Roman Society and Culture

ROMAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE

1. Life in Imperial Romea. For the Rich

i. Had two homes: city and country home called a villa

ii. Had running water and bathsiii. Wealthy men were in politics

b. For the Poori. Lived in crowed 3 or 4 story apartmentsii. Free food and public entertainment was

used to keep the poor from rebelling

c. Public Entertainmenti. Circuses

1. Chariot Racinga. Circus

Maximus could accommodate 250,000 people

2. Amphitheatersa. Animal fightsb. Gladiators

3. Public Baths http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/default.aspx

d. Familyi. Paterfamilias or Family Father

1. Head of Familyii. Emphasis on virtues such as simplicity,

religious devotion and obedienceiii. Adoption

1. One way to ensure family name carried on

iv. Roman Women1. Relied on a male guardian2. Could own and inherit property3. Lower class women could work outside

the home

e. Educationi. Upper classes placed great value on

educationii. Children taught at homeiii. Wealthy hired tutors or sent sons to

exclusive schools

f. Religioni. Adopted many elements of Greek

mythologyii. Worshiped house hold gods called

penatesiii. Emperor worshiped as a godiv. Emphasis on signsv. Augurs were priest who interpret signs

2. Rome’s Cultural Legacya. Science and

Engineeringi. Galen

1. Wrote several volumes summarizing all the medical knowledge of his day

ii. Ptolemy1. Synthesized all the knowledge of others in

a single theory in astronomy2. Believed the earth was the center of the

universe

iii. Aqueducts1. Man-made

channels used to bring water to the cities

b. Architecturei. Round arch and vault

c. Language and literatureii. Latin

d. Lawi. Civil law

1. Based on a written code of laws 2. Adopted by many European countries after

the fall of Rome3. Influence still seen in the legal systems of

most of the world