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Unit 8, Part 4: Roman Life And legacy PAX ROMANA • Pax Romana – time of general peace and prosperity during the first 200 years of the Roman Empire – – – – – – – – Stable government Organized military No major wars or rebellions Population grew Trade continued to increase Many Romans became wealthier Improved quality of life for people living in Rome and its provinces Lasted until about 180 AD CITY LIFE • Many cities were major centers of trade and had huge populations, while others were smaller. • Rome – may have had more than a million residents at its height. While many were wealthy, many were not and lived in crowded, sometimes dangerous, apartment buildings. • Entertainment: – Public baths (talked about already) – Comic plays – Chariot races • Ben Hur Parade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6TUgccyzNs • Ben Hur Race https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frE9rXnaHpE • HH Chariots https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XpVPM-7Ij8 THE COLOSSEUM • Official name was the Flavian Amphitheatre, named after the emperors who ordered it built. • Most Romans called it the Colosseum because it was built next to the Colossus, a statue of Emperor Nero. • Built on a marsh between the river Tiber and the emperor’s palace because it was the only piece of land large enough that hadn’t already been built on. Marsh had to be drained before building could start. • Held 50,000 spectators; over 80 sections, each with a separate door and flight of steps that led to the outside. THE COLOSSEUM • • • • • • • • Probably the largest building in the world: 150 ft tall, 630 ft long by 525 wide. The walls were covered in stone, but most of the structure was made of brick or concrete. The Colosseum could be flooded to in order to stage elaborate naval battles. Later the floor was redesigned to include trapdoors to allow gladiators and wild animals to suddenly appear in the arena above. The inaugural (1st) games lasted 100 days. In 847 AD the south wall collapsed because of an earthquake. It is estimated that over hundreds of years more than 500,000 people and 1 million animals were killed in the arena. History Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOylD1KC6kc GLADIATORS A few interesting facts: • The first gladiatorial fights were always part of a funeral, usually of politicians and noblemen who ordered the games in their wills. Sometimes these “funeral” games were held years later, often just before elections so that the dead man’s heir could impress people and win votes. Gladiatorial fights actually played an important role in politics because they won support from the “mob.” In fact, because women couldn’t vote, they were given seats at the back of the crowd. • The mob decided which gladiators lived (thumbs down), and which died (thumb hid in clenched fist). • Losing a fight didn’t necessarily mean death. Many “editors” (people who put on the shows) would grant mercy to a wounded man because they had to pay for the gladiators and a dead one cost more than a wounded one. • Gladiators https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTX3vm_rhvs COUNTRY LIFE • • • • • In the Roman Empire, more people actually lived in the country than in the cities, and they had a very different way of life. In most rural areas most people farmed on small farms that grew just enough food for their families. Many spoke languages other than Latin and kept their own customs and traditions even after they were conquered by the Romans. In addition to these small farmers, there were large farms and villas, or country homes belonging to rich Romans who wanted a house outside the city where they could go to get a break from the crowds. Even out in the country they lived extravagantly, hosting huge, elaborate dinner parties with exotic foods like peacock, ostrich, jellyfish, and even mice. HH Dung Monger and Table Manners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHPdLTrAYrM POMPEII • • • • • • Ancient Roman city located at the foot of a volcano called Mount Vesuvius. At noon on August 24, 79 AD Vesuvius erupted sending ash hundreds of feet into the air for 18 hours straight. The next day, the cone of the volcano collapsed, triggering a 100 mph avalanche that buried the city under, and ash buried the city under 30 feet of mud and ash. The city lay buried until it was discovered in 1738 while excavation for a palace was taking place. The city had a population of 20,000, most of which fled before the eruption. It is estimated 2,000 people died, though only 1,150 bodies have been discovered. Read The Only Eyewitness Account of Pompeii document (found on the website) POMPEII • Because the city was perfectly preserved and frozen in time, it has given archaeologists tremendous insight into what Roman life was like. • In the mid 1800s archeologists noticed that the skeletons they discovered were surrounded by a void. • By carefully pouring plaster into the spaces, they found that the clothes, faces, and final poses of these final residents of Pompeii came to life. • Pompeii https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeB5N_bH7E8 SCIENCE & MEDICINE • • • • Different philosophy than the Greeks who studied the world just to know about it. The Romans were more concerned with finding knowledge that could improve their lives. Studied stars to produce a calendar Studied plants and animals to learn how to produce better crops and meat. Medicine – most of the Empire’s greatest doctors were Greek • • Galen – described the valves of the heart, noted the differences between arteries and veins; for centuries, doctors based their ideas on Galen’s teachings and writings. HH Hospital and Criminal's Head https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POwG1JBmj oI ENGINEERING - roads • Developed cement (concrete) by mixing lime with volcanic rock and she to make a hard, watertight material. This made many of their building and engineering projects possible. • Roads – built about 50,000 miles of roads so well constructed that parts of them remain today. • Made up of layers of sand, concrete, rock, and stone. Drainage ditches let water drain off, preventing water damage. • Built primarily for the military, but made travel much faster. • HH Roman Tabellari, Sausage Smuggler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Wl3R--Jfs ENGINEERING • Arches – This rounded shape can support much heavier weights than other shapes. This development also made many of their other building projects possible. • Aqueducts– a channel used to carry water from mountains to cities. When they crossed deep valleys, they were supported by rows of arches. • Vault – a set of arches that supports the roof of a building. Made it possible to created much larger building than anything that had come before. ARTS & LANGUAGE • Art – mosaics, frescoes (painting on wet plaster), and statues (often copied from Greek statues) • Literature – wrote epic poems, satire – a style of writing that pokes fun at people or society, history and speeches, drama. • • Virgil – the Aeneid about the founding of Rome Ovid – poems about Roman mythology • Language – 2 official languages • • • Latin – people throughout western Rome wrote, conducted business, and kept records in Latin. This helped tie people in varies parts of the empire together. Greek – spoken by some people in the east Romance languages – after the Roman Empire ended, Latin developed into many different languages such as Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. Tons of Latin words and stems show up even in non-romance languages such as English