Daily Life in Ancient Rome

Megan SchrackTitle of Article: Roman City, Roman Life
Title of Book/Website Used: http://www.roman-empire.net/society/society.htmlDatabase Used: Google
Notes:
The entire concept of Roman life seemed to center around the city.The countryside was a nice place to retire to for a while in order to stay in touch with nature. Yet it was seen as an unsuitable place for a true citizen. Romans were after all social creatures, which craved being part of a society.The truly civilized citizen had to be more than educated or successful. No, in the Roman mind set it was necessary to belong. The Roman needed a community, a family, or at least a group of friends around him. No better place was there for this than the city.
Nobility was not simply bestowed upon an individual. It was gradually built up or torn down by a family. 'Three fathers' was the duration required to establish a man's noble status. The father, grandfather and great-grandfather had each to have exercised a higher magistracy. In other words, for a child to be noble, it was essential that he had been subject solely to the authority of relatives who were magistrates. Even the nobility of Octavian, whose great-grandfather had been a mere freedman, was called into question. It mattered little that a man's family had been noble in the past, an interruption of the three generations was all it took to deprive him of his noble status.
Working men would get up early and work a six hour day.
Trade of all sorts naturally centered around Rome.
The construction industry would also require enormous numbers. Architects and engineers, surveyors, foremen, sculptors, stonemasons, carpenters, bricklayers and simple day laborers. All these were necessary to build not merely grand monuments, but also the apartment blocks to house the masses, or the residences of the rich.
The cities and towns contained markets of all kinds, shops, inns and taverns, all in turn consuming raw materials or requiring agricultural produce which needed to be brought in from the countryside.
Sons usually followed in the footsteps of their fathers, inheriting their profession and their business. The upper classes meanwhile found themselves restricted to a career in the army, law or politics. Not all of this group need necessarily have been aristocratic - some for example might be artists with little income, but they largely made their living as clients.
For as the working day ended, the bathing began. The women just as much as the men would head for the public bath houses. Bathing was a social affair. Even the rich, who might have their own bath houses, would hardly do so alone, but invite friends to join them.
It was the way the Roman working day came to a close, before one would finally retire for dinner, cena.
Girls enjoyed a similar, if not the same education as boys in early childhood. Though beyond primary education it was generally only daughters of aristocratic families who continued their education. Though such training was not one of rhetoric or law such as the young men of patrician families would learn. Women were rather taught in the fineries Greek and Latin literature as well as how to play a lyre, to dance and sing.
It was usual for marriages to be arranged. The size of the dowry was estimated to befit the social standing of the prospective bridegroom.It was the Roman custom to arranging marriages for girls when they were still very young. She would then need to wait until she became an adult until the marriage could take place. Being betrothed for such a lengthy time generally meant for girls to lead a very retired life. For to be seen as flirting, or even simply being in contact with other boys or could be seen as a breech in the marriage arrangements.
In many households it would be the wife who would oversee the slaves.Nobody required Roman wives to live secluded lives. They could freely receive visitors, leave the house, visit other households, or leave to go shopping.
If boys were largely taught by their fathers, then girls were taught by their mothers, which was consistent with the different roles they would play in later life. And, according to those separate roles, boys of landowning households (and therefore required to serve in the army) would also be introduced at an early age to some form of martial arts.
Megan SchrackTitle of Article: Daily life in Ancient Rome
Title of Book/Website Used: http://www.ancient-rome.biz/daily-life.htmlDatabase Used: Google
Notes:
Ancient Romans ate three meals during the day: breakfast, lunch and dinner that was eaten late in the afternoon.
Breakfast consisted of cheese, fruit, bread, milk or wine. Lunch wasn’t served.
Romans usually ate leftovers from the yesterday meals. This meal contained meal dishes, fish, fruit, cheese and wine.
The most important and generous was dinner. Romans used to eat it lying on sofas and a lots of slaves had to serve them. Dinner consisted of different sorts of meat, fish with vegetables, snacks, fresh or dried fruit and wine.
Ancient Romans didn’t care the tidiness during the mealtime, for example they unscrupulously threw rests of the food on the floor.
Rich Romans spent their spare time on feasts. This activity was treated almost like a sort of sport. Public lectures and literary sets were very popular. Sports and circus games also provided great amusement to thousands of Roman. A lot of time was spent in terms, which were in fact a cultural centre of a city.
Everybody could go to the terms and have a bath, even the poorest, because there were no entrance fees or they were very low. Women also visited terms, but after numerous scandals they had to do not at the same time as men did.