Roman Civilization. Clothing Most clothing made of wool, some linen and silk 2 types: indutus = put onamictus = wrapped Subligaculum = loincloth/underwear

Roman Civilization

Clothing

• Most clothing made of wool, some linen and silk

• 2 types: indutus = put on amictus = wrapped

• Subligaculum = loincloth/underwear

• Tunica = tunic (long shirt)– Tunica manicata = long sleeve tunic– Tunica talares = floor length tunic

Clothing (cont.)

• Tunica angusti clavi = tunic worn by equites with narrow purple stripes

• Tunica lati clavi = tunic worn by senators with wide purple stripes

• Wrappings for warmth (worn only by old or ill people) legs=fasciae upper leg=feminalia lower leg=tibialia body=ventralia throat=focalia

• Pants (worn only by barbarians) = braccae

Clothing (cont.)

• Toga was the mark of a Roman citizen

• Regular toga = toga pura/virilis/libera

• Toga candida/splendens = worn by men running for public office, candidati, bright white color

• Toga praetexta = worn by boys before manhood and curule magistrates, purple border

Clothing (cont.)

• Toga picta = worn by triumphing generals and emperors, entirely purple

• Toga sordidata/pulla = worn by people in mourning, dingy toga

• Lacerna = more convenient mantle that eventually nearly replaced the toga, came in many colors, could have a hood (cucullus)

• Military cloak = trabea, paludamentum, sagum, similar to lacerna but heavier

Clothing (cont.)

• Paenula = wrap used for protection from weather and cold, similar to a poncho, no sleeves

• Synthesis = dinner garment

• Laena, abolla = very heavy cloaks

• Endormis = bath robe

Clothing (cont.)

• Sandals = soleae

• Shoes = calcei

• Mulleus = patrician’s shoe

• Calceus senatorius = senator’s shoe

• Perones = shoes of untanned leather

• Caligae = soldiers’ half boot

Clothing (cont.)

• Pilleus = felt cap, worn by lower classes, especially workmen

• Causia/petasus = broad-brimmed felt hat worn for protection from the sun

• Beards worn after the reign of Hadrian

• Only jewelry worn by a roman citizen was a ring, often a seal ring, worn on the joint

Clothing (cont.)

• 3 main articles make up women’s clothing, tunica, stola, and palla

• Tunica is similar to that of a man• Mamillare = band of soft leather worn

similar to modern bra• Strophium = sash worn over tunica• Stola is the distinctive dress of a matron• Stola had a wide border (instita) at the

lower hem and a girdle (zona)

Clothing (cont.)

• Palla = shawl-like wrap for outdoors

• Women worn the same soleae and calcei as men

• Nodus = hair gathered in a knot on the back of the neck

• Reticula = hair nets

• Vittae/taeniae/fasciolae = hair ribbons

• Coronae = garlands of flowers

Clothing (cont.)

• Umbraculum/umbella = parasol

• Flabellum = fan

• Sudaria = handkerchiefs

• Roman women wore many types of jewelry, rings, brooches, pins, coronets, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and pendants

• Pearl was the favorite jewel

Living Arrangement

• Domus = house• Atrium = main room• Compluvium = pool to collect rain water• Impluvium = hole in the roof of the atrium to let in

light, air, and rainwater, 4 types– Tuscanicum = 2 pairs of beams at right angles– Tetrastylon = similar to Tuscanicum, but with pillars at

the intersections– Corinthium = More pillars than tetrastylon– Displuviatum = roof sloping outward to carry water

away, only rain falling directly went into the compluvium– Atrium testudinatum had no impluvium

Living Arrangement (cont.)

• Tablinum = Study/office

• Arca = strong box for valuables, in atrium or tablinum

• Alae = wider parts of the atrium

• Peristylium = colonnaded courtyard behind the tablinum

• Vestibulum = open court between the street and building


• Ostium = entrance to the house, door and doorway, ianua/fores = specifically door

• Limen = threshold• Culina = kitchen• Latrina = bathhouse• Triclinium = dining room, 3 couches• Cubiculum = bedroom• Bibliotheca = library


• Sacrarium = private chapel• Oecus = sitting room/parlor, used also as

a banquet hall• Exedra = room with permanent seats,

probably for lectures or similar purpose• Solarium = place to sit in the sun, often on

the flat roof, decorated with flowers and shrubs

• Cella servorum = slaves’ quarters


• Paries = wall, made of various materials, often fronted with marble stucco

• Lateres crudi = stone or unburned brick

• Opus quadratum = dressed stone

• Opus caementicum = concrete

• Lapis Puteolanus = concrete made of lime and volcanic ashes with pieces of stone

• Lateres cocti = kiln-burned brick


• Wall frontings, either opus incertum (flat faces of rocks with no particular shape or pattern) or opus reticulatum (flat faces of stone cut into uniform squares, giving a pattern like a net)

• Solum = floor• Pavimentum = floor covered by stone,

brick, tile, and potsherds, smoothed with a heavy rammer (fistuca)


• Poorer homes had pavimentum floors, richer had stone slabs fitted together, some had concrete floors

• Floors of upper stories were either made of wood or concrete

• Tectum = roof, usually made of tiles

• Tegula =tile, made with flanges to fit together

• Imbrices = Tiles made to cover the flanges


• 4 parts to doorway, threshold (limen) two jambs (postes) and lintel (limen superum)

• Door hinge was a cylinder turning in sockets in the threshold and lintel, similar to a modern gate

• Fores = double doors

• Posticum = back door

• Pessuli = bolts Serae = bars


• Fenestra = window

• Foculi = metal coal boxes used for heating

• Some wealthy homes had furnaces

• Water could be piped into the house from mains laid down in the middle of streets

• Often a tank for water in the upper part of the house and a fountain in the court


• Lectus = couch/bed• Sedile = backless stool, most primitive seat• Sella = stool, ordinary seat for one• Subsellium = bench, used in the Senate • Sella curulis = stool with curved, folding

ivory legs, used by magistrates• Solium = high backed chair with solid arms• Cathedra = curved back chair with no arms


• Mensa = table

• Monopodium = table with one support, used often for a lamp

• Abacus = rectangular top with raised rim, used just as a modern sideboard for dishes

• Delphica = table with three legs

• Some tables made with adjustable legs


• Lucerna = lamp Candelae = candles

• Candelabra = lamp or candle stand

• Faces = torches

• Arca = chest

• Armaria = cabinets

• Solarium = sun-dial

• Clepsydra = water clock

Food and Meals

• Great variety of fruits and vegetables

• Many were imported from the provinces, e.g. peach (malum Persicum), apricot (malum Armeniacum), pomegranate (malum Punicum), cherry (cerasus), and lemon (citrus)

• Pork, beef, mutton, and goat was eaten, goat was poorest, pork most popular

Food and Meals (cont.)

• Domestic and wild fowl were eaten, as well as wild animals such as hare, boar, and dormouse (glis)

• Fish was very popular, both fresh and salt water, as well as oysters (ostreae)

• Dairy was commonly used as milk, cheese, cream, but not butter

• Honey was used as a sweetener• Salt was used as seasoning and preservative


• Frumentum = grain, general term for any type of grain grown for food, including wheat, barley, rye, oats, and spelt (far)

• Puls = porridge made from water and ground grain

• Pistor = baker• Mola = mill, made of lower millstone (meta) and

upper (catillus) that would rotate• Panis = bread, pure wheat (panis siligneus),

lower quality (panis plebeius/castrensis/sordidus/rusticus)


• Olives were next in importance to grain, eaten themselves or used to make oil (oleum)

• Grapes were eaten fresh and dried, but were most importantly used for wine

• Best quality wine was from the ager Falernus

• Mustum = freshly pressed grape cider

• Defrutum = grape-jelly, half evaporated mustum


• Vinum = wine, mustum fermented in huge jars (dolia) for about nine days

• After a year, stored in jars (amphorae)

• Acetum = vinegar, spoiled wine

• Mulsum = honeyed wine

• Mulsa = fermented honey and water


• Ientaculum = breakfast, usually of bread

• Prandium = lunch, cold food, bread, salad, cheese, fruits, nuts, or meat from previous night

• Merenda = midday snacks

• Vesperna = evening supper, only rural


• Cena = dinner, main meal of the day and social function, almost always being either host or guest

• Umbrae = uninvited friends of guests • Three couches were called lectus summus,

lectus medius, and lectus imus, counter-clockwise

• Each place on a couch was also locus summus, medius, and imus, left to right

• Place of honor lectus summus, locus summus• Locus consularis = lectus medius, locus imus


• 3 parts of dinner, appetizer (gustus/promulsis/antecena), dinner proper (cena), and dessert (secunda mensa), each part could have several courses

• If a dinner was going to be long, it would start earlier rather than go late (tempestiva convivia)


• Convivium = after dinner conversation over dessert and wine

• Comissatio/compotatio/symposium = drinking party after dinner

• Coronae convivales = garlands of flowers worn while drinking (the scent was thought to help prevent intoxication)

• Rex/arbiter/magister bibendi = In charge of the proportion of wine to water and rules for the drinking, person chosen by dice throw


• Crater = large mixing bowl for wine• Pocula = drinking goblets• Cyathus = ladle for measuring wine, about

1/12th of a pint or graduated by 12ths • A guest proposed someone’s health and

everyone immediately drank as many cyathi as were letters in the given name

• Gambling was common at these drinking parties

Theater

• Ludi scaenici = theater performances• 4 types of theater performances, comedies

(comoediae), tragedies (tragoediae), farces (mimi), pantomimes (pantomimi)

• Fabula palliata = plays in Greek costume depicting greek life

• Actors were all male slaves• Grex = troupe of actors with a manager

(dominus gregis)

Theater (cont.)

• Wigs were used to represent different characters, gray for old men, black for young men, red for slaves, etc

• Ornamenta = props used onstage

• At first, plays were staged at the bottom of a sloping hill, only later were temporary theaters built and the first permanent one in Rome was Pompey’s in 55 BC

Theater (cont.)

• The orchestra was assigned to the senators, the next fourteen rows of seating to the equites, the rest for everyone else, first come first served

• Proscaenium = front line of the stage• Scaena = all behind the proscaenium,

devoted to the actors• Cavea = all in front of the proscaenium,

devoted to the spectators

Theater (cont.)

• Cunei = sections of seating, six in lower section, twelve in upper section

• Praecinctio = semicircular passage separating lower and upper seating

• Boxes were reserved for the giver of the show, the emperor, and the Vestals

• Vela = awnings spread to protect people from the sun

Documents

Roman Civilization. Clothing Most clothing made of wool, some linen and silk 2 types: indutus = put onamictus = wrapped Subligaculum = loincloth/underwear