Located along the Mediterranean Sea Ancient Rome, over time, became one of the largest cities in the Ancient World, and was home to an estimated 50-90 million people. The Roman Empire invented many methods and objects we still use today, but what more can we learn about Ancient Rome? Let's find out ...
How was Ancient Rome Founded According to legend, Ancient Rome was founded by two orphaned, twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. A she-wolf found them abandoned and took them with her. She fed them with her breast-milk until they were strong, and they were soon found and raised by a farmer. As Romulus and Remus grew older, they found out that they were descendants of the king, and decided to create a great nation in the mountains. The men began to quarrel over who should be king of this great nation, and Romulus eventually killed Remus for the power, therefore: Rome! There are speculations as to whether this event did indeed take place, but we do know that a civilization did spring up in those mountains at that time. Art, Religion and Daily Life The Ancient Roman's admire the Greek artworks and sculptures, and once the Roman army had finally conquered the Greeks, they took many artworks and sculptures back to Rome with them. They then copied these sculptures in a Greek style, and it is evident that Greece had a major role in the way that Rome looks. Sculptures played a role in Roman daily life. They created busts; sculptures of a person's head; reliefs; sculptures that decorated or were part of a wall and sarcophagi, which were sculptures on people's graves. They decorated almost everything, from bathrooms to private back-gardens. The walls of the homes of wealthy Romans were often decorated with paintings. These paintings were frescos painted directly on the walls. Most of these paintings have been destroyed over time, but some of them were preserved in the city of Pompeii when it was buried by the eruption of a volcano. Religion The Romans had thousands of gods. This was because they believed that there were spirits and guardians for almost anything. From animals to household needs, everything had its own spirit or god. There were even gods for locked doors and different parts of the house. There was a kitchen god, a door god, a bath god, and of course a sleeping god. It was the gods job to take care of the people of the house, to watch over and protect them. If you or your family were forgetful about proper worship or the giving of sacrifices to the gods, then terrible things may begin to happen to you or your family. They believed that any problem that occurred was due to lack of proper worship. The Romans built huge and extravagant temples to worship their gods. There were impressive temples all over the Roman Empire. Every day, the ancient Romans brought offerings of meat and other items to at least one nearby temple. It was a custom to visit more than one temple a day. Not only this, but they also held large festivals to celebrate their god's power, and were payed for by wealthy Roman's who wanted a favour from the Gods. Clothing The very first Romans wore garments called togas which were 9 feet long pieces of cloth. They were, however, unpractical and hard to put on, and they did not guard from the cold. The Romans quickly abandoned them ( apart from ceremonies ) and began to wear tunics. Tunics were like long tee-shirts that were made of either linen or wool, depending on the weather. They also wore trouser-like garments and invented socks, which they wore in winter. Men of better taste would often wear gold rings ( not bracelets though, as they reminded people of chains ) and would have hairstyles that suited the times, e.g. braid their hair or wear beards. Women loved to make themselves beautiful, and love ornate rings, pins, necklaces and friendship rings. They would often dye their hair golden-red and wear pins in it to tie it up or make it thicker and curly. Food Ancient Romans drank wine and wheat. Rich Romans ate beef, pork, snails, chicken and fish. Poorer Romans ate food of common trade, vegetables and lentils. They used fats and oils to cook. They also ate bread dipped in honey. The Colosseum One of the world’s greatest man-made feats is the mighty Colosseum, situated in the heart of Ancient Rome. The Colosseum was used for solely entertainment purposes, such as chariot racing or gladiatorial means. The colosseum was an open structure that was circular in shape. The walls could seat several thousand people and there was a circle-shaped arena in the middle. On that arena gladiators, slaves armed with weapons and so on, would fight to the death, solely to entertain the Roman public. Gladiators would not only fight on-another, but they would often fight lions or tigers. Sometimes, the fate of a slave could be decided by the Emporer, who often came to watch the fights. If one gladiator had managed to overthrow the other gladiator, he would pin him to the ground and wait for the decision, which was shown with either a thumbs up or thumbs down. Occasionally, there would be anywhere between 15-20 gladiators fighting as the same time. Blood was spilt for entertainment, proving how sick the Roman’s really were. The Army The soldiers in the Roman Legionary were all Roman citizens. They signed up to fight for 20 years. At the end of the 20 years they were generally awarded land and/or a large sum of money. This way the army was made up of trained and experienced soldiers. It also put land in the hands of loyal soldiers. There were also non-citizen soldiers called auxiliaries. They joined for 25 years and were awarded Roman citizenship at the end of the 25 years. Roman citizenship was a big deal and came with lots of privileges. The Roman army was renowned for its unbeatable formations and skills. The army protected Rome and allowed it to expand without threat. |
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