Download Life in the Roman Empire - Core Knowledge Foundation

CK_3_TH_HG_P091_145.QXD
4/11/05
10:56 AM
Page 133
himself. Commodus spent much of his time not governing but racing chariots
and fighting as a gladiator in the amphitheater. He fought hundreds of times and
killed lions, panthers, and elephants—and men—by the scores. In his famous history, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, the historian Edward Gibbon memorably described the character of Commodus as a man more intent on pursuing his
own pleasure than leading his people.
Commodus was strangled to death in his bath in 192 CE. After his death, the
Senate ordered that all mention of him and his reign be expunged from the
records.
Another famously wicked emperor was Nero, who ruled Rome well before
Commodus, from 54–68 CE. Nero was given a good education—his tutor was the
philosopher Seneca—but he used his powers as emperor to suit his own purposes.
In the second year of his reign, he grew resentful of his mother’s attempts to control him and began scheming to get rid of her. After having his mother murdered,
he later murdered his wife and then married his mistress. In 64 CE a great fire
destroyed much of Rome. A rumor circulated that Nero had lit the fire himself to
clear ground for a new palace. Another popular story held that Nero placidly played
his harp while the city burned. This last story is now generally believed to be false,
but the idea of Nero “fiddling while Rome burned” has stuck in the popular imagination. What is unquestionably true is that Nero blamed the fires on the Christians
in the city and used it as an excuse to persecute members of the sect. Christians
were burned and tortured to death.
Teaching Idea
Roman homes were lit with terracotta or bronze lamps. Have students
make their own lamps using the
directions on Instructional Master 22,
Making a Terra-Cotta Lamp. After
doing this activity, have students
write a description of why it would
be important to have these lamps in a
Roman house. Compare and contrast
the use of these lamps to the lights
that students use in their own homes.
What are the similarities and differences? What are the advantages and
disadvantages? You may wish to post
each student’s writing next to his or
her lamp for display in the classroom.
Nero aspired to be a poet, a singer, and an artist. He forced people to attend
concerts where he sang, played the harp, or recited poetry. Nobody was allowed
to leave the theater during these performances. The historian Suetonius says even
pregnant women who went into labor were not allowed to leave. Supposedly
some men “played dead” in order that they might be carried out of the theater.
Eventually people began to conspire against Nero. Rebellions broke out
around the empire. Nero fled Rome and committed suicide. Just before he killed
himself, he is said to have remarked, “What a great artist the world is losing!”
Life in the Roman Empire
A Roman city typically had a forum. This was an open central marketplace or
public square that contained shops and government buildings, such as law courts
and temples to the city’s chief deities. In addition to being the center of commercial activity, the forum was the center of civic participation for a city.
A city usually had several temples built in honor of a variety of deities. Cities
also had public baths, which featured hot and cold pools, exercise grounds, and
gardens. The baths, like the houses of the rich, had running water. Most people,
though, obtained their water from public fountains on the streets. They lived in
crowded, noisy dwellings, similar to modern-day apartment buildings of four or
five stories, although the wealthy few lived in luxurious villas, attended to by
slaves. Slavery was common among the Romans, and often slaves were people
who were captured in battle.
Favorite forms of entertainment included gladiatorial combats, wild-animal
contests, and chariot races. Many gladiators were professionally trained slaves
who fought each other, often to the death. However, if a gladiator made a
Cross-curricular
Teaching Idea
Teach the story of “Androcles and the
Lion” in conjunction with your discussion of Roman gladiator fights and
the Colosseum. 36
History and Geography: World
133
CK_3_TH_HG_P091_145.QXD
4/11/05
10:56 AM
Page 134
II. Ancient Rome
particularly skillful showing, the crowd might cheer for his release. In Rome, the
Colosseum, a huge arena that seated 45,000, was the site of such events. Chariot
races were held in round or oval structures called circuses. Spectators sat in tiers
around the sides and cheered on their teams. The Circus Maximus in Rome was
the largest circus in the empire. The phrase “bread and circuses” refers to the
practice of providing grain and games to the poor of the cities to keep them fed
and occupied so that they would not revolt. Such welfare, warned critics of the
emperors and the upper classes, only masked the growing problems caused by the
uneven distribution of wealth.
The massive Colosseum and Circus Maximus are typical of the Romans’ skill
at engineering. The Romans used domes to cap their buildings and arches to support walls and ceilings. Arches supported Roman bridges and aqueducts, the
stone structures that carried water from the country into and through the cities.
The Romans also used stone to pave their roads, which they laid throughout the
empire. Many modern European roads are based on the old Roman roadbeds, and
some aqueducts are still standing.
Mt. Vesuvius and the Destruction of Pompeii
Teaching Idea
Get an illustrated book about Pompeii
and share pictures with students as a
way of teaching them about Roman life.
To extend this discussion, talk briefly
about other famous volcanoes around
the world.
Mount Vesuvius, in southern Italy, is the only active volcano on continental
Europe. Its most famous eruption occurred in 79 CE, when it buried the Roman
resort city of Pompeii and neighboring Herculaneum.
The volcano shot gas, liquid rock, and ash into the air. Thick clouds of ash
descended on the city and many residents suffocated. Their bodies, along with
their belongings and even their houses, were buried in the ash. The eruption had
precipitated a rainstorm. When the rains came, the ash hardened, preserving
everything as it was when the volcano erupted. As a result, Pompeii is a treasure
trove of information about Roman life for archaeologists. 41 42
The Persecution of the Christians
The birth of Jesus took place during the rule of Augustus. Jesus was tried and
executed (by crucifixion) in Palestine, which was a Roman province under the
supervision of Roman official Pontius Pilate. But these events, which were to have
such a profound effect on later history, remained completely unnoticed in most
parts of the Roman Empire. It was only later, during the 1st century CE, that the
followers of Jesus began to move out from Palestine and through the Roman
Empire, preaching about Jesus and making converts. The apostle Paul travelled
throughout the Roman Empire preaching the necessity of faith in Jesus as savior.
For the most part, the Roman Empire was tolerant of the religious practices
of its far-flung subjects. Many emperors followed the policy of the Emperor Trajan
(98–117 CE), who ordered that the Christians be left alone as long as they did not
disturb the general peace.
However, when times were bad, it was easy to blame the Christians because
they were different. They worshipped a god other than the Roman deities and,
because they believed there was only one God, they refused to make sacrifices in
honor of the pagan gods whom most Romans worshipped. Also, they did not worship the emperor. Christians’ refusal to participate in religious ceremonies that
134
Grade 3 Handbook