Classical Civilisation

1) Roman houses and gardens - their design and decoration and what we can learn about Roman
values from studying the homes of wealthy Romans.
2) The Roman household - the role of the father, mother and slaves within a Roman household and
what we can learn about the quality of life of women and slaves in Roman society.

Roman houses & Gardens

A domus is a large roman private house in a city or town, there were only for the very wealthy.
The majority of Romans lived in apartment blocks, those were known as an insula.

Atrium – main central room Compluvium – the rectangular-shaped hole in the

Cubiculum – the bedroom
Tablinum – office/study
Triclinium – dining room (they
would lie down when they ate)
Culina – kitchen
ceiling of the atrium to catch water.
Impluvium – the pool where the water is catched
from the compluvium.
Window – they were many windows to let in light,
they did not have electricity at that time.
Peristyle garden – The inhabitants can grow fruit &
vegetables in the garden. It was also for show.

Peristylium
The typical features of a Pompeian garden were: fountains, fish
ponds, statues, formal planting design, a vegetable patch, marble
Perimeter/ discs
Stylehanging
- pillars between columns and painted walls.
around it
Gardens were very important to Pompeians because it could show
off their wealth.
A garden with pillars around it

The Roman household

The paterfamilias(the husband) ruled the household. That included all the slaves and
property of the house. If a baby born into the household was unwanted, then the
paterfamilias could choose to have it abandoned and left to die. He was the family’s breadwinner.
He could oversee the education of his children(mostly his sons,) he could also appoint a slave
known as a paedagogus to act as a tutor. When his daughter reached puberty, the father was
responsible for arranging her marriage – the girl would have no say in it at all.
The paterfamilias would expect his wife to be loyal and hard-working in the home, while he
had to manage the purchase of any slaves for the household.
He was also the religious head of the family. Every morning he would gather the whole household together
at the family shrine, the lararium, where the spirits of the family’s ancestors, known as lares, were
worshipped. He would lead the family in prayers and offerings. He was also in charge of making sure that
other religious rites involving the family were held according to proper custom.
Slaves were very important to every household. Almost every Roman house had at least one
slave. Slaves were typically fetched between 500 and 2,000 denarii, depending on the talents
they had to offer. The quality of a slave’s life was dependant on these talents. Educated slaves
were used as tutors for children, while female slaves were bought to help the Roman wife in
domestic task such as childcare, cooking, weaving and shopping.
Male domestic slaves would be required to work for the paterfamilias, doing his accounts,
accompanying him to the baths or running errands. Strong male slaves were sent to mines, where
conditions were grim and life expectancy relatively short.
The treatment of slaves depended on their jobs and on their master’s character. A master’s right
over his slaves were total, he could make them do anything, even die.
There were also slave/master relationships that were warm and trusting. Slaves had no political
rights and could not marry or have any properties. There were allowed to save money to buy their
freedom. A master could also free his slave if they served him well.
A ex-slave were called freedmen. They would usually take his former master’s family name.

Roman Wives were expected to perform a range of duties, mainly to do with the running
of the household and supporting their husband’s professional and social life. Roman wives,
with the help of household slaves, would be expected to produce textiles and make them into
suitable clothing for family members. They would be expected to manage the slaves to ensure
that the household ran efficiently. Having children was seen as an important duty, and the
women would play an important role in raising the children, in charge of the boys’ education
in their early years, and of passing on their wifely knowledge to their daughters. A Roman
woman was expected to contribute to her husband’s status by being well-presented, modestly
dressed, and good company (within the bounds of appropriate behaviour.)

Without an attentive wife, there would be a danger of members of the family being
shabbily dressed and damaging their status within Roman society. Keeping the household
slaves busy and productive was very important – and not just for efficiency; poorly managed
slaves, might steal, escape or even murder their owners. Instilling good behaviour in the
children from a young age would be important if they were to fulfil their potential as men of
politics, warfare, or as future wives. A well dressed, modest, entertaining and cultured wife
would reflect very well on a man and could affect his social and political standing. A well
run, well stocked home would reflect well on the husband too, as would food and
entertainment tastefully laid on, and a wife would certainly have a role to play in preparing
for social functions.

The lifestyle of a Roman wife was quite limited. They had to follow their range of
duties: running the household, supporting their husband’s lives, making suitable clothes for
the family, manage the slaves to ensure that the household ran efficiently, producing children.
They were not allowed to work, to flirt with other men, to oversee her children’s education.
They could not look after the religious rituals and socialise as much as men. They cannot
appoint or sack slaves.