages.

• Boys become a man 14 – 16. Girls become adults when they married.

• T/P/W or 4/2/1/W Describe the Roman family.

Women in early Rome had some rights, but they were not full citizens

Paterfamilias controlled his wife, but he often sought her advice in private. Some women had strong influences on their families.

A woman’s freedom depended on her husband’s wealth and standing. Wealthy women could own land, run

businesses, and sell property. They also had free time to have fun

Women with less money had less freedom. They spent their time working in their

houses and helping their husbands run the business.

They were allowed to leave home to shop, visit friends, worship in the temples, or go to the baths.

A few women did work independently outside the home, served as priestesses, hairdressers, or even doctors.

T/P/W or 4/2/1/W Summarize the role of women

Poor Romans could not send their children to school

Wealthy Romans hired tutors to teach their young children at home

Some older boys did go to schools where they learned reading, writing, and rhetoric (public speaking)

Girls did not go to school – they studied reading and writing at home as well as learning household duties

T/P/W or 4/2/1/W Describe school for Roman children

Large family units; paterfamilias; punished severely

Women – limited rights, depended on husband’s wealth and standing (wealthy women could own land, run businesses, and sell property – also had free time to have fun; poorer women – spent time working, allowed to shop, see friends, worship, visit baths; a few did work independently

Wealthy Romans – large, comfortable homes, fine furniture, gardens, atrium, some even had villas

Poor Romans – city life - crowded, noisy, dirty, thieves, apts., high rent, lived in one room, fire and collapse were dangers

Bread and circuses School – poor Romans – no school; wealthy

– tutors, boys – reading, writing, rhetoric; girls – no school (learned at home)

Slaves not uncommon – suffered many hardships and were treated poorly.

Spartacus – gladiator, slave, leads revolt, 70,000 slaves, 2 years, Spartacus + 6,000 crucified

Gladiators – usually slaves, the poor, or criminals but were considered the sports heroes of their day

Worshipped many gods and goddesses. Many are the same gods as the Greeks. Text p. 310

As they conquered people of other religions, they allowed them to worship freely as long as they did not threaten the Roman government (Christianity was often seen as a threat to the government – Messiah)