Chapter 35

1. Chapter 35 Daily Life in the Roman Empire

2. “All Roads Lead to Rome” • Romans had built and extensive network of Roads. • Expression became common throughout the Roman Empire.

3. “gathering place” Originally was an open air market place in the center of Rome Over time numerous government buildings, plazas, reigious and other buildings built. Forum

4. 35.2: Daily Life in Ancient Rome • City of great contrasts • Over 1 million people in Rome • Most people lived in tiny apartments

5. 35.2: Daily Life in Ancient Rome • Wealthy Romans • women shopped at the forum with their slaves • Wealthy Senators used body guards for protection • Silks, perfumes, jeweled weapons, and musical instruments • Homes with statues, fountains, and fine pottery

6. 35.2: Daily Life in Ancient Rome • Slaves: • Hundreds of thousands of slaves • Escorted women in the forum • Forced to fight in gladiator games • Teachers and other skilled labored • Soldiers and Craftsmen • Foreigners • Britain, Spain, Europeans, Egypt, and the rest of the empire

7. 35.2: Daily Life in Ancient Rome • City Life (Poor) • Filthy neighborhoods • Most children died by the age of 10 • “Bread and Circus” • Most poor could not find jobs because slaves had taken them • Given food and entertainment free by the government such as gladiator games and chariot races

8. 35.2: Daily Life in Ancient Rome • Rural or Country Living • Most people lived in the countryside • Most of the people in the countryside were poor • Some small family farms • Some worked on huge estates owned by the rich

9. 35.3: Law and Order • Rule of Law • Law applies to everyone equally at all times • The intent and spirit of the law must be maintained and applied • Bedrock founding principle of the United States

10. 35.3: Law and Order • Senate and Assemblies created most laws in the Roman Republic • Emperor was the final authority/source of law in the Roman Empire • “whatever pleases the emperor is the law”

11. 35.3: Law and Order • Old time honored traditions were followed • Senate continued to meet even in the empire • Senators had many privileges because of their position • Important senators had bodyguards • Fasces • Bundles of sticks with an axe in the center • Symbol that government could use force, physical punishment, and strict enforcement of the law whenever necessary (martial law principle)

12. 35.3: Law and Order • Law Enforcement and Crime • Laws were strict • Crime was common • Most common: Stealing, assault, and murder • Rich neighborhoods protected • Lack of protection in the poorer parts of town • Some streets closed at night due to dangers

13. 35.3: Law and Order • Protection Against Crime: • Rich wore old dirty togas when they traveled at night • Wealthy women warned not to go out alone even during the daytime

14. 35.3: Law and Order • Criminal Proceedings/Trials • All citizens could bring charges against another • Jury of Roman citizens decided the case • “jury of your peers (U.S.) • family and personal appearance used to get sympathy • Dress poorly • Have children/wives cry before the jury

15. 35.3: Law and Order • Rule of Law • Belief that law should apply to everyone equally • In realty, wealthy received special treatment under the law • Poor people punished more harshly including torture • Law stated torture could not be used against a Roman citizen • Law was thrown out if the poor person were convicted by a fair trial • Used to find out who accomplices were and to ease the conscience of the judges who issued the conviction • Common methods: Crucifixion, lashes, • Salves testimony could only be used if obtained by torture

16. 35.4: Religion • Adopted Greek gods and gods from other cultures to create a set of Roman gods • Names of some planets came from Roman gods: • Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Mars, Neptune • Believed gods controlled daily life • Offerings and promises • gifts of food, honey cakes and fruit • sacrificed animals such as bulls, sheep, and oxen • Left offering for the sick and injured sometimes in the form of the body part that was affected • Festivals and Holidays • Home altars by the family hearth or fireplace • goddess Vesta: Threw small cakes into the fire • Emperors honored as gods • Caligula: built his own statue and had it clothed the same as himself everyday • New religions accepted as long as it didn’t encourage disloyalty to the emperor: • Christians would not recognize the emperor as god

17. 35.4: Reading Notes • 1. Answer the trivia question. • Romans would put a little clay foot by a statue at a temple to remind the god which part of the body needed to be healed. • 2. List two key differences between ancient Rome and modern times. • (1) Romans believed in Greek gods; people today have different beliefs. • (2) Romans honored the emperors as gods; we don’t honor our leaders as gods.

18. 35.5: Family Life • Paterfamilias • Father of the family ruled the family • Father’s decisions/words were the law at home • Every child regardless of age or living at or away from home had to follow his orders

19. 35.5: Family Life • Men • Expected to provide for the family • Rich: high paying political positions • Poor: men/women both worked

20. 35.5: Family Life • Households • Rich women ran the household • Bought and trained slaves • Many ran businesses • Bought and sold property

21. 35.5: Family Life • Babies: • Born at home • Strong and healthy babies kept • Weak or babies not meeting father’s approval were left outside to die • Named in a special ceremony after 9 days and given a Bulla, or good luck charm, worn throughout childhood

22. 35.5: Family Life • Boys (14-18 years old) • Ceremony between 14-18 years old to end childhood: • Celebrated becoming a man by giving their bulla, toys, and clothes to the gods

23. 35.5: Family Life • Girls • No ceremony to end childhood • Married between ages 12-18

24. 35.5: Family Life • Weddings/Marriages • Held at a temple • Bride wore white toga and long veil • Groom wore white toga and leather shoes shined with animal fat • New husband did not become the paterfamilias until his father died

25. 35.6: Food and Drink • Rich had kitchens in the home • Poor used small grills in the home • Fast Food • Both rich and poor bought ready made hot/cold food from the Thermopolia • Diet • Main foods were bread, beans, spices, some vegetables and meat, cheese, honey, and wine • Breakfast: bread and bowl of beans or porridge (oatmeal) • Lunch: cheese, bread, olives, and celery • Dinner: • Poor: fish, asparagus, and figs • Rich: special appetizers, mice cooked in honey, roasted parrots stuffed with dates, slated jellyfish, and snails dipped in milk

26. 35.6: Food and Drink • Roman Markets • Wide variety • Playful monkeys and birds to attract customers • Fruits, live rabbits and chickens, geese, baskets of snails, various meats, and fish sauce

27. 35.7: Housing • Rich: • large open homes made from stone and marble • Thick walls to keep out the noise • Atrium • Inside the front door • Used to welcome guests • Small pool and opening in the ceiling kept it cool • Dining Room • Fanciest room in the house • Covered with pictures, murals, and tiled mosaics • Statues in the corners and some with fountains in the center for cool drinking water • Dinner Parties • Guests lay on couches • Dinners prepared by slaves • Music played by slaves on the flute, lyre and lute

28. 35.7: Housing • Poor • small dark crowded apartments made of wood • Some lived in rooms above their shops • Portable grills filled the apartments with smoke • Cramped, noisy, and dirty • Disease carrying rats spread sickness rapidly • Fire was a constant danger • 64 C.E./A.D. fire burned down most of the city

29. 35.8: Education • Poor : • went to work instead of school • Learned trades such as leather and metal working to support the family • Rich: • Tutored by fathers or slaves • Stopped by the breakfast bar on the way to school to buy beans, nuts, and bread to eat on the way to school • Learned Greek, Latin, math, science, literature, music, and public speaking • Girls: dentists, realtors, tutors, or midwives (nurses for childbirth) • Boys: soldiers, doctors, politicians, and lawyers • Most went to school until age 13 but some stayed until 16 then managed their own property

30. 35.9: Recreation • Roman Baths • Both poor and rich • Bath, swim, exercise, steam, or massage • Gardens, libraries, shops, and art galleries • Rich: • Extra leisure time (slaves worked) • Plays at the theater • Musicals in the homes • Poor: • “Bread and Circus” free public entertainment and food for the poor provided by the emperor • Chariot races and gladiator fights • Attempt to keep them busy/out of trouble (lost jobs due to high number of slaves)

31. 35.9: Recreation • Gladiator Games • Held at the Colosseum • Both men and women participated • Slaves or prisoners of war fought each other and wild animals to the death • Thousands died painfully for entertainment • Men and women sat in different sections

32. 35.9: Recreation • Circus Maximus • Favorite entertainment of the Romans • Huge racetrack held 200,000 people • Gambled on chariot races • Rich in the shade on cushions close to the track • Poor in the sun on wooden benches away from the track • Men and women sat together and it became a popular meeting place

33. 35.10: Country Life • 90% lived out in the countryside • Rich • Large villas to invest money in crops and livestock • Came to relax during the summer months • Checked on the work, read books, wrote, hunted, picnics, and long walks • Poor • Had small family farms • Many lost their jobs as they were replaced by slaves • Soldiers lost farms when they went to war • Lived in huts and life was hard • Many moved to the city for the “Bread and Circus” provided by the emperor • Slaves treated very harshly • Large farms produced: • most of the food, for Rome and other cities • Grain for bread, grapes for wine, olives for oil • Goats and sheep for cheese and clothing • Cattle and pigs for meat • Bees for honey