daily life in the roman empire?
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But the wealthy would stay well clear of the district east of the Forum known as the subura. This was the poorer part of Rome, not merely housing the less fortunate, but also the many prostitutes of the city.
The narrow alleys were notoriously dangerous to any stranger, with many criminals waiting to rob the purse of a hapless stranger.
The subura also had a large market, where the poor and the slaves who were in charge of households did their shopping. Vegetable stores were abound, barber shops, wool, merchants, blacksmiths, copper smiths and other stores essential to daily life in Rome. Tough the atmosphere was very rough, and gangs controlled some of the streets.
THE CIVILIZED CITY?
The entire concept of Roman life seemed to center around the city, be this the city of Rome itself or any other town.
The countryside was a nice place to retire to for a while in order to stay in touch with nature. Yet it was seen as an unsuitable place for a true citizen. Romans were after all social creatures, which craved being part of a society.
The truly civilized citizen had to be more than educated or successful. No, in the Roman mind set it was necessary to belong. The Roman needed a community, a family, or at least a group of friends around him. No better place was there for this than the city.
food and drinks
What must be considered when trying to paint a picture of Roman cookery, is that many basic foodstuffs known to us in the modern western world, were simply not available to the Romans.
The Romans had no coffee, tea, sugar, liqueurs, truffles, potatoes, French beans, or even tomatoes.
As the Romans had no sugar, sweets were made with honey or must (grape-juice).
The use of bread seems to have become general only at the beginning of the second century BC. Previous to this grain was used as puls, a mashed up form of corn gruel.
Olives and olive oil, as still with Mediterranean countries today, stood in high esteem.The most widespread vegetables were broad beans, lentils and chick peas, lettuces, cabbages and leeks.
The available fruits at first were apples, pears, wild cherries, plums, grapes, walnuts, almonds and chestnuts. Also dates, imported from north Africa, were widely available.
EDUCATION
In the early days of the Roman republic, the education of children was completely in the hands of their parents.
Even as great and powerful men such as Cato the Elder or Aemilius Paulus took their time to personally teach their children basic skills like counting.
In a society so centered on the family, this was the natural thing to do
If boys were largely taught by their fathers, then girls were taught by their mothers, which was consistent with the different roles they would play in later life. And, according to those separate roles, boys of landowning households (and therefore required to serve in the army) would also be introduced at an early age to some form of martial arts.
THE CENSUS
In the beginning was the census.
Every five years, each male Roman citizen had to register in Rome for the census. In this he had to declare his family, wife, children, slaves and riches. Should he fail to do this, his possessions would be confiscated and he would be sold into slavery.
In the beginning was the census.
Every five years, each male Roman citizen had to register in Rome for the census. In this he had to declare his family, wife, children, slaves and riches. Should he fail to do this, his possessions would be confiscated and he would be sold into slavery.
NOBILITY
Nobility was not simply bestowed upon an individual. It was gradually built up or torn down by a family. 'Three fathers' was the duration required to establish a man's noble status. The father, grandfather and great-grandfather had each to have exercised a higher magistracy. In other words, for a child to be noble, it was essential that he had been subject solely to the authority of relatives who were magistrates.
grandfather had been a mere freedman, was called into question. It mattered little that a man's family had been noble in the past, an interruption of the three generations was all it took to deprive him of his noble status.
HOUSING
Rome became a very large city in ancient times. The city developed from small villages on seven hills merging together. The great fire of 64 A.D. destroyed large portions of the city's housing, which was mostly built of wood. After the fire, much of the city was rebuilt using concrete. Stone was intermixed to create design. This was very costly, so it was only used in large amounts by those who could afford it.
RELIGION
Religion played a very important role in the daily life of Ancient Rome and the Romans. Roman religion was centred around gods and explanations for events usually involved the gods in some way or another. The Romans believed that gods controlled their lives and, as a result, spent a great deal of their time worshipping them.
The most important god was Jupiter. He was the king of gods who ruled with his wife Juno, the goddess of the sky.
FAMILY LIFE
For wealthy Romans, life was good. They lived in beautiful houses – often on the hills outside Rome, away from the noise and the smell. They enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle with luxurious furnishings, surrounded by servants and slaves to cater to their every desire. Many would hold exclusive dinner parties and serve their guests the exotic dishes of the day.Poorer Romans, however, could only dream of such a life. Sweating it out in the city, they lived in shabby, squalid houses that could collapse or burn at any moment. If times were hard, they might abandon newborn babies to the streets, hoping that someone else would take them in as a servant or slave.