Daily life in Ancient Rome

1. Section 5:

1.1. Family life in Rome was ruled by the paterfamilias or “father of the family.”

1.2. Roman men were expected to provide for the family.

1.3. Wealthy Roman women ran their households.

1.4. Between the ages of 14 and 18, a Roman boy celebrated becoming a man.

2. Section 6:

2.1. The poor cooked on small grills and depended on “fast-food” places called thermopolia where people could buy hot and cold foods that were ready to eat.

2.2. The main foods in ancient Rome were bread, beans, spices, a few vegetables, cheeses, and meats.

2.3. Shelves were packed with fruits, live rabbits, chickens, geese, baskets of snails, and cuts of meat.

2.4. Roman markets offered many choices to those who could afford the food and drinks

3. Section 7:

3.1. housing was very different in Rome for the rich and for the poor.

3.2. The spacious, airy homes of the rich stood side by side with the small, dark apartments that housed the poor.

3.3. Wealthy Romans lived in grand houses, built of stone and marble.

3.4. Nearby, many of the poor crowded into tall apartment buildings.

4. Section 8:

4.1. In wealthier families, boys and girls were tutored by their fathers, or often by slaves, until they were about six years old.

4.2. Roman boys learned Latin, Greek, math, science, literature, music, and public speaking.

4.3. Students walked through crowded streets, carrying their supplies in a leather shoulder bag.

4.4. Boys from very wealthy families often continued their studies until they were 16, when they began to manage their own properties.

5. Section 9:

5.1. Romans watched gladiators fight in large public arenas, like the Colosseum. Both men and women were gladiators.

6. Section 2:

6.1. Rome was full of beautiful temples, stately palaces, and flowering gardens.

6.2. public gathering place, wealthy Roman women shopped for goods accompanied by their slaves.

6.3. Proud senators strolled about, protected by their bodyguards, while soldiers marched through the streets.

6.4. Merchants and craftspeople labored at their trades.

6.5. Foreigners roamed the streets from such faraway places as Britain, Spain, and Egypt.

7. Section 3:

7.1. In the days of the republic, the Senate and the assemblies were important sources of law.

7.2. The Senate continued to meet, and senators had high status in society.

7.3. The fasces were symbols of the government’s right to punish lawbreakers.

7.4. Roman laws were strict, but crime was common in Rome.

8. Section 4:

8.1. Romans wanted to please their gods because they believed that the gods controlled their daily lives.

8.2. At Rome’s many temples and shrines, people made offerings and promises to the gods.

8.3. Festivals and holidays, or “holy days,” were held throughout the year to honor the gods.

8.4. One emperor, Caligula had a temple built to house a statue of himself made of gold.