Ancient ROMEBY: Hyun Seo Park

(Historian)

Introduction

Ancient Rome is a civilization that lasted from 753 B.C ~ 476 A.D.. It was located along the Mediterranean Sea and was extremely powerful. The Romans left many great legacies through their architecture and beliefs.

Structure of SocietyIn ancient Rome, society was divided into large families from different backgrounds. The Romans thought that all families should work and live together, sharing the same jobs and wealth. Partricians (rich families) were the most powerful and they owned land and many slaves. Equites (middle-rank) were rich, too. They ran big business and owned buildings. On the other hand, Plebeiuins (ordinary people) sold things to make money. Slaves did the hardest and dirtiest work. They belonged to their owners and wore tags. They were treated just like dogs or horses. However, slaves could doctors or teachers and some of the best teachers in Rome were slaves. (These slaves had often been captured from Greece). Slaves could be free if they had enough money to pay, then their sons could become citizens. In any family, the father had the most power in the family. He was the only citizen. Roman citizens had to be born in Rome, have Roman parents (both born in Rome) , and be male adults . Roman soldiers were the best and strongest in Europe. Most of them were plebians and they won most of the wars they fought. As you can see, there were many different roles and levels of society in ancient Roman.

Beliefs & Religion Romans worshipped many gods and their gods were similar to the Greek gods. The most important god was Jupiter, the king of the gods and Juno was the queen. Also, there was Mercury the messanger god, Neptune the god of the sea, Diana the goddess of the moon and hunting, Minerva the goddess of war, Venus the goddess of love, Mars the god of war and Dis(Pluto) the god of the underworld. All of the planets’ name have come from the ancient Roman gods. The Romans built many temples and each temple had statue of its god. People could also ask the gods to curse their enemies and they made offerings to the gods every day. However, not all the people worshipped their gods. Some of them believed in Christianity. These people needed to meet secretly in the under ground passages, named catacombs. They also used catacombs as burial places. After many years, Christianity spread more widely and many Romans started to let go of their earlier beliefs. This was a big change in society during the later part of the Roman Empire.

ArchitectureRomans built a lot of amazing architecture and lots of structures are still standing today. For example, Romans built the world’s first high rise apartments and just like today, their cities were noisy and busy as many people went to work. Wealthy Romans lived in beautiful, large and private houses. They usually built their houses around airy courtyards. These were decorated with lots of statues and they had their own water so they didn’t need to go outside to get water. On the other hand, poor people’s houses were very different. They lived in cramped blocks of flats and taverns on the ground floor. These houses were badly built so they often burned down. Most public buildings were paid for by the emperor to show their wealth and power. For example, the Colosseum was built by Emperors Vespasian and Titus. The Colosseum was the huge amphitheater where gladiators fought. About 50,000 people could go inside the Colosseum and there were many arches to let people exit quickly. As you can see, the Romans were great architects and many of their public buildings are still famous today.

LegaciesRomans left many great legacies that we still use in modern life. For example, the Romans built excellent roads. Roads made their journeys easier and faster. So they built a network of roads that were strong. In fact, we still use some of them today. They built roads in straight lines, taking the shortest route between cities. The first road the Romans made was called ‘Via Appia’. They also used roads for war. Solders built thousands of kilometres of roads. In addition, the Romans built amazing aqueducts. They needed them to transport water around the city. They were very long so many people had access to water. Roman buildings were important because a lot of later architects followed the Romans’ designs. Their language ‘Latin’ is also very important in the modern world. European language like Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian are based in Latin (but English is not so closely related). We still use thousands of Latin words today. Therefore, the Romans architecture and language has had a great influence on the modern world.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Romans worshipped many gods and there were many levels in society. They were the most powerful empire for many years. The Romans left many legacies such as their building skills and structures that we see even today.

Reference ListAuthor Date Title

Anita Ganeri 1999 The Ancient Romans

Anita Ganeri 1999 Legacies from Ancient Rome

Miles Kelly 1993 100 things you should know about Ancient Rome

Fiona Macdonald 2004 Who were the Romans?

Date Accessed Website

25/10/12 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/

25/10/12 http://www.ancientcivilizations.co.uk/home_set.html