Transcript Roman Daily Life/Accomplishments

Rome:
The Arts
Art As Propaganda
• Roman Government began to create buildings
and sculptures that portrayed the peace and
prosperity brought about by the rule of
Augustus.
• Altar of Augustan Peace
– Built to honour Augustus.
– shows Augustus’ family, scenes from Rome’s
history, symbolic figures of fertility and
prosperity (Mother Earth, fruit, flowers,
children, animals, wheat).
Wall Paintings
• Paintings of architectural scenes, landscapes,
marine scenes, mythological narratives.
• Mosaics
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Used one colour at first
Evolved into multicolored
Status symbols
Made of cubes of glass
Architecture: The Arch
• First used by the Etruscans and further
developed by the Romans.
• An inexpensive method for creating a
strong roof.
• Made of cement or clay bricks.
– Weight of the bricks hold the arch together.
Barrel Vaults
• Looks like the inside of a barrel.
• Used for making doorways or windows.
• Made by placing arches side by side.
Cement
• Romans first to mix lime and powdered
clay with water to form wet cement.
• Once dry, if it gets wet it won’t turn soft.
• For stronger material, sand or gravel was
added to make concrete.
• Main building material of the Romans.
The Pantheon
• Circular temple built by Agrippa in 25-23
BCE.
• Made of cement.
• One of the most architecturally influential
buildings in the Western world.
• It’s height and diameter are the same - 143 ft.
• Dome made by rotating arches on their axis.
Roman Homes
• Pompeii offers a wealth of information on
the types of Roman homes. Two main
types:
– Domus (wealthy class)
– Insula (poor class)
• Certain rooms of a domus were open for
the public.
Public Baths
• A public facility used for bathing,
exercising, and relaxing.
• Provided hot water (uncommon in many
homes).
• A place for socializing.
• Modern equivalent - library, theatre, mall,
spa, sportsplex, and bar.
Basilicas
• Gets its shape from the public baths.
• A public buildings where judges heard
court cases, politicians gave speeches, or
teachers held classes.
– Like a modern day town hall.
• When Christians began to build churches,
they modelled them after these basilicas.
Beliefs
• Very superstitious people.
• Adopted Greek Olympian gods and
added their own. Top gods were Juno
(Hera) and Jupiter (Zeus).
• Believed in minor deities, werewolves,
and magic.
• Adopted belief in astrology and the
signs of the zodiac.
Roman Views on Religion
 The Romans were very superstitious, even one
bad omen could cause governors to withdraw
armies.
 For the Romans, politics and religion were very
closely bound. Religion had a powerful impact
over the government.
 Romans viewed their relationship with the gods
as a contract.
 Until Christianity gained control, the Romans
were polytheistic.
 Religion provided guidance and comfort for
Rome and it’s citizens.
Before the Rise of Christianity
 In the beginning of Roman beliefs, many spirits were
seen as natural forces. In time they developed human
personalities and form and were regarded as gods and
goddesses.
 The Romans made many sacrifices, such as the popular
simultaneous sacrifice of a pig, sheep and ox. These
were made to appease the gods during troubled times to
earn good fortune.
 Temples and shrines were also built for gods and
goddesses, including miniature shines that were built in
the homes of Romans for personal worship and prayers.
 Their rituals were taken very seriously, failure to correctly
perform a ritual was thought to anger the gods and lead
to punishment.
 Romans would also worship their emperors as gods.
Temples and Shrines
 Romans had many temples and shrines.
 These shrines and temples were places of
worship.
 Animals were sacrificed at temples, their
gender corresponding to that of the
designated deity.
 Temples were numerous and very ornate.
 One of the most famous temples was the
temple of Julius Caesar.
Pontifex Maximus
• Man in charge of supervising the official
religions and calendar.
– Decided the months and days when
various deities would be honoured.
• Do ut des - “I give so that you might
give.”
– principle of Roman religion. The Romans
honoured the gods and practiced animal
sacrifice so that the gods would help them
in times of crisis.
Introduction of Christianity
 Romans had initially welcomed Christianity as it began to
spread, but soon saw Christians as intolerant and
controlling.
 Christians showed little or no reverance for Roman
emperors, refusing to worship them as gods.
 Christians condemned all beliefs but their own.
 Because of this, some early Christians were executed
publicly at the Roman colosseum.
 Christians often had to hide their beliefs and practice
rituals in secret, otherwise they risked being excluded by
society. They had to bury their dead in catacombs under
the ground.
 Christians were persecuted for their beliefs.
Rise of Christianity
 Diocletian’s rule brought with it the last of the Christian
persecutions.
 Despite being persecuted, the Christian population continued to
increase.
 Constantine I “the Great” (307-337 C.E.) had a dream telling him
to paint Christian emblems on all shields before their upcoming
battle. Rome won the battle and Constantine believed it was
credited to the Christian god. Constantine then became a firm
supporter of Christianity.
 Constantine and Licinius restored all the property the Christians
had lost and declared absolute toleration of Christianity.
 Newfound support gave Christians a firm foot-hold in political and
religious spheres, despite being a minority of the population.
 By 360-370 C.E., the growing of Christianity accelerated and
paganism was put under attack by Christian bishops.
 Theodosius I (379-395 C.E.) abolished all pagan cults and
practices and closed all the temples.
Family Life
• Men were the heads of the household.
– Had complete power over wives, children, and
slaves. They had the legal right to abuse and even
kill.
• Women were excluded from politics, but could
own property and engage in business.
• Women’s duty to bear children.
• Girls as young as 12 were married off to bear
children. Males were preferred.
• Families with 3 or more children were
rewarded by the state.
Marriage
• Purpose of marriage was to continue the
family line.
• Usually arranged by parents.
• Normal age of marriage was ~15.
• Two types of marriage:
– In manum (into the power)
– Cohabitation
In Manum
• The authority of the father was handed to
the husband.
• Daughter was symbolically sold to the
bridegroom.
• Cohabitation
– Most common by end of Republic.
– A couple simply agreed to live together and
once they did so, were considered married.
– To divorce, a messenger was sent telling
him/her to take their belongings away.
– The woman remained legally subject to her
father.
Inheritance of Property
• Most important element in Republican
life.
• Inheritance was through the male line.
• Women who could not bear males
could be divorced.
• Adoption was common in order to gain
a male heir.
• If an infant was not recognized by its
father it could be left for dead in public.
Education
• Males and females of the patrician
class were educated together by a
nurse or family tutor until puberty.
• Between age 7-11 taught to read and
write Latin.
• From age 12-15, learned about
language and literature.
• Males studied rhetoric (logic and
persuasive argument) at public lectures
at age 16.
Education
• Upon entering manhood, introduced to
public life and led to the Forum dressed
in a toga.
• After this, males expected to serve the
interests of the patricians.
• They had to serve the state first and
themselves last.
• Children of the poorer class received
no education at all.
Circus Maximus
• Chariot racing was Rome's oldest and most
popular pastime.
• In 326 BCE, during the Roman Monarchy, The
Circus Maximus was built by Tarquinio Prisco.
• The site was first used for public games and for
the entertainment of Etruscan kings of Rome.
• The first version, later rebuilt, was made
completely from wood and could hold up to
150,000 people.
The Roman Colosseum
• The Roman colosseum was originally known as
the "Flavian Amphitheater“, it was changed to
the Colosseum when the western empire
collapsed. It was built on the orders on the
Emperor Vespasian.
• The grand opening of the coliseum was in 80
CE by Titus. He killed over 5000 animals in the
opening days.
• Total Area of 320 000 feet²
• Central Oval of 50 000 feet²
Gladiators
• The best known gladiators throughout the
Roman Empire were brought to the
Colosseum to fight.
• Most gladiators didn’t have a choice to
fight. They were usually slaves that
were sold into the business of
entertaining. Gladiators were sent to
schools designed specifically in how to
fight in gladitorial combats.
Gladiators
• Not all gladiators that lost died.
• They had to option of raising their hand for
mercy if they were wounded.
• The crowd would show what they wanted
by raising a thumb in the air - either up for
life, or down for death.
• It was up to the emperor or a dignitary to
make the final decision.