Ancient Rome
How do we know about Romans?
• 1. The ruins of many Roman buildings e.g. Colosseum
• 2. Many Roman artefacts have been found in the ruins of
Roman cities such as Pompeii
Army
• Was divided into Legions (groups of about 5,000 soldiers) and
centuries (groups of about 100 soldiers)
• They used swords, shields, helmets and javelins
• Discipline was strict
What Romans wore
• Most men wore knee-length tunics (like a long T-shirt) ties at the
waist
• On formal occasions men wore togas.
• Young girls wore long, white tunics belted at the waist. When a
girl married she normally wore an ankle-length dress called a
stola. Women also wore jewellery such as necklaces and bracelets.
Education
• Poorer children did not learn to read and write.
• Richer children went to primary school at age 7, where they learnt
to write on wax tablets.
• Boys went to secondary school, where they studied history,
philosophy, geometry and the writings of the Greek and Latin
authors. Some received training in public speaking for use in
politics.
• Richer girls ended their education at primary school because they
were often married off at an early age.
Roman Writing Tablets
Food
• Poor Romans depended on bread or a kind of porridge made from wheat
and barley. The government also gave out free gràin to poorer people
because there was so much poverty. This was called the dole.
• Rich Romans often attended evening feasts, where they consumed huge
quantities of food, varying from stuffed birds to snails fried in olive oil.
If they ate too much they could visit a room called a vomitorium. There
they made themselves sick, so that they could return to the dining-room
and continue eating. . Breakfast and lunch might consist of bread or
olives or dates washed down with water or wine. The evening meal,
called the cena, might feature a kind of porridge or stew made of
vegetables or bread.
Roman houses
• Poor Romans: lived in blocks of apartments called insulae. These could
be up to eight storeys high. The poorest people lived in the top floor
apartments. The rooms had no fireplaces or toilets, so people often used
night-pots for toilets. There were shops on the ground floor
• Rich Romans: lived in big country houses called villas. They might also
live in a fine townhouse called a domus.
• A Domus: shops often occupied the street front of a domus. The domus
was surrounded by walls. The houses had an atrium which was an open
courtyard with a pool in the middle. The inside walls were covered in
murals (wall paintings) and the floors with mosaics.
Romans at work
• Poor Romans: worked as craftsmen such as bakers, glassworkers or
carpenters.
• Rich Romans: did very little work, although some served as army
generals or in government as senators. Educated Romans often
became doctors or architects.
• Slaves did most of the work on farms
• Many people worked for the government as tax collectors
Roman pastimes
• Chariot racing was the most popular pastime in Rome. This took
place in the Circus Maximus, ahuge arena that could hold a
quarter of a million people. Four teams of charioteersReds/Greens/Blues and Whites raced each other seven times
around the track to the excitement of the crowd.
• Gladiator contests took place at the Colosseum. It could hold up
to 50,000 people. Specially trained gladiators fought each other or
wild animals to the death, using swords, nets and shields.
• Many Romans enjoyed bathing in some of the 900 public baths that
existed in Rome. There was cold/hot or warm rooms. Men and
women had separate baths.
ROMAN BATHS
Why were baths so popular with the Romans?
• Roman baths were more like a visit to a leisure centre than a quick scrub.
• The Romans loved the baths because they were a good place to meet people and business
could be conducted there.
• When you went to the baths you firstly changed and did some exercises
• Then you might have a swim before going into a series of rooms that made you hotter and
hotter to help you sweat off the dirt.
• All the dirt and sweat was then scraped off with a STRIGIL (made out of metal).
• They then swam in the cold pool.
Today's work
• Pretend you are writing a quiz about Roman leisure. You need to
ask 10 questions with three possible answers, making sure one of
those three is the correct one.
• Decorate your quiz sheet.
• Draw a box at the bottom of the page. You need to write the
correct answers (the people doing the quiz wouldn't see this).
Religious beliefs…….see ppt
• The Romans believed in several different gods and goddesses,
each of which controlled a certain aspect of life. Beautiful
temples were built to honour the gods, especially around the
market area which was called the Forum.
The Romans and death
• Most Romans believed in life after death. Some believed that
when a person died his or her spirit went to Hades, or the
Underworld. To reach Hades the spirit had to be rowed across the
River Styx by a ghostly ferryman named Charon. A coin was placed
in the mouth of the dead person to pay the mysterious ferryman.
• Funerals were important, noisy affairs at which professional
wailers were paid to cry loudly for the dead person. Bodies were
buried outside the walls of Rome, usually along a roadside.
• In the days before Christianity became the official religion of
Rome, Christians often buried their dead in underground tunnels
called catacombs.
Achievements of the Roman Empire
• Towns and cities-many owe their origins to Roman builders and
planners e.g. London and Paris
• Roman Architecture and sculpture-was copied by people in the
Renaissance. Many modern buildings followed Roman style e.g. the
White House
• Language-Many modern languages such as French and Italian are
based on Latin, the language of the Romans
Exam Questions
Famous person: Julius Caesar
Sources: Pompeii, Greek scholars, Coins and Pottery, Buildings
Achievements
Accounts: 1)Houses 2) Food and clothing 3) Work 4) Religion and
Burial customs 5)Arts and Crafts 6)Entertainment
• People in History
•
•
•
•
Houses
Patrician
• Domus (Town house)
• Villa (Country House)
• Atrium (Courtyard)
• Slave Quarters
• Shallow pool (Impluvium)
• Shaded walled garden
(Peristylium)
• Mosaics and Murals
Plebian
• Insulae- 4 or 5 storeys high
• Higher you went the cheaper
the rent
• Only running water on the
ground floor
• No toilets
• Danger of fire
• Meals from stalls on the
streets
Food and Clothing
•
•
•
•
Food
Breakfast and lunch for rich
and poor: Bread dipped in
wine, olives
Evening meal: Cena
Poor: Handouts of bread-Dole
Rich: Feasts-at least 3 coursesexotic food like stuffed birds
and snails
Clothing
• Men wore knee length tunics
• On occasions togas were worn
• Young girls wore full length tunics
• When she got married she wore a
stola
• Jewellery also worn
• Leather sandals
Work
RICH
• Some served as army generals
• Others as senators in the
government
• Educated Romans often
became doctors or architects
POOR
• Worked as shopkeepers
• Others were carpenters or other
craftsmen who owned workshops
• Some were tax collectors or
soldiers
• Slaves were forced to work
without pay
• Educated slaves sometimes
became doctors or teachers
Religion and Burial Customs
• Believed in many gods
• A person in love might pray to Venus.
• Beautiful temples were built to honour the Gods especially around the
Forum
• Some Romans kept small alters to their favourite Gods in their houses
• Believed in the afterlife-when a person died their spirit went to Hades.
To reach Hades coins were placed on the persons eyes to pay the
Ferryman Charon to row their spirit across the River Styx
• At important people funerals there were professional mourners
• Christians buried in catacombs outside city walls until Emperor
Constantine changed the official religion to Christianity
Arts and Crafts
• Potters made thousands of red clay pots for storage containers
• They also carved beautiful designs on vases
• Mosaics were made from broken tiles or stones that were placed
into a picture or design
• Glass-blowing: shaping glass to make things like bottles
• Engineers used arches and dome sin their buildings
Entertainment
• Chariot Racing-Circus Maximus-held 250,000 people. Four teams of
charioteers-Reds/Greens/Blues/Whites-raced each other seven
times around the track
• Gladiator contests-Colosseum-50,000 people. Special trained
gladiators fought each other or wild animals to death using
swords, nets, shields and tridents.
• Public Baths-900 in Rome. Cold room=frigidariums. Hot
room=caldariums. Separate baths and times for women and men.
Massages from slaves. Wresting or weights for exercise
People in History Q
• So, in short...
•
•
•
•
•
Introduce yourself - a plebeian or a patrician.
Talk about your house (domus or insulae).
Talk about your family: clothes, school, your parents' work, and food.
Talk about what you do for fun: gladiator contests, chariot races and
plays.
Talk about your religious beliefs - both the Roman religion and
Christianity.
Talk about being at a Roman funeral service.