Ancient Rome

By: Jenna (12)

Introduction

• My project is about Ancient Rome. Rome is the capital of Italy. It is in Europe. Ancient Rome was very different from Rome today. I am going to talk about ancient civilization in Rome.

Italy

History

• Roman history is divided into three main periods:

• 1) Before the rise of Rome

• 2) The Roman Republic

• 3) The Roman Empire

Before the rise of Rome

• Before the rise of Rome there was the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. During the Stone Age about 12 000 years ago some people were living in caves in Italy. They left some stone tools and some engravings on bone. During the Bronze Age the people of Italy learned to use bronze from the people of West Asia. People lived in small towns and spoke Latin.

The Roman Republic

• It was during the Roman Republic the rich people decided they didn’t want to be ruled by kings anymore. Rich people wanted more power for themselves. But the rich people couldn’t get rid of the kings all by themselves. They needed the poor men to fight for them. So they promised the poor men they could have a lot of power in the new government. In this time there were a lot of wars in the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar ran the government for about ten years.

The Roman Empire

• During the Empire time people were getting tired of all the fighting and killing. Many kings ruled at this time such as:

• 1) Julius Caesar

• 2) Augustus

• 3) Tiberius

Roman Empire (continued)

• In the year 410 AD the fall of the Roman Empire occurred. The city was destroyed and many people were killed. After the fall of the Roman Empire Italy was divided into 3 parts: the Islamic South, the Papal Middle and the Holy Roman Empire in the north.

The Baths

• In ancient Rome the public baths were extremely popular. Roman women and men tried to visited the baths at least once everyday. The baths had hot and cold pools, towels, slaves to wait on them, steam rooms, saunas, exercise rooms and hair cutting salons. These baths also had reading rooms and stores. People loved them. At one time there were as many as 900 public baths in ancient Rome. A trip to the bath was a very important part of ancient Roman daily life. Could kids use the baths? NO!! Could slaves use the baths? NO!!

The Colosseum

• The Colosseum was a huge public entertainment center. It could seat 45 000 people. This is where the ancient Romans gathered for bloody fighting between men and wild animals. This is where they threw people to the lions. Many prisoners were thrown in with the lions. To see people being killed was very entertaining to the ancient Romans.

The Colosseum

The Forum

• The Forum was the main marketplace and business center where the Ancient Romans went to do their banking, trading, shopping and marketing. It was also a place for public speaking. Ancient Romans loved to talk and argue. People in the Forum would stop and listen to arguments. The Forum was also used for festivals and religious ceremonies.

Gods and Goddesses

• The Ancient Romans had gods for nearly everything. There were temples all over Roman Empire. There was a temple in the forum. Every home had a household god. The Ancient Romans brought offerings of meat and other items to temples. They honored their gods everyday.

Gods and Goddesses (continued)

• Some Ancient Roman gods and goddesses were:

• 1) Gaea – Mother Earth

• 2) Uranus – Father Sky

• 3) Jupiter – God of the sky

• 4) Neptune – God of the sea

• 5) Juno – Goddess of women

Neptune

Toys

• Children in Ancient Rome played with balls, board games, hobbyhorses, kites, tiny models of people, models of animals and hoops. The hoops were made of metal and had bells on them to warn people to get out of the way. Children also walked on stilts, played tic-tac-toe and knucklebones which is a lot like jacks only played with bones. Boys played war and girls played with rag dolls and dolls of wax or clay. The Ancient Romans loved games. They played ball games and lifted weights.

Pets

• Dogs were the most common pets. The Ancient Romans also had many kinds of birds like pigeons, ducks, quail and geese. They also had monkeys for pets.

School

• Roman children studied reading, writing and counting. They read scrolls and books. They wrote on boards covered with wax and used pebbles to do math problems. They were taught Roman numerals and studied Latin, Greek, grammar and literature. School was not free so poor kids didn’t go.

Food

• ~~Breakfast~~• Ancient Romans who

were poor would have a breakfast of bread ( dry or dipped in wine ), olives, cheese or raisins. Rich Romans would eat meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, bread and honey. Romans ate with their hands.

• * *Lunch**• Lunch was usually a cold

meal eaten about 11:00 A.M. It was bread, salad, olives, cheese, fruit, nuts and cold meat. After lunch the ancient Romans enjoyed a midday rest or siesta for 2 to 3 hours. Everybody took a nap and the streets were deserted. Even the kids got a 2 to 3 hour break from school.

Dinner

• Most of the time the poor Romans had a dinner of porridge and vegetables. Sometimes they would eat fish, bread, olives, wine and meat. Rich Romans had large dinner parties with lots of wine. They spent hours at dinner. The men would lie on couches to eat and be entertained with music. The women and children had to eat in a separate room.

Clothing

• The very early Romans wore a toga. A toga is a sheet wrapped around the body. Later on the Romans wore tunics which looked like long tee-shirts. Tunics were made of cool linen for summer and warm wool for winter.

Clothing (continued)

• ** Men**• Roman soldiers wore armor.

Men wore rings. Some men wore as many as 16 rings. They wore long hair and full beards. Men wore sandals on their feet.

• ~~Women~~• Roman women loved

necklaces, pins, earrings, bracelets and friendship rings. Pearls were their favorites. Women died their hair golden-red. They carried fans made of peacock feathers. Women’s sandals were brightly colored. Children wore a locket around their neck given to them at birth called a bulla. They believed it protected them against evil.

Houses

• Poor Romans lived in apartment houses called flats above their shops. In the flats an entire family might be all crowded into one room, without running water. They didn’t have toilets. They had to use public toilets. The rich Romans lived in family homes. They were made of brick with red tile roofs with rooms around a central courtyard. The windows and balconies faced the courtyard. There were paintings on the floor. There was very little furniture and no carpeting. Great grandparents, grandparents , parents and kids usually live together.

House Plan

Inventions

• One of Italy’s famous inventors was Leonardo Da Vinci. He invented a flying machine. Our helicopter is based on his concept. H e was also a famous artist. The telescope was also invented in Italy as well as cursive hand writing, the thermometer, electric battery and liposuction. Opera also started in Italy.

Rome Today

• Ancient Rome was very different from Rome today. The population of Rome today is 2 655 970. The cities are large and modern. There are no longer kings and emperors. The baths, the Colosseum and the forum are for tourists now. People live in modern houses and dress in modern clothes. Pasta is the most common food. After lunch Italian still enjoy the siesta.

What I Learned

• I learned so much about Ancient Rome. I learned about the Colosseum and how they use to throw men into the arena with wild animals. I also learned about the Baths. I found out that the kids and slaves were not allowed to use the baths. I don’t think that was fair!!

~*! The End !*~

• Thank you for watching my show. I hope you liked it!

*!~ Jenna ~!*