Daily Life in Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome: Daily Life, Religion, and Entertainment

Daily Life: Food The Ancient Romans ate 3 meals a day. Breakfast usually consisted of bread and cheese. Lunch usually consisted of meat, fish, olives, and fruit. Dinner was usually an elaborate meal with several courses.

Daily Life: Clothing The Ancient Romans had simple clothes. They usually wore sandals on their feet indoors. Their sandals were made of leather or reeds. Outdoors, they would wear closed toed leather shoes to protect their feet.

Daily Life: Clothing Males and females wore tunics that hung to their knees. Men wore a toga, and women wore a palla over their tunics. The toga and the palla were basically a large sheet draped around their body.

Daily Life: Shelter The Ancient Romans lived in apartment type housing. Most apartment buildings were 3 to 5 stories high.

Daily Life: Shelter Most of the buildings in Ancient Rome were made of wood. People were afraid to use fire in their homes, and would cook outside the home.

Daily Life: Shelter Upper class Romans would live in houses; their houses were built around an open courtyard called an atrium. The roof opened to allow sunlight in.

Daily Life: Work In the part of the Roman Empire that was considered a rural area, people would make their living by farming. Their most important cash crops were olives and grapes. They also raised pigs and sheep. Richer farmers owned larger ranch type farms and lived in houses called villas.

Daily Life: Education People spoke many different languages in Ancient Rome, mostly Latin and Greek. Children were taught an education in the homes. They were taught the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Daily Life: Education In Ancient Rome, there were no public schools. Some families sent their children to small schools, for a certain fee, or they might hire tutors to teach their children. As children progressed in age, they would study other things like Roman and Greek writers, astronomy, and law.

Daily Life: Education Marriages in Ancient Rome were pre-arranged. Boys married between the ages of 15 and 18, and girls married between the ages of 13 and 14.

Daily Life: Bath The Ancient Romans had large, lavish, open bath areas, where they encouraged daily bathing and exercise. This area was a popular place for Ancient Romans.

Daily Life: Bath Here they would talk, exercise, meet with friends, relax, and play games. The baths included changing rooms, sweating rooms (sonas), and unheated rooms with cold water baths. The baths were open to everyone, for a small fee.

Daily Life: Religion The early Romans believed in gods/goddesses controlled daily life. The Romans worshiped many of the same gods/goddesses that the Greeks did, however they gave them different Greek names. The Roman Forum was the center of community life, and was used as a temple where people could come to worship.

Daily Life: Religion Eventually, the religion of Christianity would spread throughout Rome. The Roman Emperor, Constantine, declared Christianity Rome’s official religion around 300 AD. Christianity continues to be one of the major religions in Rome today. Rome holds the Vatican City, which is the home of the Catholic Church. Rome still serves as the center of the Catholic Church.

Entertainment: Theater One of the Ancient Romans favorite activities. Romans might spend all day watching different sorts of performances. They might see tragedies or comedies.

Entertainment: Theater Many of the plays they viewed were copied from the Greeks. The theaters were very large, and would seat thousands at the time. The theaters were built so the actors voices would carry upward through the stands.

Entertainment: Colosseum A huge theater in Rome Over 50,000 people could sit in it Community events such as plays, games, and fights were held in it. The emperors paid for the different events that took place in the colosseum, and they held them in order to keep the citizens happy.

Entertainment: Colosseum The fights held in the colosseum drew the most attention. Battles between men and wild animals were the most popular. Trap doors allowed the animals to pop up and attack the men in the arena.

Entertainment: Colosseum Sometimes groups of men, such as slaves, prisoners, and criminals would fight. The men who fought the animals were known as gladiators. You can still visit the ruins of the colosseum today.

Entertainment: Circus Circuses were used for chariot racing. A circus was a large open oval arena. Chariots had two wheels and were very light. They were usually pulled by 4 horses. The winners of the races were usually given a palm leaf and a large cash prize.

Entertainment: Circus The Circus Maximus was Rome’s largest circus arena and held around 180,000 people.

2.) Daily Life they ate 3 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner They wore tunics and togas or pallas over the tunics Lived in apartment type housing Upper class usually lived in atrium style housing Married at a young age Home - schooled or had a private tutor Bathed and exercised daily

4.) Religion Beginning they worshiped Greek gods and goddesses, and changed their names to Roman ones Christianity began to be spread throughout Rome by 300 AD The Roman Forum was their area of worship Constantine declared Christianity Rome’s official Religion

5.) Entertainment Roman Colosseum – Gladiators, people, and animals would fight for entertainment Theater – plays like comedies and tragedies would be performed Circus – chariot races would occur for fun Circus Maximus was Rome’s largest circus

Week 6, DG 3 10-11-06 Look at your power point / slide show handout! List and explain, in complete sentences, the three main forms of entertainment that you might see in Ancient Rome.

Ancient Rome: Arts, Natural Resources, Transportation, Roman Contributions

Natural Resources Ancient Rome was full of natural resources, that the Romans used to trade and survive. Grain fields, mineral deposits, and forests were all abundant throughout Rome.

Arts The Ancient Romans came up with an “arch”. They also came up with the building material concrete. Many of the sculptures and paintings showed Roman daily life, and modeled Greek art. Romans took pride in their many churches or cathedrals that were in Ancient Rome.

Transportation/Trade The Romans invented the road system. They had basically 50,000 miles of roads within the Roman Empire. The army initially built these roads for easier travel of troops, but they soon began to be used by everyone in Rome. Most roads were straight and smooth

Transportation/Trade The Ancient Romans also used cargo ships to help trade and ship goods from place to place. Carts and wagons were used to hall goods around in town. The Mediterranean Sea was the main source of travel throughout the Roman Empire.

Roman Contribution: Water Ancient Romans thought that it was important to keep water systems clean. Romans built a system of aqueducts that brought in millions of gallons of water from neighboring hills into the city every day. There were lead pipes connected to some houses that would pump water into them.

AQUEDUCT Something that looks like a bridge but it carries water over a valley!

Roman Contribution: Water The water was used for drinking, bathing, and for the fountains. The city had a system of underground sewers to carry away sewage, also. In the countryside, farmers could use the aqueducts to irrigate their crops.

6.) Art Romans developed the “arch” and concrete. Roman art showed daily life, and modeled the Greeks. Important Art Structures: The Roman Forum Roman Colosseum Hadrian’s Wall Arch of Constantinople The Vatican- Sistine Chapel Ceiling

7.) Transportation / Trade They invented the Road System – 50,000 miles – it was used in the beginning for the army They used cargo ships in the Mediterranean Sea to ship goods In town they would use chariots, wagons, or carts to get around.

8.) Natural Resources Rome was full of Natural Resources, that they would use to trade and survive. Some of these resources were: Wheat or Grain Mineral deposits Marble quarries Forests

9.) Contributions: Water 1st to build a flowing water system – they called it aqueducts Farmers would use the aqueducts to irrigate their crops. Millions of gallons of water were brought into the city daily, through the pipes. They used the water for drinking, bathing, and the fountians.

Week 6, DG 4 In complete sentences, explain to me the importance of Ancient Rome’s Road System! 

Week 6, DG 5 10-13-06 Get together all of your DG’s for week 6 Create and Copy the Checklist DG1______ DG2______ DG3 ______ DG4______ DG5______ The stapler is going around, staple and leave on desk. PUT YOUR NAME ON YOUR DG’S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer the following in complete sentences Answer the following in complete sentences. You need more than one sentence for each answer! Where or what was the location of Ancient Rome? What is the story of Ancient Rome’s founding? List and explain the 3 phases Ancient Rome’s Government went through. What was the Roman Republic? What were the Ancient Roman’s Meals like? What did the Ancient Roman’s wear? What did the Ancient Roman’s live in (lower and upper)? What kind of education did the Ancient Roman’s get? What did the Early Ancient Roman’s do for worship? Explain how Chrisitinaity affected Ancient Rome. List and Explain the three forms of entertianment for Anceint Rome. What was the importance of the Ancient Roman road system? How did the Ancient Roman’s create the Arch? Explain the Ancient Roman’s water system. Who was Julius Caesar? Who was Octavian Augustus? Who was Constantine? Which do you think you would rather live in and why: Ancient Rome or Greece?

Important Roman Leaders: Caesar Augustus Constantine

Julius Caesar

The 5 W’s of Caesar: Who? Who was he? He was an Ancient Rome military and political leader. One of the ancient worlds strongest leaders.

The 5 W’s of Caesar: What? What did he do? He helped transform Rome into the Roman Empire, by conquering many lands for Rome. He was killed on March 15 in 44 BC, now known as the Ides of March, the day of Julius Caesar’s death. He was killed by those who were scared of his power and his “king” like ability to rule the area.

The 5 W’s of Caesar: Where? Where or what area is Caesar from? He was from Italy, and more specifically, Ancient Rome.

The 5 W’s of Caesar: When? When, or what time period was Caesar important? Caesar lived from 100 BC to 44 BC. How long did he live? ____________ years

The 5 W’s of Caesar: Why? Why do we study Caesar? He is one of the important military leaders of Ancient Rome. He reformed Roman society and government. Shakespeare has written about the powerful leader.

Octavian Augustus

The 5 W’s of Augustus: Who? Who was he? He was an emperor who ruled the Roman empire after Caesar was killed. His is called either Octavian Augustus or Caesar Augustus.

The 5 W’s of Augustus: What? What did he do? He ruled as a Roman aristocrat for many years after he became emperor. What did we say an aristocrat was? ___________________________

The 5 W’s of Augustus: Where? Where was Augustus from or located at? Augustus was from Rome, Italy and helped to control all of the Ancient Roman empire.

The 5 W’s of Augustus: When? When in history was he important? He lived from 63 BC to 12 AD How long did he live? ___________ years

The 5 W’s of Augustus: Why? Why study Augustus? He ended an era of Civil Wars in Rome, and bought peace and prosperity to the Roman Empire.

Head of Constantine Statue

The 5 W’s of Constantine: Who? Who was he? Commonly known, or called, Constantine the Great or Constantine the First His whole name is Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus

The 5 W’s of Constantine: What? What did he do? He ruled the Roman Empire after Augustus. He founded two other cities. The Byzantine Empire (now Istanbul), which he called “New Rome” Constantinople, which he called “his city”

The 5 W’s of Constantine: Where? Where was he from, what area is he important to? Constantine is important to Italy, and specifically to Rome, Constantinople, and modern day Istanbul.

The 5 W’s of Constantine: When? When or what time period is he important to? He was born in 272 AD and died in 337 AD. It was during this period that he became such a great leader. How long did he live? ___________________ years

The 5 W’s of Constantine: Why? Why do we study him? Constantinople is known for formerly founding Christianity in the Roman empire and other parts of Italy. This played a major role in spreading the religion of Christianity. He is given the reputation of being the “First Christian Emperor”.

Graphic Organizer Time! Well do Caesar together Augustus and Constantine you will need to do alone!