rome

• People in the Roman Empire


  • People in the countryside working on farms
  • Merchants
  • Soldiers
  • Slaves
  • Foreigners
  • Philosophers
• In Rome and smaller cities, people from all walks of life came together to create a diverse society
• Pax Romana


  Provided prosperity to many people
• Citizens did not share equally in this wealth
• The rich


  • Usually had both a city home and a country home (villa)
  • Included conveniences such as running water
  • Spent large sums of money on gardens, slaves, and luxuries
  • Gave banquets that lasted for many hours and included rare and costly foods
• Wealthy Roman men


  • Spent much of their time embroiled in politics
  • Public officials were not paid, so only the wealthy could afford to hold office
  • Met with public officials or favored political groups
  • Worked to perfect their public-speaking skills to better sway the opinions of members of the popular assemblies
• Ties of marriage, friendship, and family alliances were as important as class interests for Roman politicians
• Most of the nearly one million residents of Rome


  • Barely had the necessities of life
  • Much of the city's population was unemployed
  • The government supported these people with daily rations of grain
• Poor people crowded into rickety, sprawling tenements in the shadow of Rome's great temples and public buildings
• Fire posed a constant threat because of the torches used for light and the charcoal used for cooking
• Free food and public entertainment became a major feature of city life in Rome in part to keep poorer citizens from rebelling against such conditions
• Slavery


  A significant part of Roman life, widespread, and supported the economy
• Numbers of enslaved persons may have reached as high as one-third of the total population
• Most slaves were conquered peoples brought back by victorious Roman armies and included men, women, and children
• Children born to slaves also became slaves
• According to Roman law, enslaved people were the property of their owners
• Slaves


  • Could be bought and sold
  • Could be punished, rewarded, set free, or put to death as their masters saw fit
• Slaves


  • Worked both in the city and on farms
  • Many were treated cruelly and worked at hard labor all day
  • Some were forced to become gladiators, or professional fighters, who fought to the death in public contests
  • Others, particularly those who worked in wealthy households, were better treated
• Slaves would occasionally rebel, but none of the slave revolts succeeded
• More than a million slaves lost their lives attempting to gain their freedom
• Paterfamilias


  The head of the family, the oldest living male, who had extensive powers over all other family members
• Within the family structure, Romans emphasized the virtues of simplicity, religious devotion, and obedience
• Adoption


  An important aspect of Roman society, used to ensure the family name was carried on
• Roman women could do little without the permission of their fathers or husbands, but they could own and inherit property
• Among the lower classes, women had more freedom and often worked outside of the home as shopkeepers or at similar jobs
• Roman society


  • Highly stratified, with the lives of rich and poor citizens differing greatly
• Common elements most members of Roman society shared


  • Public entertainment
  • Religion
• Public entertainment


  • Provided by the government to distract and control the masses of Romans
  • Included free games, races, mock battles, and gladiator contests
  • By AD 250 there were 150 holidays per year
• The Colosseum, a huge arena that could hold 50,000, would be filled with the rich and the poor alike
• Spectacles in the amphitheaters

  • Combined bravery, cruelty, honor, and violence
  • Gladiatorial combats were the most popular, often ending with the death of one or both fighters
  • Condemned criminals were thrown into the arena to be killed by ferocious beasts
• Romans of all classes enjoyed the circuses, where chariot races took place
• Roman audiences particularly enjoyed the spectacular crashes that frequently occurred in chariot races
• Romans also liked theater, particularly comedies and satires
• Performers such as mimes, jugglers, dancers, acrobats, and clowns also became quite popular
• Roman religion


  • The Romans adopted many elements of Greek mythology
  • They made offerings to any gods who might exist to ensure Roman prosperity, including gods borrowed from the Egyptians and Persians
  • Each Roman family also worshiped local household gods called Penates
  • The Romans believed that the gods sent signs and warnings to human beings in the form of natural phenomena
  • They paid particular respect to the priests known as augurs, who specialized in interpreting these signs
• During the time of Pax Romana, the practice of a new religion known as Christianity slowly emerged in the Roman Empire
• The early followers of Christianity would suffer brutality and hardship for their beliefs, but Christianity endured and spread throughout the empire, eventually becoming one of the dominant faiths of the world