Daily Life in The Roman Empire

1. Family Life

1.1. Roman fathers were named Paterfamilias and they were in charge of their household. Men were expected to provide for there family in Rome. Wealthy Roman Women upheld their households. They had many tasks like buying and trading their slaves buying and selling properties. Romans only kept babies that they thought were fit for society so if a father did not approve of his baby it was left outside to die or to be claimed as a slave. Babies were named at nine days old with a ceremony also in that ceremony they were given a charm that they wore throughout childhood. Roman boys had a ceremony of becoming a man between 14 and 18 where they gave up there charms and childhood toys to the gods, however girls did not have a ceremony they became women when they got married which was usually between the ages of 12 and 18. The men did not become paterfamilias until their father died.

2. Food and Drink

2.1. Thermopolia were like modern day fast food restaurants both the rich and the poor ate there all though the poor had small grills to cook on and the rich had kitchens. The main foods in ancient Rome were bread, beans, spices, a few vegetables, cheeses, and meats. common drinks included plain water and hot water with herbs and honey. For breakfast in Rome the traditional meal would be a piece of bread and a bowl of beans or porridge. Lunch would consist of small bits of cheese and bread and often a olive or piece of celery. For the poor dinner would be chunks of fish, asparagus, and a fig for dessert. The rich plated on courses of food like mice cooked in honey, roasted parrots stuffed with dates, salted jellyfish, and snails dipped in milk. At the market shelves were packed with fruits, live rabbits, chickens, geese, baskets of snails, and cuts of meat. Large clay jars were filled with a salty fish sauce, called garum, that the Romans liked to pour over the main dish at dinner.

3. Education

3.1. In Rome poor children were sent to work for their families instead of schools. Wealthy children were tutored by their parents or slaves until the age of six then the boys were sent off to school. Classes were held in public buildings and private homes. The boys woke up very early in the morning and walked to school and usually on their way they stopped to get breakfast at a breakfast bar. Once in class boys sat down in wooden stools around the tutor where they copied down the lesson on a wax covered board with a stylus and erased the writing at the end of the day. Roman boys learned Latin, Greek, math, science, literature, music, and public speaking. They typically became soldiers, doctors, politicians, or lawyers. Girls might become dentists, real estate agents, or tutors. Some female slaves or freed women could become midwives (nurses who helped with childbirth). upper class boys went to school until 12 or 13 and really wealthy children continued until the age of 16.

4. Recreation

4.1. The rich enjoyed plays in theaters and musical performances in one another’s homes. The rich and the poor relaxed in the public baths (spa). The baths also had gardens, libraries, shops, and art galleries. A repeating pattern came up in Roman history, the emperors gave the poor food and entertainment to keep the poor's minds' off the fact that the government was unfair. Apart from festivals the wealthy and low class citizens loved gladiator fights and chariot races. Gladiator fights were when someone fought other people or animals to the death in an arena called the Colosseum. Chariot races were held at a track called Circus Maximus. In both arenas the wealthier sat closer to the action and the poorer sat way far back.

5. Country Life

5.1. 90 percent of the empire’s people lived in the country. The wealthy often lived in large estates and villas where they could supervise the growth of their crops. When they were done supervising their crops they had plenty of time left over for reading and writing, as well as for hunting, picnicking, and taking long walks in the fresh air. Farms of the roman empire provided much of the food for major cities. They produced grain for bread, grapes for wine, and olives for oil. Goats and sheep provided cheese, and their skins and wool were made into clothing. Cattle and pigs were raised for their meat. Farmers also kept bees for making honey, the sweetener used by the Romans. Slaves did most of the work on their farm and if they messed up they were punished harshly by the supervisor. Not every farmer had an estate and a lot of them barely survived on their sum of money.

6. Introduction

6.1. The People of Rome were connected by a large system of roads but they were also connected by Roman culture and customs. There were an estimated 50 million people in the Roman Empire. The forum was the center of Rome which was the center of the empire, it served as a boasting center for Rome with theaters, government buildings, temples, races, merchants and much more.

7. Daily Life in Ancient Rome

7.1. If you would've visited Rome at it's peak in the 1st century you would have seen beautiful palaces, plenty of stately buildings even though most of the city lived in small apartments. In the forum a good percentage of the population could be seen there with wealthy roman woman shopping for goods with there slaves, proud senators taking a stroll protected by body guards, and soldiers marched through the streets. Merchants and Craftspeople traded and foreigners roamed the street. Wealthy Romans spent great sums of money on silks, perfumes, jeweled weapons, and musical instruments. They decorated their homes with statues, fountains, and fine pottery. Most people lived in the country side and there to most were poor.

8. Law and Order

8.1. In the days of the republic the Senate and there assemblies were important sources of law. But whatever pleased the emperor was the law. In the empire the Senate still met with high status in their society. Members of the Senate work rings and pins and togas with a trimmed purple stripe. Fasces were small axes that symbolized the right of the government to punish it's people but when carried inside the city the blade was removed to symbolize the right of the capitals citizens to appeal against an accusation. Although crimes like stealing, assault, and murder were common even though roman laws were strict. Any roman could accuse someone of a crime. The jury had the ultimate decision in case and Romans often tried to persuade the jury. The laws were by far not applied equally in rome.

9. Religion

9.1. Religion was a part of everyday life in Rome. Rome adapted many of it's gods from the Greeks. At roman temples and shrines people made offerings and sacrificed animals to the gods to please them because they believed the gods controlled the Earth. As much as Romans celebrated their gods with festivals and holidays they celebrated them in small ways every day like each home had a altar where they worshiped there household gods and spirits and the fireplace was a sacred place. As time went on the Romans started to envision the emperors their gods and they worshiped them. Foreigners brought new religions to Rome and most were welcomed changing roman culture.

10. Housing

10.1. Now of course the wealthy had large spacious houses but the catch was that they lived side by side with the small one room apartments of the poor. Wealthy Romans had large marble and atriums with indoor pools and lot's of light. After the atrium there were tons of rooms covered with paintings although the fanciest was the dining room. The dining room had mosaics and statues and sometimes even a fountain. Fanciful dinner parties included tasty meals and music all made possible by the slaves. The poor had filthy dirty apartments with no proper kitchens and filthy rats that carried disease. These cramped apartments also caused fires as much of them were made of wood and 64 C.E. a huge fire broke out in the city.