YaizaCuevas

March21,2015
Ms.Zamora,Room22

DAILY LIFE IN ANCIENT ROME

AnormalRomandaywouldstartoffwithalightbreakfast,thenoffto
work.Thereasontheywouldhavealightbreakfastwasbecause,they
wouldworkhard.Butworkfinishedintheearlyafternoon.Afterworkthey
wouldgobatheandtheywouldhavealittletosocialize.Ataround3pm
theywouldhavedinner.Itwaskindofimportantbecausetheywouldhave
evenmoretimetosocializeandsocializingwasimportant.

Likeanyotherperson,Romansalsohaddifferentjobs.
Farmer
MostoftheRomanswholivedinthecountrysidewerefarmers.
Themostcommoncropwaswheatwhichwasusedtomakebread.
Soldier
TheRomanArmywaslargeandneededsoldiers.Thearmywas
awayforthepoorerclasstoearnaregularwageandtogainsome
valuablelandattheendoftheirservice.Itwasagoodwayforthepoorto
moveupinstatus.
Merchant
Merchantsofallsortssoldandboughtitemsfromaroundthe
Empire.TheykepttheeconomyrollingandtheEmpirerich.
Craftsman
Frommakingdishesandpotstocraftingfinejewelryand
weaponsforthearmy,craftsmenwereimportanttotheempire.Some
craftsmenworkedinindividualshopsandlearnedaspecificcraft,usually
fromtheirfather.Otherswereslaves,whoworkedinlargeworkshopsthat
produceditemsinlargequantitiessuchasdishesorpots.
Entertainers
ThepeopleofAncientRomelikedtobeentertained.Just
liketoday,therewereanumberofentertainersinRomeincluding
musicians,dancers,actors,chariotracers,andgladiators.
Lawyers,Teachers,Engineers
ThemoreeducatedRomanscould
becomelawyers,teachers,andengineers.

Government
ThegovernmentofAncientRomewashuge.Therewere
allsortsofgovernmentjobsfromtaxcollectorsandclerkstohighranking
positionslikeSenators.TheSenatorswerethewealthyandthepowerful.
Senatorsservedintheirpositionforlifeandattimestherewereasmany
as600membersoftheSenate

FamilywasveryimportanttotheRomans.TheFatherofeachfamily
wasthestrongestoutofthewholefamily.Moreliketheleaderifthe
family.Butthewomenwereimportanttoo.Theyhadastrongsayinthe
decisionsandwhatwasgoingoninthefamily.

Romanchildrenstartedschoolattheageof7.Wealthychildren
wouldbetaughtbyafulltimetutor.Otherchildrenwenttopublicschool.
Theystudiedsubjectssuchasreading,writing,math,literature,and
debate.Schoolwasmostlyforboys,howeversomewealthygirlswere
tutoredathome.Poorchildrendidnotgettogotoschool.

MostRomansatealightbreakfastandlittlefoodduringtheday.
Theywouldthenhavealargedinner.Dinnerwasoneofthemostbiggest
eventstartingataroundthreeintheafternoon.Theywouldlieontheir
sidesonacouchandbeservedbytheservants.Theyatewiththeir
handsandwouldrinsetheirhandsofteninwaterduringthemeal.
Typicalfoodwouldhavebeenbread.beans,fish,vegetables,cheese,
anddriedfruit.Theyatelittlemeat.Therichwouldhavehadallkindsof
foodlikefancysauces.Howthefoodlookedwasjustasimportantasthe
taste.Someofthefoodtheyatewouldseemsuperdisgustingtous.
Becausetheyatemiceandpeacocktongues.

Romansworetogas.Atogaisalongrobemadeofdifferenttypesof
material.Thewealthyworewhitetogasmadefromwoolorlinen.Some
colorsanddesignsontogaswerereservedforcertainpeopleandfor
certainoccasions.Forexample,atogawithapurpleborderwaswornby
highrankingsenatorsandconsuls.Ablacktogawasonlywornduring

timesofmourning.Thetogawasuncomfortableandhardtowearand
wasonlyworninpublic,notinthehouse.Inlateryears,thetogagrewout
ofstyleandmostpeopleworeatunicwithacloakwhenitwascold.
Atunicwasmorelikealongshirt.Tunicswerewornbythericharound
thehouseandundertheirtogas.

Romanart
referstothevisualartsmadein

AncientRomeandin
theterritoriesofthe

RomanEmpire.Romanartincludes

architecture,
painting,

sculptingand

mosaicwork.Otherartobjectsin

metalworkwere
gemengraving,

ivorycarvings,and

glass,aresometimesconsideredin
moderntermstobeminorformsofRomanart,butthiswouldnothave
actuallyhavebeenthecaseforthem.Sculpturewasmaybeconsidered
asthehighestformofartbyRomans,butfigurepaintingwasalsovery
highlyregarded.Thetwoformshavehadverycontrastingratesof
survival,withaverylargebodyofsculpturesurvivingfromaboutthe1st
centuryBConwards,thoughverylittlefrombefore,butverylittlepainting
atallremains,andprobablynothingthatacontemporarywouldhave
consideredtobeofthehighestquality.

AncientRomanPoetrywasnota
luxuryproduct,butavastproductionof"finewares"in
terrasigillata
were
decoratedwithreliefsthatreflectedthelatesttaste,andprovidedalarge
groupinsocietywithstylishobjectsatwhatwasevidentlyanaffordable
price.
Romancoins
wereanimportantmeansofpropaganda,andhave
survivedinenormousnumbers.Otherperishableformsofarthavenot
survivedatall.