Roman Daily Life

  • Roman Daily Life ranged from attending the Baths and Eating out, to participating at the Games and Festivals.
  • Below is an A-Z of the different activities that the Romans would pursue.

A-Z of ROMAN DAILY LIFE

Roman Bakery

  • Bread was sold at the front of the bakery like today, whilst the preparation was done behind.
  • There was a Roman Pizza called ‘Maza’, which was unleavened bread (flat bread) with various toppings.

Roman Banquet

  • The Roman Banquet could be a Public Feast, a private Dinner party or a drinking affair.
  • They all followed strict protocols regarding how and when the food and drinks were served.

Roman Barbers

  • Roman Barbers operated out of barber shops just as they do today. The Barbers were not attached to the Roman Baths.

Roman Bars

  • There were three main types of Roman Bars and Restaurants provided food with no accommodation.
  • Thermopolium
    • a snack bar consisting of a booth serving hot food and drink in the street.
  • Taverna
    • a shop that could also be a one room Roman Bar (Tavern) opening onto the street, mainly serving alcohol although some served food.
  •  Popina
    • an inexpensive restaurant, similar to the Taverna, but with the emphasis on cheap sit down meals for the poorer population such as Slaves, Freedmen and foreigners. They offered a basic menu of olives, bread, stews and wines.

Roman Baths

  • The Roman Baths or Thermae were part of the fabric of Roman social life and was at the heart of Roman Civilisation.
  • The great Public Baths were centres of entertainment and bathing and attending was a social ritual which took several hours each day.

Roman Booksellers

  • ‘Taberna Librarii’ or Roman Booksellers were located in the Argelitum and the Vicus Sandalarius in Rome.
  • Books for sale were listed on the door of the shop according to Martial and the price of books varied around 5 Denarii.

Roman Burials

  • In 450 BCE a Law was passed during the Roman Republic that all Burials were forbidden within the City Walls of Rome. The law was rescinded by Constantine I when he recognised Christianity as a legal Religion.
  • All Roman Cemeteries are located along the roads leading out of a town or city.
  • Roman Infant Mortality was possibly as high as one in four.

Roman Clothing

Roman Cooking

  • The Recipes of Apicius reveal the ingredients for a variety of Roman meals.

Roman Education

  • Education for the Romans in wealthy families was done by Tutors. Ordinary citizens attended schools consisting of a room in a shop.
  • Roman children learnt the Legend of Ancient Rome, the Aeneid by Virgil and Greek Mythology.
  • The Roman School System started with the Primary School, then the Grammar School and finally the Schools of Rhetoric where Tutors were usually Greek slaves.
  • Books in Greek and Latin were available to read in Roman Libraries.

Roman Festivals

  • Roman Festivals were called Dies Ferialis and were Public Holidays and part of the Roman Calendar.
  • The important Festivals were held on specific days and formed part of the Roman Religion, but holidays could also be given on an ad hoc basis.

The Roman Firelighter

  • The Romans used an iron or steel striker, shaped like a knuckle guard, which was struck against a flintstone to produce sparks that would ignite a flammable material.
  • All Roman households and every Roman Legionary would possess one.

Food Markets of Rome

  • Macellum Magnum
    • This was a large farmers’ market built by Nero.
    • A Macellum was an indoor farmers’ market with shops arranged around a courtyard with a fountain in the centre. Some shops had marble counters for selling meat and fish.
  • Forum Piscarium
    • This was a fish market between the Via Sacra and the Argiletum and later incorporated into the Macellum.
  • Forum Cuppedinis
    • This was a delicatessan.
  • Forum Holitorium
    • This was a cabbage market.
  • Forum Boarium
    • This was the cattle market.
  • Forum Suarium
    • This was the pork market.

Roman Games

  • Roman Chariot Races
    • Chariot Racing was very popular during the Roman Empire, with the spectators supporting one of the four racing teams, the Blue, the Red, the Green and the White Teams.
    • The most famous Charioteer was Gaius Appuleius Diocles. He won 1,462 of his 4,257 chariot races, finished second 861 times, and third 576 times.
  • Roman Amphitheatre
    • All types of events took place in the Amphitheatre from wild animal hunts, the Venatio, to Gladiator contests.
    • Contests between Roman Gladiators were part of Roman entertainment.
  • Roman Olympic Games
    • Under the Romans, the Olympic Games continued to be held in Olympia, Greece, every four years.

Roman Grand Tour

  • Italy and Sicily
  • Greece:
    • Pausanias wrote as Ancient Roman Guidebook called ‘The Description of Greece’ in 160 CE.
    • The Roman Patrician Class traveled extensively. Having read the Greek Classics such as Homer, their education was not considered complete until they had visited all the Sites:
    • Olympia, Athens, the Parthenon and Acropolis.
  • Asia Minor:
  • Nile Cruises:

Roman Jewellery

  • Jewellery consisted of Rings, Pins, Pendants, Earrings, Brooches, Bracelets, Necklaces and Tiaras with Precious Stones were sometimes being added. In particular, Pearls were the most common.

Roman Jokes

  • A collection of 265 jokes exists dating from the fourth century CE, called the ‘Philogelos’ or ‘The Laugh Addict’. it was written by Hierocles and Philagrius.

Roman Mirrors

  • The Romans constructed hand held Mirrors that were made from polished metal, and sometimes enhanced by a polished tin coating.

Languages spoken in Ancient Rome

  • lingua franca
    • Latin was the lingua franca of the Western Empire and Greek was the lingua franca in the Eastern Empire.
    • The Roman Upper Classes spoke both Greek and Latin.
  • Other languages in the Roman Empire
    • Each Province had its local language, eaxamples are Coptic, Aramaic, Basque, Gallic, Germanic, Balto-Slavic, Raetic, Noric, Pannonian, Illyrian, Lycian, Hebrew, Nabatean, Syriac, Celtic, Berber and Punic. Etruscan died out in the first century CE, the last writer being the Emperor Claudius.

Roman Latrines

  • Public Latrine:
    • Buildings with communal Public Latrines were constructed with marble seats in rows, flushing water in a channel underneath the seat, and a sponge on a stick for cleaning oneself.
  • Public Urinals:
    • Rome also had possibly as many as 144 Urinals at crossroads and street corners consisting of just amphorae or barrels cut in half. These buckets were called ‘Dolia Certa’.
  • Vespasian instituted a Urine Tax.
    • This involved the Collection of Urine from these Pots, which was then used as a cleaning agent in Laundries who paid the Tax when they purchased the Urine.

Roman Letter Writing

  • Roman Writing materials
    • Letter writing was written on Vellum, Papyrus, Wax Tablets.
    • Iron styluses were used for writing on wax tablets. They could also be made of bone or ivory. For writing on a scroll, they would dip the stylus in writing ink or ‘Atramentum librarium’ which Pliny says was made with soot, burnt resin or pitch.
  • Seal Stamps
    • The Romans used Roman Wax Seals and Roman Intaglio Seal Stamp Rings to prove their identity on official documents.

Roman Libraries

  • Public Libraries of Rome:
    • There were seven Public Libraries of Rome. Each had two Reading Rooms, one for Works in Latin and one for Works in Greek.
  •  Private Libraries:
    • Some wealthy Romans had their own private libraries such as the ‘Villa of the Papyri’ in Herculaneum.

Roman Lighting

  • Roman Oil Lamps
    • All Roman Homes were lit after Sunset by clay lamps filled with olive oil.
  • Roman Street Lighting
    • The streets of Rome were lit at night, but unfortunately, no record survives as to what method was used.
    • Lighting may have been either by multiple oil lamps set up on poles or by large candles inside glass containers, or by flaming brands positioned by the roadside.

Roman Mail System

  • Cursus Publicus
    • The Roman Mail System was called the Cursus Publicus. It was used by the Government and the Army to transport Mail, Officials and Taxes between Rome and the Empire, but was specifically for the Government and not private individuals.
  • The Peutinger Table
    • This is a Michelin style road map, marking the positions of Hotels and Stations along the Roman roads, that the Mail System would have used.
  • Private Mail
    • Sending Letters in Ancient Rome was not easy as there was no Postal Code system and a courier had to be paid. The wealthy used their own slaves and servants as couriers.
    • Letters carried only the name of the recipient, and the courier was then given basic instructions of how to find the address.

Roman Newspapers

  • Acta
    • The Roman Government had a system for circulating written news between 59 BCE to circa 222 CE.
    • The Acta were daily handwritten news sheets etched on stone tablets or thin metal sheets and posted in the Forum Romanum. They were also distributed to the Provinces.
    • They contained news of Political Events, Trials, Scandals, Military Campaigns and Executions.
    • Compositus Ludus

Resort Towns of Ancient Rome

  • Certain Emperors and the wealthy residents of Rome took their summer holidays at the Resort Towns of Ancient Rome of which Baiae in the Bay of Naples was very popular and had many Roman villas.

Roman Spa Towns

  • Water Sources and Thermal Springs were famed for their medicinal qualities.
  • Spa towns were popular such as Baiae in Italy, Glanum and Vichy in Gaul, and the Bath Spa in Britannia.
  • Pilgrimages were made to Temples and Healing Spas around the Roman Empire.

Roman Timekeeping

  • The Romans kept time by using sundials during the day and waterclocks during the night.
  • Roman Time was only measured by the hour and not in half hours or quarter hours. There were 24 hours in a day, divided into 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. measured from sunrise to sunset.
  • The four important times of the Roman day were Sunrise, Noon, Sunset and Midnight. Public Events began on the hour.

Roman Wine

  • Wine was considered to be part of a healthy diet and had a medicinal, social and religious role in Roman Society. It has been estimated that every person in the Roman Empire would have consumed a bottle of wine every day.
  • Wine was drunk on a daily basis by men and women in all social classes of Roman Society including slaves.
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