Ancient Rome and Modern Italy

Introduction

Wow things have really changed over time! The ancient country people used to call Rome is the country we call Italy today. Modern times and ancient are very different. Italy got its name from a small part of the Roman Empire. The country was renamed Italy in 1861 under the rule of Victor Emanuel II. Since he was ruler when Italy got its name he was considered the first king of Italy. Ever since Rome changed its name to Italy Italian people believe that they gave had good luck. People’s superstitions from today are very different from the superstitions from before. Religion has changed, Italians have invented new things, and the culture is way different from back then. Rome began as a small city in the middle of a war zone. At one time, Roman civilization was the strongest on the planet. But of course, it began as a small settlement. Rome was founded in 753 B.C. on the central river which is now central Italy. If the Romans were not comfortable they believed that their death would come faster. In this essay I will write about ancient Rome and modern Italy.

Ancient Rome

Culture

The ancient Romans loved games and festivals. They would celebrate everything. Every chance they got they would throw a parade or festival. The ancient Roman festival named “Lupercalia” honored love. During this festival the Romans would choose their future husbands and wives. They chose who they wanted to marry based on beauty and popularity. The ancient Romans were very picky. Roman men and women would always wear a piece of wool strapped around them. This was called a togan. Then, in 200 B.C they began to wear linen tunics under their togans. This made their clothing a lot more comfortable. On their feet, they wore leather sandals. In cold weather, they wore leather boots. Women wore wooden hairsticks or wooden combs in their hair. Rich Romans would eat whole plates of peacock tongues. Another thing that rich Romans did was that they would stuff a chicken inside a duck, and then stuff the duck inside a goose, then the goose inside a pig, and the pig inside a cow. Then, they would cook the whole thing together. Poor people would eat apples, plums, raisins, figs, pears, onions, carrots, garlic, cabbages, honey, tomatoes, eggs, yogurt, cheese, and bacon. Most Roman kids did not go to school. Like their parents, they worked in the fields, hoeing, weeding and plowing as soon as they were old enough. Their parents needed them to work, to get enough to eat. They did not learn to read, write or do math. However, some rich boys were able to go to school. If a boy had not learned what he was supposed to learn, the teacher would hit him with a stick. Many boys were very afraid of their teacher, and hated school because they were afraid of being hit with the stick. When boys were eleven or twelve, and had learned everything they could learn in school, many of them stopped going to school. A few went on to high school.

Religion

Religion in Rome varied all over the country. Augustus was the not only the leader of Rome, he was also the leader of Rome’s religion. Romans worshipped many gods. Some gods were Apollo, Ceres, Diana, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Minerva, Neptune, Venus, Venus, Vesta, and Vulcan. Even though the Romans had their own religion, most of the time they used the gods and beliefs of the people whom they conquered. Believing in the gods was an important part of life for the Romans. If Roman did not believe in a god he would be punished. Some Romans thought that the gods were silly and just unfair people. They were always saying that gods were very foolish. The Romans, considered their emperors gods. There was not a month in the Roman calendar which did not have its religious festivals. Early roman religion was mostly about spirits. The Romans believed that everything had a spirit. Like the Greeks, Romans built grand temples to honor their gods and goddesses. At the temples, Romans prayed and gave gifts like animals to the gods. Romans thought that gifts would please the gods. If the gods were happy, Romans thought they would receive good luck in return. If something went wrong, they believed that the gods were angry with them. Temples to worship the gods were built throughout the Roman empire Temples usually always followed the same building pattern. The roof was triangular shaped and supported by great pillars. Steps led up to the main doorway that was usually built behind the pillars. The inside of the temple would have been very well decorated and there would have been a statue of the god in it. There would also have been an altar where a priest would have served the god and made sacrifices.

Tools and Technology

Romans discovered many of the things we use today. The Romans were the ones that discovered fast curing cement. The Romans were the first to have ever used a mangle for ironing. People were actually surprise that the mangle actually worked. The Romans invented the magnifying glass. So that they could see really small insects and bugs and they could keep them off their land. The ancient Romans didn’t really like bugs. People may not think so but the ancient Romans invented scissors. The Romans invented umbrellas that could be used both in the sun and in the rain. The Romans invented street lighting but it was only used at the end of the empire. The Romans were the first to have ever worn a bikini.