Daily Life in the Roman

EmpireLaw and Order

Religion

Family Life

Food and Drink

Housing

Country Life

Recreation

Education

Main Point: What was the main

point of the sections you just

read:

Question: Come up with a

question you have about the

material in the section you just

read:

Connection: Make a connection

to something that you read about

in this section:

Rome, in the first

century, was a

city of contrasts.

What was the

Forum?

The Forum was

similar to the

Agora in Greece.

Introduction and Section 1: Daily Life in Ancient Rome

• Rule of Law: idea

that we should live

according to a set of

agreed-upon laws

• Laws were strict but

crime was common

• There was inequality

in how laws were

applied

• Polytheistic

Treated more

leniently by the

law, police

patrolled their

neighborhoods

Suffered

harsher

punishments;

lived in

dangerous

neighborhoods

Could accuse

someone of a

crime; law

applied to all

citizens;

adopted many

Greek gods and

made offerings

and sacrifices;

Honored

emperor as a

god.

Wealthy Poor

• Paterfamilias:

“Father of the

Family”

• Most wealthy houses

had an atrium,

murals; and

mosaics.

• Fire was a constant

threat.

Men held

political jobs;

women ran

households;

slaves had

kitchen; ate

meat, bread,

mice, parrots,

snails; large

houses made of

marble and

stone, indoor

pools

Food and Drink & housing

Both men and

women had to

work

Cooked on

grills, ate fish,

bread

Small wooden

apartments

No kitchens

Noisy, dirty,

diseases

Paterfamilias

only kept

healthy babies

Got food from

thermopolia,

drank water, ate

garum

Wealthy Poor

• Colosseum

• Public Baths

• Circus Maximus

Boys educated

at homes, not

girls

Went to

festivals and

public bathsWatched

chariot racing

and gladiator

fights at the

Colosseum90% lived in

the country

Tutored by fathers

or slaves ; then sent

to school

Learned Latin,

Greek, math, science

Attended plays and

musicals

Had dinner parties

Sat in the shade at

the Circus

MaximusOwned farms,

livestock, large villas

Had time to relax

and read

Education & recreation & Country Life

Worked, no

school

Learned a trade

Sat on wooden

benches at

Circus

MaximusWorked on

farms or owned

small farms

Wealthy Poor

A wealthy Roman dinner party.

A crowded dirty apartment

building in Rome.

Depositing waste in Rome. Christian persecution in the

Colosseum.

What’

s goin

g o

n i

n e

ach

im

age?

1. ________________ Their diet consisted of meat, bread, mice, parrots,

jellyfish, and snails.

2. ________________ They lived in houses made of stone and marble with

indoor pools and kitchens.

3. ________________ They usually learned a trade rather than attend school.

4. ________________ They got food at the thermopolia.

5. ________________ Their free time was spent attending plays, listening to

music, and at dinner parties.

6. ________________ They attended gladiator games and chariot races.

7. ________________ They lived in small apartments made of wood with no

kitchens.

8. ________________ They could accuse someone of a crime.

9. ________________ They were tutored by their fathers or slaves and then sent

to school.

10. ________________ Their diet consisted of chunks of fish, asparagus, figs,

and bread.

Directions: Categorize each of the following statements into the Roman social

class that each applies to: “the wealthy”, “the poor”, or “both”.

11. ________________ Paterfamilias ran the family.

12. ________________ They learned Latin, Greek, math, science, literature,

music, and public speaking.

13. ________________ They adopted many Greek gods, and made offerings and

sacrifices to please gods.

14. ________________ They were treated more leniently by the law.

15. ________________ They sat on wooden benches at the Circus Maximus.

16. ________________ They had police patrolling their neighborhoods.

17. ________________ They suffered harsher punishments from the law.

18. ________________ Some of their recreational time was spent going to the

public baths.

19. ________________ They lived in crime-filled neighborhoods.

20. ________________ They celebrated the gods in both festivals and daily life,

and came to honor emperors as gods.

Answers:

1. W

2. W

3. P

4. B

5. W

6. B

7. P

8. B

9. W

10. P

11. B

12. W

13. B

14. W

15. P

16. W

17. P

18. B

19. P

20. B