Lesson 9 TCI

1. SECTION 2

1.1. In Rome, there were many contrasts such as different religions, people, and life styles, so Rome was always a busy place. The busiest place, however, was the forum. The forum was a gathering place for shopping and showing off how wealthy you were, it was the place where everybody went. People and goods flowed into Rome from all over the empire. Even though many were wealthy, most people were poor. The empire had many huge cities, but most people lived in the county side, there too, most people were poor.

2. SECTION 3

2.1. The Romans always were very rule strict people that liked the law. When there was a republic, the senate and the assemblies were a very important source of law, but during the empire, the emperor was the ultimate source of power. But even though the empire was something different, the Romans honored their old traditions. Roman laws were strict, but there was still lots of crime in the empire. If the Romans caught you, or someone accused you of a crime, then you would have a trial, but even thought the Romans believed that one law should apply to all, it didn't always work that way. But law was very strict in Rome, as they believed it should be.

3. SECTION 4

3.1. Religion was very important to the Romans. They adapted many gods from the Greeks gods, but took on different versions of them. They wanted to please these gods because they believed that the gods controlled their everyday life. They left gifts for the gods to show their appreciation. And sometimes they would ask the gods for help in bad times, and they would offer them something in exchange. Festivals were also held during the year to honor them. People in Rome wanted to make sure that the gods made their life easy and didn't do anything bad to them.

4. SECTION 5

4.1. Family life in Rome was lead by the father. Everybody had to follow him and do exactly what he said. Roman men were expected to provide for the family. So they usually had wealthy jobs. Wealthy Roman women could lead the house to sometimes. After a Roman women had a baby, they had to look at if it was healthy or not. If it wasn't then they would leave it to die. Roman girls were married early, and Roman men were married around 18. Roman family life could be very complicated and unusual sometimes.

5. SECTION 10

5.1. 90% of Rome's population lived in the country. Wealthy people lived in huge estates called villas. When they went to the country they checked on how the farms were doing. Most of the food in Rome came from farms in the country. Slaves did most of the work. But slaves weren't the only ones who's lives were hard. Many people lived in huts and grew barely enough food to survive. So even in the country, life between rich and poor people was the same.

6. SECTION 6

6.1. Roman food that families ate depended if they were rich or poor. Only the rich ate in kitchens. Main foods were bread beans cheese and meats. Wealthy Romans always had more elaborate dinners than poor Romans. The markets always had many choices of food to people that could afford it. So the rich had more of a variety of food.

7. SECTION 7

7.1. In Rome, the houses were just like anything, the rich got the nice things, and the poor got the small tight things. Wealthy Romans lived in big airy houses, while poor people lived in small tight places. Wealthy Romans used their houses to celebrate with their neighbors and friends. While the poor were in their cramped apartments, they struggled to keep fires from happening, and living comfortably was impossible. So clearly, the rich were much more pampered then the poor.

8. SECTION 8

8.1. Education depended on the type of family you were born into. If you were poor then you were often sent to work instead of school. If you were rich then you were tutored by your father until age 6, then the boys went to school. Boys learned math Latin, Greek and etc. Girls could learn how to be a dentist real estate agent or tutors. Upper rich class boys were educated until they were 16. Education was very important.

9. SECTION 9

9.1. Wealthy Romans had a lot more leisure than the poor Romans. But both went to the public baths. But even though the poor weren't considered the best people in Rome, the emperor gave them food and entertainment to keep them busy and happy for gladiator fights and chariot races. Romans watched these fights in the Colosseum. Gladiator fights were often to the death. Another place to gather was the Circus Maximus. Here people watched chariot races. Both of these places were wonderful places to socialize and meet new people.