Daily Life in Ancient Rome

The Romans had a life like ours. They ate food and wore clothes. They lived in houses and had ceremonies. The Romans had a society and a government much like ours. In this essay we will visit the daily life of ancient Rome.

First we will start with the living conditions of Rome. The Romans lived in homes the stretched from the smallest apartment to the biggest mansion. There was a home called a domus which is like a town home. This was a single family home built around a big hall. The size of the home showed others how wealthy or not the owners were. The bigger homes would have a living room, bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom and a reception room. The even wealthier would have a bathtub or a library. There were also apartments. These apartment would reach a few floors off the ground. These came around in the 1st century B.C. There were more apartments then town homes and the apartments stayed the main type of home for Romans until the end of the century.

Next we have the Romans style of clothing. There are three different types of clothing that we will observe today. The men's clothing, women's clothing, and shoes. The toga is what the men usually wore. It was an expensive piece of clothing that was worn especially in public places. The women of Rome wore what are called tunics. The women wore makeup and did their hair how they pleased. As for children they wore miniature clothing of what the adults wore. The shoes of the Romans were different styles of leather shoes. Sandals and boots were worn as well.


There were two types of very important Roman ceremonies. They were the naming of a baby and marriage. The naming of a baby was very important to the Romans. This was the day where they could hand down a name that was in their family to their child. This was a very joyous ceremony. Marriage was another very important ceremony. The man and woman had to be Roman citizens to wed and they had to make their marriage known in order for the children to be legalized.

The Romans had a very well balanced diet. The meals for most Romans was centered around, grain, oil, and wine. If you were richer than you ate better. Fish and oysters were on a high demand. The Romans obviously loved wine but when they drank it they watered it down and heated it. They also put spice in it.

In conclusion the Romans led a life like ours. They just didn't have a lot of the modern conveniences like we do. Our daily life is a lot like the Romans daily life.

Roman Art and Architecture

The Roman art and architecture was derived from two different types of people during their time. The art was derived mostly from the Etruscans, a people in Rome before them. The Architecture was derived mostly from the Greeks, but they put their own twist on it. These two different races helped develope the Romans art and architecture in many different ways. (Hadas 11)

Roman Art was originally derived from the Etruscans. The first Roman art looks alot like the Etruscans and partly the Greeks. Around 500 B.C. is when we start to see the Romans art start to look like its own type. There are many famous Roman Artists known to us today. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, and Giotto di Bondone. The Artists help Roman art flourish.

The Romans truely believed that a statue should look like the real person. This is called portraiture. The Greeks were more interested in the idealistic perspective of the statue. The Romans liked to keep it realistic. They also liked to keep a sculpture of the head of a person after they died. They thought it would keep whoever the person was happy, that way the dead would not haunt you.

The Roman architecture is what has given Rome the most fame. The three very important things that the Romans brought to the Architectural world is the baked brick, use of cement and concrete, and also the arch. The Romans were taught most of their Architecture from the Etruscans. During the Republican period temples and aquaducts were built, along with sewers and basilicas. Ampitheaters were also built.
Some of the most famous pieces of Architecture made by the Romans still exist today. This includes the Colloseum, Pantheon, Arch of Titus, and later the Arch of Constantine. (Barnett 100)

In conclusion the Romans are very famous for many pieces of art and architecture. Their time brought us some of the greatest artists including Michelangelo and Leinardo di Vinci. They also brought us some of the greatest pieces of Architecture our world has ever seen. Including the Pantheon and the Coloseum. These pieces truely define Rome.

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient

Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

The Importance of Caesar Augustus

The date was the 23 of September in 63 B.C. and one of the most legendary emperors of Rome was born. His name was Octavian. He ruled form 23 B.C. to 14 A.D. He was adopted by his uncle Julius Caesar but his father's real name was Gaius Octavias and his mothers name was Atia. He had a daughter, 3 sons and two wives. All three sons were adopted. His wives were named Scribonia and Livia. His daughter was with Scribonia. The three sons were adopted with Livia.

Octavian was chosen to be the heir to the throne by his uncle Julius Caesar. Augustus began his ruling when the first triumvarate came to an end. After Crassus died and Julius Caesar was murdered and the death of Pompey brought the end of the first triumvurate. The second triumvirate was formed with Octavian,whose name was later changed to Augustus, Lepitus and Mark Antony.

With the death of Marc Antony, Agustus became the one and only ruler of the Rome. The first thing that he accomplished was letting soldiers return to their lands until needed. He also accomplished the building of public bridges and roads, along with public baths and government buildings. The civil wars during this time were also ended by him. He also brought a time of peace for Rome which was called the Pax Romana.

Octavian was later named Agustus. Agustus means respected one. Many Romans treated him like a god.

Agusustus was a well respected leader, the first sole emperor of Rome. He made many great improvements of Rome and the lives of Romans. He has created a great legacy for himself to be remembered forever.

Government of Rome

Rome began by the annihilation of the Etruscans. When Rome began it started as a Republic between 500 B.C. and 1500 A.D the system was unchanged except for some minor changes. The Roman republic was first set up in 500 B.C.

The Roman republic was originally set ip to have two consuls that were in charge of the army and making laws. The consuls were given advice from the Senate which was made up of only rich men. The consuls could veto anything that the Senate said but the two consuls had to both agree on something before it could be passed. In the end the consuls usually listened to what the Senate said. After the two men were consuls they usually end up being part of the senate.

Later in the Republic around 146 B.C. the republic started to fall apart. The Romans realized that they could no longer rely on the senate to run the empire. The Romans looked forward to their next general to see what he could accomplish.

Instead of just one man, three men formed what is called a triumvirate. These three men were Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caeser. Pompey and Crassus fade and Caeser had an affair with Cleopatra. This then leads up to his murder.

After this the second triumvirate came into play. This consisted of Octavian, Caeser's nephew, Ledipus, and Mark Antony. Ledipus was eventually forced out of power and Octavian and Antony got into a civil war. Octavian won and Mark Antony commited suicide. (Hadas 44)(Barnett 14-15)

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

(p.s. Mr. Lockwood, for some reason the titles of my book sources would not underline and the spell check was not working so if i missed some spelling i apologize.)

Aeneid vs Odyssey

The Greeks and the Romans produced two very well known poets. Virgil was a very famous Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid. The Aeneid is one of the very well known foundational myths of Rome. Virgil was born on October 15, 70 B.C. Homer was a very well known greek poet who is mostly known for his well known epic poems the Iliad and the Odessey. These two epics were to have been taught to children in Greece during the time of Homer and they are still being taught today in America. (Barnett 19)

The Odessey is an Epic poem written by Homer to tell the story of a famous war hero. After the great Trojan War the great war hero Odysseus travels back to his home Island of Ithica to meet his wife Penelope. With a mistake on Odysseus part the god of the sea Poseidon unleashes his fury on Odysseus. The goddess Athena will not allow Poseidon to kill Odysseus, therefore, Odysseus must face terroble trials in order to reach his home land. (Hadas 14)

The Aeneid was written by Virgil around 19 B.C. The story of Aeneas starts off with our main character Aeneas traveling away from his homeland to start a new empire because his homeland was being taken over. The goddess Juno stirs up the seas so that Aeneas looses his men but is then reunited. He and his men end up on the shores of Carthage. There Aeneas meats Queen Dido and fall in love but has to leave her. Carthage soon hate Aeneas for leaving their Queen. Aeneas must go to the underworld and there he meets many that he knows. The Aeneid is basicly showing the seven years Aeneas spend finding his new home after the Trojan War. The gods send him on a wild goose chase to found Rome, his new empire.

The Aeneid and the Odyssey have many things in common and many things that are different. One major sililarity is that both Odesseus and Aeneas both have to leave and go face trials to get to what they want. They both are led by the gods with help and with hatred.

The difference in the two poems is that Aeneas has to leave his home to find another. Odysseus has to leave where he is to get home. Another difference is that the gods in the Odyssey are Greek and the gods in the Aeneid are Roman. These differences make the two stories very different.

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Hadas, Moses. Imperial Rome. Time Inc Publishers. Canada 1965

Roman Foundation Myths

There are two myths that tell of the foundation of Ancient Rome. These two myths include the myth of Romulus and Remus, the twin boys raised by a wolf, and the myth of Aeneas, son of the goddess Aphrodite. These two myths show the founding of Rome in two very different ways. ( Barnett 28)

The myth of Aeneas is about how a young man begins the founding of Rome. Aeneas was born to a very attractive man named Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father, Anchises, can trace his ancestors back to the son of Zeus, Dardanus. (Marks and Tingay 5)

The legend begins with the Greeks laying siege to Troy and killed almost all of the people in the city. One prince of Troy escaped by boat and sailed all the way to Italy. His name was Aeneas. Aeneas landed on the west coast of Italy at Laurentum. The king of the Latins, Latinus, had a daughter named Lavinia. Aeneas and Latinus formed an alliance and Aeneas married Lavinia. Aeneas and his wife Lavinia had a son named Ascanius. Alba Longa was the city founded by Ascanius. Ascanius was the first of a 400 year rule of kings to follow. This is where Rome was founded. (Marks and Tingay 5)

The second myth of the founding of Rome is the legend of the twin boys named Romulus and Remus. Romulus and Remus are the twin boys that were born to the god Mars and the mortal Rhea Silvia. When the twins were born they were placed in a basket to float down the Tiber River and to die. They were placed there by their great uncle because he did not want them to be a threat to his power. The twins were found by a she-wolf and the wolf raised them.

The she-wolf raised them until one day a shepherd named Faustulus and his wife found the boys. They then raised the twins as if they were their own. Years later when the twins were old enough they decided to found their own city. Romulus and Remus looked to the sky and to the birds. After seeing the signs they saw that Romulus' section of the city would be twice the size of Remus'. The twins quarreled and Remus was either killed by Romulus or just disappeared. Romulus did continue to build up his city, which was named Rome.

In conclusion there are two very different myths about the founding of Rome. One to do with a Trojan Prince and the other to do with wolf raised twin boys. Both of these myths have survived throughout the centuries to be very well known.

Barnett, Mary. Gods and Myths of the Romans: the Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York. 1996

Marks, Anthony, and Graham Tingay. The Romans. Usborne. London. 1990.

Philosophy of Epicurus

Epicurus was born in Samos Greece in 341 B.C. He was born there but lived in Athens for most of his life. Epicurus was the founder of the Epicurean School that he named The Garden. His followers, the Epicureanists, were instructed under rational living."Many aspects of his thought are still highly relevant some twenty-three centuries after they were first taught in his school in Athens..." Source 1 Source 2

Epicurus' main belief is that pleasure is the end of life. By pleasure he meant absence of pain. He believed that pleasure is the soul being freed from confusion and the body being freed from pain. He also taught that self denial, independence, and self control should be at a moderate level. He also believed that no person should take on large and heavy responsibilities or have serios involvement. He believed that the pleasures that are sought out and looked for will endure a life-time. Also, if your life escaped other people's notice than Epicurus praised it.
Source 3 (Nardo 84)

Epicurus also believed that a troubled soul lacks pleasure. Epicurus believed that every pain is evil and ever pleasure is good. Therefore by following Epicurean thought then you will reach a calm and peaceful life. He always taught to avoid the extreme pleasures and that a lasting pleasure will not and will never be a bodily sensation. Source 3

Epicurus went farther into his study of pleasures. He distinguished between "higher" and "lower" pleasures. The higher pleasures included intellectual pleasures, pleasures of intellect. Lower pleasures were those that were bodily pleasures including food, sex, and drink. Source 3 (Nardo 125)

Epicurus sought virtue. He also believed in reason and reasoning our lives. He also believed in prudence and natural science. Source 3

There are two main downfalls of Epicurus. The first one is that the absence of pain is a pleasure in his view. Epicureanism is incomplete in his ethics. How should we rview virtues such as good in societies view, pleasure for others, and justice. Source 3

Nardo, Don. Lost Civilizations:The Ancient Greeks. San Diego Ca: Lucent Books, 2001.

Nardo, Don. Living in Ancient Greece. Farmington Hills MI: Green Haven Press, 2004