Download Roman Culture

Roman Culture
Chapter 9
Section 1
Roman Art
The Romans borrowed many ideas from
the Greeks.
 They used statues to adorn their
buildings.
 Many architectural styles for Roman
buildings were borrowed from the Greeks.

Roman Statues
Roman statues
were realistic and
included wrinkles,
warts, and
expressions.
 Greek statues were
not as realistic...they
were beautiful and
young, they portrayed
perfection!

Roman Architecture

The Romans used
Greek style porches
and columns, but
they added more
elaborate details,
arches, and domes.
The Roman Arch
Arches were used to support bridges,
aqueducts, and buildings.
 Rows of arches were often built against
one another to form a vault, or curved
ceiling.
 The Romans used this technique to build
domes from many rings of shaped stone.

Roman Arch
The Arch of
Constantine
Roman aqueduct with
arches
The Pantheon
The
Pantheon
was built to
honor the
Roman gods.
 The
Pantheon’s
domed roof
was the
largest of its
time.

Roman Architecture

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The Romans were the
first to invent and use
concrete.
Concrete is a mixture of
volcanic ash, lime, and
water.
When it dried the mixture
was as hard as a rock.
One of the most famous
buildings is the
Colosseum.
Roman Literature
Roman writers based much of their writing on
Greek work.
 The Roman writer, Virgil, wrote the
Aeneid. An epic poem that describes the
adventures of the Trojan prince Aeneas and how
he came to Italy.
 Horace wrote satires and odes. An ode is a
poem that expresses strong emotions
about life.
 A satire pokes fun at human weakness.

Roman Engineering
Roman engineers built an astonishing
system of roads and bridges to connect
the empire.
 The roads were well built and went from
Rome to every part of the empire.

Roman Aqueducts and Baths
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Roman engineers built aqueducts to bring water
into the city from the hills.
Aqueducts were long troughs supported by rows
of arches.
They fed Rome’s homes, bathhouses, fountains,
and public bathrooms.
The baths were used not only for washing, but
as place to exchange news and gossip.
Roman cities also had sewers to remove waste.
Roman Aqueduct
Roman Baths
Daily Life in Rome
Rome was one of the largest cities in the ancient world.
 The Forum was in the center of Rome and served
as a marketplace and public square.
 Wealthy Romans lived in large, fine homes. Poorer
people lived in apartment buildings of stone and wood.
 The government provided free grain and sporting shows,
such as chariot races and gladiator contests. Gladiators
were men who fought animals and each other.
 Wealthy children-boys and girls-received an education
through hired tutors. Some boys went to school.
 A boy became a man between ages of 14 and 16 years.
Girls became adults when they married.
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Daily Life in Rome (continued)
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Women had few rights but were influential in the
family. Wealthy women had more freedom than poor
women.
Slaves were not uncommon in the Roman Empire.
Slaves suffered many hardships and were treated
poorly. Sometimes slaves revolted against the Romans.
Spartacus.
Romans worshiped many gods and goddesses. They
honored their gods and goddesses by praying
and offering food.
As the Roman Empire grew, the Romans conquered
people of others religions. They were allowed to
worship freely.