Download File - Mr. Williams

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
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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
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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.
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Gladiators https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTX3vm_rhvs
COUNTRY LIFE
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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
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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.
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Pompeii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeB5N_bH7E8
SCIENCE & MEDICINE
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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
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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.
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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.
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Virgil – the Aeneid about the founding of Rome
Ovid – poems about Roman mythology
• Language – 2 official languages
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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