By:Amari J., Gabby G., and Lauren W.

 Romans used mostly slaves to work in the fields. Slaves were usually available, and they provided cheap labor to work their fields. The fields were plowed with an ard plow, which is basically a heavy stick pulled by an ox.  Grain was harvested by hand until the first century A.D. A reaping machine called a vallus was invented in Gaul (modern day France) which allowed for an easier harvest. The wheat was beaten to separate the chaff from the kernels.  Rome needed a large amount of food to supply its large population. Most of the grain was shipped in from North Africa even Egypt.  By 100 B.C. most farming was done on large estates. The owners of these estates often lived in town for the majority of the year.

 Sometimes, the Greek influence on Roman culture was indirect. For example, the Greek alphabet was adopted and then changed. The Greeks use of their alphabet had ore direct influence on Roman life.  Many Roman writers were inspired by Greek Poetry and Myths. The Greeks carved important document’s such as laws and treaty’s into bronze or stone plaques.

 Patricians were wealthy citizens of Rome. They usually lived in grand houses and had slaves to do their work for them. Because they were citizens of Rome they were allowed to go to the Assembly to vote.  Plebeians were not wealthy but they were citizens of Rome. They were usually craftsmen or tradesmen and they worked for a living. Because they were citizens of Rome they were allowed to go to the Assembly to vote.  Slaves had no money, no rights, no freedom and were not citizens of Rome. Because they were not citizens of Rome they were not allowed to go to the Assembly to vote.  From the time of Julius Caesar, 48BC, Rome and the Roman Empire was ruled by an Emperor. The Emperor was wise if he listened to the advice of the Senate but some chose to be dictators and do what they wanted rather than follow the Senate's advice.  Before Julius Caesar took control in 48BC, the Roman Empire was not ruled by the Emperor but by two consuls who were elected by the citizens of Rome. Rome was then known as a Republic. 

 Traditionally, Roman society was extremely rigid. By the first century, however, the need for capable men to run Rome’s large empire was slowly getting around the old social barriers. The social structure of ancient Rome was based on heredity, property, wealth, citizenship and freedom. It was also based around men: women were defined by the social status of their fathers or husbands. Women were expected to look after the houses and very few had any real independence  The boundaries between the different classes were strict and legally enforced: members of different classes even dressed differently. Only the emperor was allowed to wear a purple toga, while senators could wear a white toga with a broad purple stripe along the edge.

 Roman art grows out of Etruscan Art, and at first it is a lot like Etruscan art. Because of this, it has a close relationship to Greek Art as well. Roman art as a type of its own really gets going around 500 BC with the beginning of the Roman Republic. Roman people were particularly interested in portraiture: in making statues that really looked like one particular person, especially a famous person. Greek people were more interested in ideals: what is the most beautiful man? what is the most athletic man? But the Romans were more interested in reality.

 Roman technology is the engineering practice which supported Roman civilization and made the expansion of Roman commerce and Roman military possible over nearly a thousand years.  The Roman Empire had the most advanced set of technologies of its time, some of which was lost during the eras of Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Gradually, some of the technological feats of the Romans were rediscovered and/or improved, while others went ahead of what the Romans had done during the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Era.  Several Roman technological feats in different areas like civil engineering, construction materials, transport technology, and some inventions such as the mechanical reaper, were surprising achievements until the 19th century, and some, such as the arch, have remained untouched to this day.

 Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans, and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule.  Romans could offer a cult to any deity or combination of deities, as long as it did not offend the mos maiorum. Good relations between mortals and the divine were maintained by piety through the correct offering of ritual and divine honurs.  Some of Rome's cult practices were explained by myths, while others remained clueless in origin and purpose.  Rome had extended its dominance throughout the Mediterranean area, its religious mode was to learn more about the deities and cults of other peoples rather than to ruin and replace them.