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)