Daily Life in Ancient Rome

1. Housing

1.1. Rich homes were airy, and spacious while poorer people lived in small, dark apartments.Rich houses had many rooms and were large and spacious with lots of art on the walls and floors. Poor apartments were cramped and dirty and housed more people than they should have been able to.They caught fire easily because of the portable grills they had to cook on due to not having a proper kitchen

2. Education

2.1. Rich children were taught by their father or a slave until age 6 and then boys would go to school. Rich boys could become soldiers, doctors, politicians, or lawyers. Girls might become dentists, real-estate agents, tutors or mid-wives. Poor Roman children did not go to school, they went to work to help support their families. They learned leather-working, and metalworking.

3. Recreation

3.1. The rich enjoyed plays in theaters and musical performances in one another’s homes. Rich and poor used Rome’s public baths. There they could bathe, swim, exercise, and enjoy a steam bath or a massage. There were also gladiator contests where slaves or prisoners of war were made to fight to the death in front of hundreds of spectators. Citizens also tend to enjoy chariot races. In the arenas en and women were made to sit in separate sections.

4. Country Life

4.1. Wealthy Romans may have country estates called villas. At these villas they invested their money in crops and livestock. The farms accounted for most of the food of the whole empire.Slaves did most of the work and were watched by Overseers who would often treat the slaves cruelly. Many people who lived in the countryside were not slaves but their lives were hard as they struggled to make a living. Some had their own farms, while others worked as servants in the large estates.

5. Daily Life in Ancient Rome

5.1. The Forum is the main gathering space and where most people go every day. There are markets, and entertainment. The rich buy many expensive goods but there are mainly poor people in the Roman Empire, children are lucky to live past age 10, and many live in crammed apartments on dirty streets.

6. Law and Order

6.1. Crime was common in Rome, so they made strict laws to follow. Police and guards patrolled the city, though it was mostly the rich neighborhoods. they rarely patrolled the poorer neighborhoods and some streets were very dangerous because of this. Some very rich people had bodyguards to walk around with them, and these bodyguards carried fasces. Fasces are bundles of sticks with an ax in the middle and symbolized that crime would be punished. The emperor was considered very important, as were the senators. In court, the rich were not punished as harshly as the poor, and many times the mother and children were brought in to cry in front of the jury to make them feel bad and lessen the punishment.

7. Religion

7.1. Religion was very important to the Romans. Romans were polytheistic, meaning they had more than one god. They always wanted to please the gods, because they believed that the gods controlled their daily life. They often made small sacrifices or offerings in the temples. When someone was sick or hurt, they would leave something in the shape of what needed healing, to remind the gods of what body part to heal. The emperor was considered a god and might build temples in his own honor. Foreigners also brought in elements of their own religion, these religions were welcomed as long as they didn't encourage going against the emperor

8. Family Life

8.1. A family is ruled by the father, or paterfamilias. The father's word was law and everyone in the house had to obey him. Rich Roman men held a job and provided for their family. In poor families, the mother and father both had a job to feed their children. In Rome, only 50% of children lived to 15 years old.Babies were born in the home, and were only kept if they were strong and healthy. If the father did not approve of the child, they were left outside to die, or be taken in as a slave. Roman families thought it strange that other peoples would keep and raise all of their children.

9. Food and Drink

9.1. The and drink you have in Rome depended on whether you were rich or poor. Poorer people may have had "fast-food' from places called thermopolia as some of their meals. Richer people may occasionally come to these places because they had fast service and were very convenient. The main foods were bread, beans, spices, a few vegetables, cheeses, and meats. Favorite drinks included plain water and hot water with herbs and honey which is more commonly known as tea.