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Ancient Rome
Terms to Define
• Patrician: wealthy aristocrat class that had come into
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•
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being in Rome—Latin nobles.
Republic: a community in which the people elected the
leaders.
Plebian: Most of Rome’s inhabitants, some wealthy,
some not, non-aristocratic townspeople and landowners
as well as merchants, shopkeepers, small farmers, and
laborers.
Consul: Two patrician officials elected for one year
terms. They had to consult each other before acting.
Terms (con’t)
• Dictator: a leader whose word was law—
occurred mostly during times of crisis
• Tribunes: representatives chosen by
Plebians, granting them legal protections
and the right to veto government
decisions
• Greeks settled as
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•
•
colonies 900 B.C.
Set up farming
communities
Planted olive trees
and other crops
Introduced Greek
alphabet
The Italian Peninsula
• The Greeks were
interested in
colonizing Italy for
several reasons
-Central location in
the Mediterranean
-Rich soil
Early Inhabitants
• Generally traded
among themselves
-Mountains
-Rocky coastline
-Covered 75% of the
country
The Etruscans
• Ruled northern Italy
•
•
from 900 B.C. to 500
B.C.
Did not speak IndoEuropean languages
Their alphabet came
from the Greeks—but
only a few Etruscan
words have been
deciphered
The Etruscans (con’t)
• Wealthy overlords
• Aristocratic priests
• Slave labor
• Slaves forced to dual to the death to
appease angry gods
• Lower classes finally freed themselves—
chief among them were the Latins who
settled in Rome
The Rise of Rome--Legend
• Legend
-753 B.C. Romulus
was building a wall
for his city on the side
of a hill overlooking
the Tiber River
-Twin brother Remus
building on the other
side of the hill
The Rise of Rome
• According to Roman
•
historian Livy, Remus
leaped over the wall
built by Romulus and
mocked him.
Romulus killed Remus
warning, “so perish
whoever else shall
overleap my
battlements”
Romulus--myth
• Continued to build Rome—named after
him
– Romulus—myth—great military commander
– Rome continues to expand
• Rome became the greatest city in that
part of the peninsula
Rome Origins
• Latins
-Huddled in huts on
seven hills
-At some point, 800
B.C.-700 B.C., they
joined to become one
community--Rome
Etruscan Rule
• About 620 B.C., the
Etruscan gained control
of Rome
• The Tarquins, name of
Etruscan family
-Taught the Latins to use
brick to build
-Drained the lowlands
and laid out streets
Etruscan Rule
• Created the Forum in
the middle of the
city—which became
the government
building
-Served as kings for
Rome
The Tarquins
• Wealthy Etruscan
•
•
•
family
Provided kings for
rule
Taught Romans to
built with brick and
tile their roofs
Drained marsh lands
and designed streets
Social Groups
• Latin nobles called
“patricians”
– Patricians declared
Rome a republic
– Wealthy aristocrats
Social Groups
• Most of Rome’s
inhabitants were
plebians,
-Both patricians and
plebians could vote
-Both responsible for
serving in military
Social Groups
Patricians
• Vote
• Pay taxes
• Serve in the military
• Could hold public office
Plebians
• Vote
• Pay taxes
• Serve in the military
Plebians Against Patricians
• Plebeians resented power of Patricians
• Knew they could not rule without them.
• Plebeians made up most of military forces
• Patricians concerned about the military
Plebeians Against Patricians
• Plebeians went on
•
strike
Left city create their
own republic
Tribunes
• Patricians meet some demands
– Recognized the Plebeians chosen
representatives,“Tribunes”
– Granted them legal protections and the right
to veto government decisions
– Tribunes were members of the Magistrate of
Plebeians and had some power
Tribunes
• Patricians recognized
•
the Assembly of
Tribes, the body of
plebeians that elected
tribunes
Tribunes could veto
any government
decision
Tribunes
• Could not be arrested
• Injuring a Tribune
was cause to be put
to death
Old and New Laws
• Plebeians insisted
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•
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laws put in writing
The Twelve Tablets:
basis of Roman law
Plebeians gain right to
serve in public office
Right to make laws in
Assembly of Tribes
Changes for Plebeians
• Debt enslavement ended
• Patrician/Plebeian marriage approved
• Plebeians moved Rome closer to
democracy
• The most significant victory—the Twelve
Tables—a written law code
The Twelve Tables
• Roman law had
rested on unwritten
traditions
– patrician judges
interpreted unfairly
– Plebeians insisted laws
be written down
The Twelve Tables
• 451 B.C. patricians
engraved the laws on
12 bronze tablets set
in the Forum
-standards for laws
-principle that citizens
protected by law
Religion
• Roman influenced by Greek culture
• 500 years as a republic
• Borrowed Greek deities giving them
Roman names
-Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love,
became the Roman goddess, Venus
-Ares, Greek god of war, became Mars
- Etc.
Religion (con’t)
• Families privately
•
worshipped their
ancestral spirits and
their storeroom
guardians
Worshipped Vesta,
goddess of the hearth
Family
• The basic unit of roman society
• Large and close knit
• Unmarried children, married sons and
their family, all independent relatives, and
household slaves
• The father was the absolute head
Father as Absolute Family Head
• Conducted religious ceremonies
• Controlled property
• Supervised education of his sons
• Could sell his family members into slavery
• Could kill family members
• However, fathers felt deep sense of
responsibility for family
Roman Women
• Few rights, but more than Greek women
• Hosted parties, did marketing, ran
households
• Occasionally, acquired property and
businesses
• Could study art, Greek literature, etc
• Wealthy could let slaves do work
Roman Children
• Firm discipline
• Complete family
loyalty
Parental Training
• Parents taught
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children reading,
writing, and moral
standards
Fathers trained boys:
farmers and soldiers
Mothers taught
daughters to run
households
Values
• Thrift
• Discipline
• Self-sacrifice
• Devotion to family
• Devotion to the republic