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 charioteers-Reds/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 courses-exotic 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.