Daily Life in Ancient Rome

1. Food and Drink

1.1. The rich people of Rome had kitchens while the poor only had grills and went to "fast food" places called thermopolia. The market also provided good food and ingredients for those who could afford it.

1.2. Rich people ate fish, mice cooked in honey, roasted parrots stuffed with dates, salted jellyfish, and snails dipped in milk.

1.3. Romans would mainly drink water or hot water with herbs and honey.

2. Housing

2.1. The rich lived in big luxurious houses built of stone and marble. Inside there was the atrium which is where owners of the house met with people. Mosaics covered the walls and floor of the dining room and there were pictures on the wall. Some houses even had fountains to provide cool water in the center of the dining room.

2.2. The poor of Rome lived in tall, cramped, noisy and dirty apartment buildings. Rats would spread disease and fires could burn down buildings.

2.3. In the year of 64 C.E. there was a giant fire that burned down most of the city.

3. Education

3.1. Just like food and drink, how you were educated depending on the amount of wealth you had. Poorer people in Rome didn't have much of an education and just started working to help provide money for their families.

3.2. In the more wealthier families, girls and boys were tutored until the age of six when they went to school. After going to school until the age of 12 or 13, or for rich boys, the age of 16, boys would become soldiers, doctors, lawyers or politicians and girls became dentists, tutors or midwives.

3.3. In the early morning, a student would carry their belongings in a leather bag and stop at "breakfast bars" to get food on their way to school. To write they would use a stylus on a wax covered board of wood and rub it all out when finished. A typical school day would end around 2 or 3 pm.

4. Recreation

4.1. For entertainment, Romans would go to the Colosseum. Men and women sat in separate areas. Men and women who were slaves or prisoners of war would be gladiators and fight each or animals to the death. Most died, only a few slaves were able to buy their freedom by winning.

4.2. Romans would relax in the public baths and could bathe, get a massage, exercise and swim. Many other buildings such as gardens, libraries, art galleries and shops were at the baths.

4.3. At the Circus Maximus, over 200,000 people watched chariot races at the huge racetrack. Wealthy people would sit in shade, on cushions and close to the bottom so that you could see all the action while the poor sat on wooden benches high up in the spectator stands.

5. Country Life

5.1. Because the Roman Empire was so large, 90% of it's people lived in the country. In the country, most of life there was farming because "He who does not work shall not eat."

5.2. Villas were the homes of the rich Romans. They would grow crops and raise livestock. They had lots of time for many activities as the slaves were the ones who mostly did all the work.

5.3. All of the others, which was a large portion, were not slaves but still worked hard to get money to take care of their families and could sometimes only afford to live in huts will small farms.

6. Daily Life in Ancient Rome

6.1. Rome was a beautiful place, but most of it's people didn't live in the big beautiful buildings.

6.2. The Forum, which was in the center of Rome had many people in it at a time. Women who were wealthy would shop, senators walked around, soldiers marched and foreigners from Britain, Spain and Egypt roamed around taking in the beauty of Rome right at it's center.

6.3. The rich were a small part of the population and most people lived in the countryside.

7. Law and Order

7.1. The Romans believed in the rule of the law. During the Empire, whatever the Emperor said was the law.

7.2. Crime was common even though the law was very strict. People would steal, assault people or even murder them. It was more common in the poorer neighborhoods as police didn't pay as much attention to them and only the wealthy neighborhoods.

7.3. Anyone could send someone to a court. The convicted might wear rags and have their family sob in front of the jury to gain their sympathy to try and get away with a crime if they actually committed it.

8. Religion

8.1. The Romans adopted many gods from Greek and other cultures. They believed that the gods controlled everyday life.

8.2. They had shrines in their houses and big temples to worship the gods. They also had celebrations of their gods for holidays.

8.3. When someone was hurt, a friend or family member of them would leave a sculpture or clay model of the part of the body that was hurt to remind the gods to heal it.

9. Family Life

9.1. The paterfamilias or father was the one who was in charge of the household. All of his children had to obey what he said.

9.2. Strong, healthy babies were kept and given a charm called a bulla and kept it with them throughout their childhood. Weak babies were left outside to die or become slaves.

9.3. When boys became between the age of 14 and 18 they became a man and offered their toys and bulla to the gods. Girls were not considered adults until they were married between the ages of 12 and 18. Weddings were held at temples and new husbands didn't become paterfamilias until their father died.