Ancient Roman Culture

Roman Culture & Lifestyle:

Knowledge is social power.

Hello, guys, I am back, I know you all have not seen me for a while, but I am back and this time not with a new topic but the same as the first topic or you could call it a sequel. Last time, I had shared information about the Roman Empire, Inventions, Laws, and Gods. But this time we are going to know about their culture and lifestyle. Now let’s begin, shall we?

By around 300 AD, Rome was the largest city in the world. The government was run by rich nobles and knights. Ordinary citizens were poor, but they had the right to vote and serve in the army. Slaves had no rights at all. Did you know about a trade called the “slave trade”? Slaves were bought and sold at slave markets. They were shown to the citizens to be chosen or rejected. Sometimes they were set free by their owners. At the heart of the city was a large marketplace surrounded by government buildings it was called the Forum. People went to the Forum to meet their friends and people they worked with, to listen to famous speakers, or to talk with others about important matters.

A typical Roman family included men, his wife, children and their servants. In rich families, the servants had their quarters within the villas (homes). Families spent much of their time in the kitchen. Servants helped the women of the household to prepare the meals.

At banquets, Romans ate lying down on couches around the main table. They took off their sandals before entering the dining room. Wealthy Romans lived in large houses in the country called Villas. These houses were normally surrounded by orchards, fields of wheat, and flocks of sheep. The first villas were simple farmhouses. As Rome became richer, villas became magnificent mansions. In winter, the Romans used to use an amazing technique to keep their house warm. This technique is called “hypocaust”. In this technique, the families had underfloor central heating in their homes. The heat came from a fire burning beneath the floor and there was a space in the walls for hot air to move around. In cities, many Romans lived in blocks of flats called "insulae".

Roman baths were places to wash, relax, meet friends, and get fit. Visitors could have a massage or a haircut. One of the most popular baths was at Aquae Sulis (bath). It had changing rooms and lockers, as well as hot, warm, and cold baths. This is something our modern generation would refer to as a ‘clubhouse’. The bath is considered of three pools one called “caldarium” filled with boiling water with the help of the hypocaust. Second, “tepidarium” is filled with moderately hot or lukewarm water, and third is “frigidarium” the coldest pool.

Now let’s talk a little bit about clothes. Clothes are the things we wear every day. We wear different types of clothes every day of our choice, but something differed very much in the past. As what a Roman wore depended on how important they were. Ordinary men and women wore plain white togas made of rough material. Rich people wore robes made of fine–quality wool and silk. At the height of the empire, women wore brightly coloured robes and shawls. Children wore knee-length tunics called a Chilton which came down to the knees. These could be either sleeveless or short-sleeved. In cold weather, they would often wear more than one tunic.

Roman women wore fine jewellery made of gold and pearls. A shiny black stone called a jet was carved into bangles and beads. Now, if you are still not able to understand what is a jet? Then in simple words, it is also known as Black Amber.

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