1. 6.2 | And the Struggle of the Orders
Roman Society
6.2 | And the Struggle of the Orders

2. Getting a Feel for Rome Seven hills (Capitoline and Palatine)
Defense and residence
Swamps in between
Drained over time
Forums became meeting places in between residential areas
Roads to connect cities and colonies
Colonies inhabited by “Roman” colonists

3. Rome from 753 – 500 BC
Greeks
Not too impressive

5. The Romans Romans families had a strong sense of ancestry
Families were, essentially, clans
Those families that could show their ancestry were typically
More wealthy
More prominent
Death Masks
Families were also patriarchal
Paterfamilias

6. Patricians and Plebeians
Wealthy, prominent, privileged Romans
Plebeians
Ancestry sketchy, immigrants, less wealthy
The Early Roman Republic
Aristocrats
Laborers

7. Roman Real estate For the budget buyer For the wealthy buyer
Insulae
Apartment blocks
Varying styles
For the wealthy buyer
Villas
Comfortable estates outside the city
Quiet and cozy
For the exceptionally rich buyer
Latifundia
Large estates with tons of land and full of slaves
Coming soon

8. So As Rome, or today What is the “job” of a government?
How is a government supposed to act?

9. Accountability How do we know if the government is doing its “job”?
What if it is not?

10. The Other Half
The Governed

11. The Governed What is the “job” of the governed?
What are the governed supposed to do?

12. Making the Connection
What is the relationship between the governed and the governing?

13. The Struggle of the Orders
B.C.
When did the Republic begin?
So in 15 years, the divisions became pretty obvious
How do unions today work?

14. The Divide The plebeian class Was barred from the senate Was poor
Subject to harsh debt laws
Fought Rome’s wars

15. Rome needed its soldiers
Roman Expansion
Against the Italians
Rome needed its soldiers

16. Plebeians Walk Out
In a time of crisis (invasion), the plebeian soldiers refused to fight
The plebeians would leave Rome and set up camp outside the city (Aventine Hill)
Wait for terms
There would be 3 secessions

17. The Secessions The First Secession The Second Secession
Patricians free some debts and grant the office of the Tribune of the Plebs – veto, courts, sacrosanct
The Second Secession
Plebs force patricians to adopt the Twelve Tables
A set of laws – rights, equality, justice
The Third Secession
Patricians adopt “Lex Hortensia” 287 B.C.
Quintus Hortensius

18. New Social Divisions The “New” Patricians The “New” Plebeians (Plebs)
Wealthy patrician and plebeian families
The “New” Plebeians (Plebs)
The rest of the population, the lower class