Life in Roman Times
Family Life
The average Roman family consisted of father, mother, children,married sons, their family, and slaves. If you didn't get married by the age of 15-16, you were punished. The person who decided who his
children marry was the head of the house, the father (PATERFAMILIAS). The family was very important to the Romans. Women were under control of their husbands but controlled how the house was run and were known as (MATERFAMILIAS).

Roman Schools
Rome didn't have any public schools. Most children
 went to private school or studied at home.Their subjects
 were reading, writing, and arithmetic. In many homes,
 the slaves taught the children. Before the age of
 fourteen, they studied Latin and Greek.

What were the private schools like ?
Most schools had only one room and only one class. There were about twelve pupils.

What did they write on ?
A Writing Tablet
The romans did have a kind of paper made from reeds, and wrote on animal skins, but this was too expensive for children to write on. Schoolboys would write on wax tablets with a pointed stick called a stylus. They then rubbed the wax smooth and started again.

Did they read books ?
A school would only have a few books. Books had to be written by hand. They were usually made from one long piece of paper rolled around a stick. This was called a scroll.
 

Roman Numerals

The Romans used only 7 letters to represent all numbers . . .
I = 1   V = 5    X = 10    L = 50    C = 100    D = 500    M = 1000

Letters are placed before or after each other to lower or increase their value.

IX = 9   MXI = 1011    MCMLXXXVIII = 1988  IIMM = 1998  

 

The Roman Language

Our alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. The Romans spoke Latin. These are the letters of the Roman alphabet  . . .
The letters K, Y and Z weren't used very often. The letter J was the same as I, and U the same as V.



Roman Houses
 

Rich people usually lived in a town house called a domus. Many of them also had a country house called a villa. But most people living in towns and cities rented an apartment called a cenaculum.

What were the apartments like ?
Some were very big and fancy, but others had only one room. The poorest people lived on the top floors, which were built out of wood. These could catch fire easily and weren't very safe.

How did they light their houses ?
They used oil-burning lamps to light their homes. There were many different kinds of lamps.

What was on the floor ?
Romans sometimes used small rugs, but no carpets. Expensive houses had patterned floors called mosaics, made from tiny pieces of stone.
Smooth wet plaster was spread over the floor. Tiny squares of bright stone were pressed into it to make a picture. The gaps between the squares were then filled in with plaster.

What furniture did they have ?
All sorts. Most furniture that is still around today is made of marble or metal. They also had wooden furniture but this has rotted away. Most beds were probably very plain and made from wood.


What were the kitchens like ?
Anyone for takeaway ? Apartments didn't have kitchens, so tenants had to buy ready-cooked food. Private houses, had large kitchens with different fires for cooking different types of food.

Did they have central heating ?
Yes they invented it. It warmed the rooms from under the floor.
 
 
 

What did they wear?

Roman Fashions

A Roman Citizen
Most of the time the Roman men would wear a simple tunic which was fastened with a belt and went down to his knees. He would wear sandals in the house called SALEAE and when he went out he would wear heavier sandals called CALCEI. On important times he wore a TOGA made of fine wool . it went over the body hanging over the right shoulder.
 
 
 
A Roman Lady
The women wore a STOLA over their bodies. This was made of fine wool and reached down to her ankles. The roman women liked their hair well done and piled high on top of their heads with a lot of curls.
They wore make up on their cheeks, lips and eyes. They also wore jewellery like earrings and bracelets.
 
 
 
 
 
 
How do you put on a toga
 
Slowly ! You can make your own toga by carefully cutting up an old sheet. It won't be quite as big as the real thing.
 
1. Drape the left-hand end of the toga over your left shoulder.
2. Hold the other end in your right hand and bring it up under your arm.
3. Now throw the right end over your left shoulder.
4. Finally tuck the middle of your toga into your belt.

 
 

 

  

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