Ancient Roman FAQs
Minerva Leech
Writing
To be able to write at all in Rome, you had to be rich and have a good status. If you weren't, you couldn't buy papyrus or even have enough knowledge to write. It was a very elite activity.
Family
Names were also different. Men had three names, a nomen (family name), praenomen (first name) and a cognomen (a type of nickname). Women only had the first two and slaves only had one. Daughters always took a feminine form of their fathers name, if there were more than one in a family, then they were numbered.
Boys' and Mens' Clothing
Free men wore togas, long pieces of fabric wrapped around a person's body. Tunics were worn underneath. Tunics were all slaves had to wear. As clothes were a big part of social status, the length of a man's toga had was a sign of their wealth. Rich men would have long flowing togas sometimes decorated with color, and poorer men had short, simple ones.
Boys would wear rings, broaches, and amulets meant to be protective. When they turned to men they got a personalized ring that had their name and some sort of image, used to stamp the wax on documents, authenticating them.
Girls' and Womens' Clothing
Citations
Text
"Family." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. 153-155. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
"Children." World Eras. Ed. John T. Kirby. Vol. 3: Roman Republic and Empire, 264 B.C.E.- 476 C.E. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 304-305. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
WEISS, JESSICA. "Fathering and Fatherhood." Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood: In History and Society. Ed. Paula S. Fass. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 348-353. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
"Names, Roman System of." Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Carroll Moulton. Vol. 3. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. 66-67. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
"Names." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome. Don Nardo. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2002. 181-182. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
Tortora, Phyllis. "Toga." Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 329-331. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
"Clothing." Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Carroll Moulton. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998. 148-153. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
McManus, Barbara F. "Roman Clothing, Part I." Roman Clothing, Part I. VROMA, Aug. 2003. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
"Roman Clothing." Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear Through the Ages. Ed. Sara Pendergast, et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1: The Ancient World. Detroit: UXL, 2013. 157-174. World History in Context. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
McManus, Barbara F. "Roman Clothing, Part I." Roman Clothing, Part I. VROMA, Aug. 2003. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
Images
"Roman military diploma". Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 1, Dec, 2008 Web. 11, Oct. 2015
"Pompeii family feast". Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 13 Aug. 2011 Web. 11, Oct. 2015
"Tiberius Capri". Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 13 Dec. 2011 Web. 11 Oct. 2015
"Fresco of woman with tray". Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 20 Oct. 2008 Web. 11, Oct. 2015