Ancient Rome

• The legacy from Ancient Rome includes their architecture, language, government, engineering
• We know about Ancient Rome because of ancient ruins that still stand, book and plays survived, and Pompeii; mount Vesuvius erupted and preserved the town
• Romans enjoyed watching gladiator fights, chariot racing, going to the colosseum or public baths
• Slaves normally fought in gladiator fights
• A public bath was a cross between a swimming pool, a gym, and a shopping centre
• Patricians were rich citizens and plebeians were lower class
• Patricians made up 10% of Roman citizens
• An insulae was large apartment blocks, rich people lived towards the bottom (it was made of wood)
• Men wore togas
• A villa was a second home for patricians
• Domus was a house that had underground heating and a large courtyard
• Plebians wore tunics
• A Stolla was worn by patrician women
• Education was very important to the Romans, most poorer children didn’t go to school but many still learned to read and write
• Romans wrote prayers on clay tablets and left them at the gods temple
• Christianity was started in 30AD, Emperor Constantine was a Christian and he made Christianity the official religion of the empire in the 4th century
• Romans greatly influenced architecture and engineering, they invented concrete, aqueducts (brought gallons of water) and the arch