Download Roman Education Rome as a Kingdom: In early Roman days, kids

Roman Education
Rome as a Kingdom: In early Roman days, kids did not go to school. A Roman boy's education took place at
home. If his father could read and write, he taught his son to do the same. The father instructed his sons in Roman
law, history, customs, and physical training, to prepare for war. Reverence for the gods, respect for law, obedience
to authority, and truthfulness were the most important lessons to be taught. Girls were taught by their mother. Girls
learned to spin, weave, and sew. The rich had tutors for the children, but mostly, the kids were taught at home. In
early Roman days, kids did not go to school. A Roman boy's education took place at home. If his father could read
and write, he taught his son to do the same. The father instructed his sons in Roman law, history, customs, and
physical training, to prepare for war. Reverence for the gods, respect for law, obedience to authority, and
truthfulness were the most important lessons to be taught. Girls were taught by their mother. Girls learned to spin,
weave, and sew. The rich had tutors for the children, but mostly, the kids were taught at home.
Rome as a Republic: About 200 BCE, the Romans borrowed some of the ancient Greek system of education.
Although they did not add many subjects, they did begin sending their boys, and some of their girls, with their
father's permission, to school, outside their home, at age 6 or 7.
The goal of education in ancient Rome was to be an effective speaker. The school day began before sunrise, as
did all work in Rome. Kids brought candles to use until daybreak. There was a rest for lunch and the afternoon
siesta, and then back to school until late afternoon. No one knows how long the school year actually was; it
probably varied from school to school. However, one thing was fixed. School began each year on the 24th of
March!
The children studied reading, writing, and counting. They read scrolls and books. They wrote on boards covered
with wax, and used pebbles to do math problems. They were taught Roman numerals, and recited lessons they had
memorized. At age 12 or 13, the boys of the upper classes attended "grammar" school, where they studied Latin,
Greek, grammar, and literature. At age 16, some boys went on to study public speaking at the rhetoric school, to
prepare for a life as an orator.
Did the kids of the poor go to school? At the poorer levels, no. School was not free. Nor should anyone imagine
large classes in special buildings. Children, educated outside of the home, were sent to the house of a tutor, who
would group-tutor. Children, educated in the home, were taught by intelligent and gifted slaves. Children, in poorer
homes, did not have slaves to teach them; they were taught by their parents, as they were in early Roman days.
Rome as an Empire: During the empire, the Senate lost most of its power. The emperor was all-powerful. Still,
education continued as it did during the Republic. Kids studied reading, writing, counting, literature, and how to be
an effective speaker.
Pantheon
In the time of the Roman Emperor Augustus, about 10 BC, one of his generals, a man named Agrippa, built a
temple in the middle of downtown Rome "to all the gods". A temple to all the gods was called a Pantheon,
which means all gods (pan= all, theon=of the gods, in Greek).
Now this temple was probably very fine, but we don't really know, because in 80 AD, in the reign of Titus, it
burned down in a fire. Domitian built a new temple there, and THAT one burned down too. Around 120 AD
Hadrian built a THIRD temple there in a more modern style (modern for 120 AD anyway!). This is the
temple we have today. But to honor Agrippa, Hadrian left a message over the door saying that Agrippa had
built the temple, as you can see in the picture.
You might think, well, that doesn't really look like much of a place. And from the outside it really doesn't
seem very impressive. The Pantheon is built like a Greek temple on the front, with eight columns across the
front like the Parthenon, and a pediment on top of that.
But on the INSIDE the Pantheon is one big giant dome, the largest dome ever built in the world up to that
time - 43 meters in diameter (142 feet), and 43 meters from the floor to the top of the dome.
To hold up this dome, the walls had to be made of
brick and concrete six meters thick - about twenty feet!
The coffering in the dome lightens it a little, but it's
still very heavy. No dome anything like this size was
built anywhere in the world until the Duomo of
Florence in the 1400's, more than a thousand years
later. Even then, the Duomo dome is about the same
size, and no other one of that size has ever been built,
until the 1800's with reinforced concrete.
Wait to the end to see the oculus
The hole in the top of the dome - the oculus- is open to the sky.
Some people say the dome is so high that rain evaporates before
it hits the floor, but that's not true - on rainy days, the marble floor
just gets wet.
Augustus, the first Roman emperor, ruled for 45 years.
It was during the reign of Augustus that people got used
to being ruled by one leader. Rome went on to
greatness under the Empire, but the Roman Republic
was no more. For 45 years, Rome was at peace. This
period is the beginning of the Pax Romana, or Roman
Peace.
The phrase "Roman Peace" is a bit misleading. The
Romans continued to expand their empire during this
period. They did not always do so peacefully. Things
were not always peaceful in the city of Rome. Rome
did not always have the best leadership. Some emperors
were very cruel. Some were insane. But the empire
continued to be stable. For around 200 years, the
Roman Empire was united.
The Romans were great builders. Many of their
incredible buildings and engineering projects were
constructed during this period of relative peace. Culture
and literature flourished. Much of Greek culture was
adopted during this period.
Pax Romana
How the Planets Got Their Names
All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Roman gods and
goddesses.
Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus and Mercury were given their names thousands of
years ago. Those were the planets that the ancient Romans could see in the sky
without a telescope.
The other planets in our solar system were not discovered until much later,
when telescopes were invented. Even then, the tradition of naming the planets
after Roman gods and goddesses continued.
Most of the moons and some asteroids are also named after the critters and
creatures and gods and goddesses found in Roman mythology. Some of the
constellations in our solar system are named after Roman gods as well.
Plebeians and Patricians
There were two main classes of people in ancient Rome the Patricians and the Plebeians.
Patricians: The patricians were the upper class, the nobility and wealthy land owners.
Plebeians: The plebeians were the lower class. Nicknamed "plebs", the plebeians
included everyone in ancient Rome (except for the nobility, the patricians) from well-todo tradesmen all the way down to the very poor.
Things that were the same in both classes
Pater Familias: The family was structured in the same way in both classes. The head of
the family was the oldest male. That could be the father, the grandfather, or perhaps even
an uncle. Everybody in one family lived under one roof. Women had no authority except
in the home. Old age was honored.
Atrium: Life in the home of wealthy tradesmen and patricians centered around the
atrium, the central courtyard.
Slaves: If they could afford it, both classes had slaves to do the work.
Citizenship: The citizens of Rome were adult freemen from both classes - plebs and
patricians. Women, children, and slaves were not citizens. People from all classes
considered themselves Romans.
Religion: Both classes worshiped the same gods and attended religious festivals.
Language: Both classes spoke the same language, Latin.
Forum: Both classes enjoyed the activities in the Forum, including the many free
activities such as jugglers.
Things that were different
Social Life: A wealthy plebeian family and a wealthy patrician family did not meet
socially. Under the kings, it was illegal for a pleb and a patrician to marry. In 445 BCE,
about 60 years after the Roman Republic was formed, a new law was written that said it
was no longer illegal for plebs and patricians to marry.
Apartment Houses: Many plebeians lived in apartment houses called flats. Some the
apartments were above or behind their shops. Even fairly well to do tradesmen might
chose to live in an apartment-building compound over their store, with perhaps renters on
the upper stories. Their own apartments might be quite roomy, sanitary and pleasant,
occasionally with running water. But others were not that nice.
The Poor, Unsanitary Living Conditions: In the poorer apartment houses, an entire
plebeian family (grandparents, parents, children) might all be crowded into one room,
without running water. They had to haul their water in from public facilities. Fire was a
very real threat because people were cooking meals in crowded quarters, and many of the
flats were made of wood. They did not have toilets. They had to use public latrines
(toilets). The lower class Romans (plebeians) might have a breakfast of bread, dry or
dipped in wine, and water. Sometimes olives, cheese, or raisins were sprinkled on the
bread.
Rich and Poor Life Style: The rich had beautiful mosaics on the floors of their home.
They wore lots of jewelry made of gold and gemstones. They had beautiful clothing.
They enjoyed a great deal of leisure time. The poor wore shabby clothing. Their jewelry
was made of painted clay. They worked all the time.
Pompeii
Around 1:00 pm on August 24, 79 A.D., a tall cloud of steam and ash rose above Mt.
Vesuvius and debris began to fall. In the area around Pompeii the thickness of falling
debris increased by 6 to 8 inches per hour. The rocks which comprised the debris were up
to 3 inches in diameter, and fell with a speed of up to 100 miles/hour. They may have
caused injuries and isolated deaths, and should have, after a few hours, caused the
collapse of roofs.
The city was soon covered in complete darkness, a phenomenon which is familiar to other
populations involved in eruptions such as those at Mount St. Helens, and Mt. Pinatubo. The
residents probably did not even know what kind of event was striking them, and waited in
their homes, hoping that the shower of rock would sooner or later come to an end.
After 12 hours of continuous explosive activity, a change in the eruptive dynamics occurred.
The mouth of the volcano widened such that local gas pressure could no longer push up the
tall ash column. The mixture of gas and ash no longer rose up into the sky, but immediately
fell back onto the slopes of the volcano, forming glowing avalanches of hot flowing material
(perhaps 800 degrees) which rushed rapidly down slope, destroying everything in their paths.
This change in the eruption proved fatal to the thousands of people around the volcano. The
Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed in a matter of minutes.
Pompeii and Herculaneum were rediscovered in the 18th century with many treasures intact.
The reconstruction of these cities gives a vivid idea of what Mt. Vesuvius is able to do.
Rise of Christianity
During the first century CE, a new religion took hold in Rome. It was called
Christianity. The followers of Christianity were called Christians. Christians
believed in one god. They refused to worship the Roman gods. In ancient
Rome, that was against the law. Christians were hunted as criminals.
In spite of persecution, Christians grew in numbers rapidly. Christians actively
looked for converts. They told others about the benefits of being Christian.
Christians came from every walk of life in ancient Rome, but Christianity had
great appeal to Rome's poor.
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Life After Death: Christianity promised life after death in heaven. In the
Roman religion, only gods went to heaven. Emperors were considered
gods. Everyone else went to the underworld.
Equality: Christianity promised equal opportunity. You had to be born
into the nobility. You could join Christianity and be equally a Christian.
After nearly 300 years of persecution, in 313 CE, Emperor Constantine ruled
that Christianity was legal and that Christians would no longer be persecuted
for their beliefs. This does not mean that Rome finally had religious freedom. It
meant only that it now legal to worship Roman gods or to be Christian. Every
other religion was still illegal. The lack of religious freedom in ancient Rome
contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.
Roman Aqueducts
As cities grew, the ancient Romans needed more fresh water. To solve this
problem, they built aqueducts. These were massive construction projects.
An aqueduct, properly speaking, is the entire conduit - from fresh water spring to
town. (CONDUIT—A natural or artificial channel through which fluids may be
conveyed).
Where aqueducts had to cross valleys, some were built above ground, on arches.
Most of the time, they were underground conduits, and sometimes conduits lying
right on the ground. These conduits could be made of clay or wood, covered or
encrusted with stone. The pipes inside the conduits, that carried the water, were
made of lead, which in turn required vast mining enterprises and then
transportation to get all this pipe out into the field all over the empire, although
most of the lead was mined in Spain.
What is extraordinary about the aqueducts is the planning that must have gone into
their construction. Since the ancient Romans didn't use pumps, aqueducts had to be
positioned at a relatively constant gradient for dozens of miles. You try building
something that drops by only 100 feet in 40 miles....and you'll begin to understand
why scholars refer to the ancient Romans as such great builders!
Roman Families
IN EARLY TIMES, under the Kingdom (Etruscan Rule) and the Republic: (600 BCE to
about 1c CE)
Before the Imperial Age (Age of Emperors), in very early Roman times, a typical Roman family included
unmarried children, married sons and their families, other relatives, and family slaves.
The ruler of the family was the oldest male. That could be the father, the grandfather, or perhaps even an
uncle. His title was pater familias. The pater familias led religious ceremonies, taught his sons how to farm,
and made all the important decisions. This word was law as far as his family was concerned. He owned the
property, and had total authority, the power of life and death, over every member of his household.
Even when his children became adults, he was still the boss. But, he was also responsible for the actions of
any member of his household. He could order a child or an adult out of his house. If anyone in his
household committed a crime, he could be punished for something his family did. It was not against the law
for the head of the house to put a sick baby out to die or to sell members of his family into slavery.
However, the Romans expected a pater familias to treat his family fairly. There were no laws to stop him
from treating them unfairly, but there was social pressure.
A women had no legal protection. She was not a citizen of Rome. Her job was to take care of the house
and to have children. Mothers who could read and write taught their children how to read and write. She
taught her girls how to cook and sew and care for a family. But women could leave the home to shop or see
a play or visit a temple. Women who could afford it used slaves to shop and cook. Wealthy women could
leave the house, but spent a large part of their day on personal grooming - styling their hair, and dressing
ornately.
Children were trained to obey their elders and be loyal citizens. You couldn’t talk back. If you talked back,
you could find yourself out the door. You could try to go to a friend’s house, but the odds were good that
they would not take you in.
Some families kept slaves. Slaves were treated well, in most cases, because they were property. They had
food to eat, jobs to do, and clothes to wear. But they were not free to look for a better family. They were
slaves. They were owned.
DURING THE IMPERIAL AGE, the age of Emperors: (late 1c CE to about 500 CE):
Although families still lived in one home, during the Imperial Age, women could own land, run
businesses, free slaves, make wills, be heirs themselves, and get a job in some professions. The ancient
Romans tried to help their family grow through marriage, divorce, adoption, and re-marriage. After a
divorce, ex-in-laws were still important, as were their children. Adopted children had the same rights as any
of the other children, rights based on their sex and age. In addition to wives and children, wealthy ancient
Roman homes supported slaves.
Old Age: The ancient Romans greatly respected and cared for their elderly. When the older members
of a family became too tired for other activities, they could always play with their grandchildren and great
grandchildren, all of whom had all been born under their roof, and would one day be honoring them at the
Parentalia, the festival of the dead.
Slaves: Wealthy ancient Romans had slaves. In some homes, slaves were treated like valued servants. In others,
they were severely abused. Slaves kept the furnaces burning in the bath houses, cooked meals in smoking chimneys
in the kitchens, cleaned, sewed, and did the household and garden labor for wealthy Romans. Intelligent and gifted
slaves also tutored the kids (those kids who studied their subjects at home), kept the accounts, and sometimes ran
vast farm estates or commercial departments of their masters' firms.
Roman Roads
There is an old expression, "All roads lead to Rome." In
ancient Rome, Rome was the heart of the empire. Each
time a new city was conquered, a road was built from
that city back to Rome.
Roads were built in straight lines. Many had gutters.
Along the side of road, the Romans built road signs
called milestones. Milestones did not give any
information about other towns in the area. Milestones
told how far it was back to Rome.
Roman Theatre/Pantomime
The Romans loved live theatre. Plays were only performed during religious
ceremonies and religious festivals. However, since the ancient Romans
celebrated over 200 holidays a year, there were many opportunities for plays
to be staged. Someone had to pay for the play, as actors received a small fee.
Usually a wealthy noble would pay the bill, in honor of the gods, and give
the play to the people as a gift.
There was a Forum in the center of each town of size. The Forum was an
open area, and used as the marketplace. Typically, there were buildings
around the Forum including a major temple. When it came time to stage a
play, a wooden platform was built in the Forum.
The actors were men. Each actor played several roles. They wore simple
costumes that could be changed quickly and in public. The actors held up
happy face masks and sad faced masks, to help the audience understand
what was going on in the play. Over time, masks became very elaborate.
During the play, the Roman people would talk to each other. Because it was
noisy, sometimes people would raise their voices so they could be heard.
That made it even more noisy. So that everyone could follow along with the
story told by the actors, no matter how noisy the crowd became, the actors
would sometimes use a technique called pantomime. Pantomime is a play
without words. The actors used dance, music, hand gestures, facial
expressions, elaborate sets, and costumes to present the play.
Actors were not highly respected in ancient Rome. It could be a dangerous
occupation. When the Romans saw a play they did not like, they shouted at the
actors and told them to get off the stage. If they did not get off the stage, the
audience might begin to throw things at them.
Spartacus - Gladiator & Slave
Spartacus was born a freeman. He joined the army, but he ran away. When he was caught, he was sold
into slavery to work as a gladiator. Some gladiators were freemen. But most, like Spartacus, were slaves,
who had been sold to a gladiator school. When these men were not fighting, they were locked up in the
gladiator school, to make sure they did not escape.
One day, in 73 BCE, Spartacus did just that - he escaped. Around 70 other gladiators escaped with him.
They armed themselves with knives from the cook's shop. They found a wagon full of gladiator weapons.
They stole those, too. They camped on Mount Vesuvius. Rome sent an army of 3000 soldiers to capture
the runaway slaves. Spartacus attacked from the rear. The Roman army was defeated. Rome tried again.
This time they sent 6000 men. Spartacus won that battle as well.
When other slaves first heard that Spartacus had escaped, some ran away and joined Spartacus. But when
Spartacus and his men defeated the Roman army, many slaves ran away to join him. The people knew
Spartacus. He was a gladiator. He was famous. Rome's slaves felt if they could reach Spartacus,
Spartacus would keep them safe. In a very short amount of time, Spartacus and his followers had swelled
from 70 to over 100,000 people.
Rome was terrified. The wealthy Roman way of life was dependant upon slaves. That is one reason so
many poor Roman citizens were out of work. Slave labor was free. About 1/3 of the people in the Roman
Empire were slaves. Wealthy citizens could not allow this revolt to succeed, not if they wanted to keep
their lifestyle.
Catching Spartacus was not easy. Spartacus and his followers spent their first winter with plenty of good
food that they stole from the surrounding countryside. They prepared for battle. They made weapons.
They drilled. The gladiators taught others how to fight like a gladiator.
Spartacus and his followers were hunted for two years. They defeated every effort to capture them. When
Rome finally caught up with him, they killed Spartacus and everyone with him.
After the people of Rome had chased away the last of
the Etruscan kings, the people declared Rome to be a
republic. What is a republic? A republic is a
government run by elected officials. The new
government of the Roman Republic ordered the letters
SPQR to be chiseled on public buildings, armor,
coins, and even park benches. The letters SPQR were
chiseled on anything that belonged to the state. Under
the Republic, the state was composed of the Senate and
the People of Rome. That's what SPQR stood for ‘Senatus Populus Que Romanus’ - the Senate and the
People of Rome. It was a publicity campaign, and it
worked! Every time the people saw the letters SPQR,
they were reassured that things had changed. The kings
were gone. It was a time of new leadership and new
government. It was the time of the Roman Republic.
Status of Women in Ancient Rome
Women were not citizens of Rome. Only adult free men were citizens. The ancient Roman men believed
that a women had to be under a guardianship. That guardianship could be a father or a husband. But they
believed a women was unable to direct her own activities. As Cicero once said of early Roman men,
'Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered that all women, because of their innate weakness, should be
under the control of guardians.'
During the 200 years when Rome was a kingdom (under the Etruscans), a wife was the center of the
household. It was her job to take care of her home and family. She taught her daughters how to cook and
sew. But women had no rights. A woman could not even make a suggestion to her husband. Her
guardian, her husband or father, had complete control over her activities. In most families, women could
shop, visit a temple, or chat in public. But she could not participate in government. Few women wanted
additional rights.
During the 500 years that Rome was a Republic, women gained no legal freedoms, but women were
allowed, in private, to make suggestions about business to their husbands. That was a huge change.
Towards the end of the Republic period, and throughout much of Empire period, a new form of marriage
became popular. This marriage allowed a wife to be placed under the control of her family instead of her
husband. Typically, her family was more lenient and also further away. While under family control,
wealthy women could hire someone to manage their money and land. The manager did what she told
him to do. That gave wealthy women a tremendous amount of freedom.
During the 500 years that Rome was an Empire, women gained considerable freedom. Under the
Empire, it became legal for women to own land, run businesses, free slaves, make wills, inherit wealth,
and get a paid job. Women were still considered to be under the guardianship of her father or husband.
Drinking wine was part of daily life. In very early days, women were not allowed to drink wine. Their
husband might kiss them on the mouth to see if they had been drinking. It sounds sweet, but if a husband
believed his wife had been drinking, she could be severely beaten. During the Empire, women could
drink wine! Life was very different during the Empire than it was in the days of early Rome.
The Circus Maximus
The ancient Romans loved chariot racing. In early
Roman times, young nobles used to race their chariots
around the 7 hills of Rome. People had to scatter to get
out of the way. They stopped for no one.
In the 6c BCE (about 2,500 years ago!), the ancient
Romans built the Circus Maximus in the city of Rome.
Basically, the Maximus was a race track. It was
designed to race chariots. Women could attend the
races. They could sit with men. That was very unusual.
The original Circus Maximus was built out of wood. It
burnt down a couple of times. During the Roman
Empire, the Circus Maximus was rebuilt using marble
and concrete (an ancient Roman invention!).
The Circus Maximus was not the only circus in the
Roman Empire. The Romans built circuses, outdoor
racetracks, all over the Empire. The Circus Maximus
was the most well known race track. It could seat over
250,000 people! Admission was free. Anyone could
attend the races, including Rome's poor. There were
races every day. It was the height of success to race in
the Circus Maximus.
The Colosseum
The Colosseum was a huge public entertainment center. The Colosseum
could seat 45,000 spectators. Some people were not lucky enough to have a
seat in the Colosseum. If you didn't mind standing, the Colosseum could hold
up to 70,000 spectators! This is where the ancient Romans gathered to watch
bloody combat between gladiators, and battles between men and wild animals.
This is where they threw people to the lions! To see men being killed was very
entertaining to the ancient Romans. On occasion, they flooded the Colosseum
with water, to hold naval battles. During the battles, many competitors died.
The ancient Romans were great builders. They built things to last. The
Colosseum was built of concrete, faced with stone, as were most amphitheaters.
It was built in the early days of the Roman Empire, around 70 CE. It was
designed to host huge spectacles. Anyone could attend the events in the
Colosseum. Admission was free.
The Forum
Once they got dressed, adults might
wander
down to the Forum to do their shopping
and banking.
The Forum was the main marketplace and business
center, where the ancient Romans went to do their
banking, trading, shopping, and marketing. It was also a
place for public speaking. The ancient Romans were
great orators. They loved to talk (although not nearly as
much as the ancient Greeks!) The job of their orators
was not to argue, but to argue persuasively! People
thronging the Forum would stop and listen, then
wander away to do their shopping, and perhaps leave a
gift at a temple for one of their gods. The Forum was
also used for festivals and religious ceremonies. It was
a very busy place.
The Roman Baths
Next stop, the Baths!
The ancient Romans might hit the baths first, and then wander down to the
Forum, although many did prefer to get their shopping done early. In all but the
largest baths, there were separate hours for men and women. The women's time
slot was apparently much shorter, so that women probably had to be more
careful scheduling. Large baths had duplicate facilities.
The Public Baths were extremely popular. Roman women and men tried to
visit the baths at least once every day. The baths had hot and cold pools, towels,
slaves to wait on you, steam rooms, saunas, exercise rooms, and hair cutting
salons. They had reading rooms and libraries, as among the freeborn, who had
the right to frequent baths, the majority could read. They even had stores,
selling all kinds of things, and people who sold fast food. The baths were
arranged rather like a very large mall, with bathing pools.
The baths were packed. The people loved them. At one time, there were as
many as 900 public baths in ancient Rome. Small ones held about 300 people,
and the big ones held 1500 people or more! Some Roman hospitals even had
their own bathhouses. A trip to the bath was a very important part of
ancient Roman daily life.
Could kids use the baths? No. Was there an admission charge to the baths? Yes.
Could slaves use the baths? Properly, no. But the people who could, as a matter
of course, brought their slave attendants with them.
The Roman Legion
It's interesting to note that most Roman armor probably did not shine. They used a lot of chain mail (a
sort of cloth made of circular links), which doesn't shine. They also made scale armor (metal plates about
3 inches long and about an inch wide, sewn together on a linen/leather backing.) Some armor was made
of leather, with metal on the inside, probably against a backing of linen, to make three layers. The ancient
Romans loved the ornate and glittery, bit their armor most probably did not shine.
Still, the army was quite a sight! The army was organized into legions. Each legion has 5000 men. Each
legion has its own leader, its own banner, and its own number. Each also had its own nickname. They
moved camp every night. Men would wander the new campsite, visiting and drilling. The men could
always find their way back to their own legion. They simply looked for their legion banner. Once they
found that, they looked for their fighting group banner. Each legion was broken into several fighting
groups. Camp was very colorful.
A legionary's uniform included a rectangular shield, a short sword, a dagger, a metal jacket, a belt, a
helmet, a kilt, a shirt, and hobnailed sandals. The legion wore special hob-nailed sandals. Unless they
wanted to sneak in quietly, a legion on the move was quite a sight.
Their hobnailed sandals were designed to make a loud noise as they marched. They were also
accompanied by trumpets and other noise makers. Add the many colorful banners waving above their
heads, and you can probably understand why an approaching legion was an impressive sight and sound.
Each legionary served for 25 years. If they lived through their service, they could retire. They were given
land and a pension so that they live comfortably.
The legion was very organized, and very successful. When the legion marched into a new region, some
people gave up with a fight. The legion's fighting power was that famous!
The ancient Romans had gods for nearly everything. There were temples all over the Roman
Empire. There was a temple in the Forum. Every home had a household god. Most ancient
Romans had some sort of shine in their home, which might be a small display or a grand,
separate room, to honor the household god. The ancient Romans brought offerings of meat and
other items to many temples. Honoring their gods was part of ancient Romans everyday life.
Not all of the gods that the ancient Romans worshiped were originally Roman gods. The Romans
did a lot of traveling about as they developed their empire. Each time the Romans heard a myth
about a god or goddess or spirit or deity from the people they met (and conquered), if they liked
it, they adopted it and made it their own. When they heard about the Greek gods - they adopted
them all! The Roman changed many of the Greek god names to Roman names. Zeus became
Jupiter. Hera was renamed Juno. But the Romans left their personalities intact, along with their
position. Zeus/Jupiter became king of the Roman gods.
All the deities listed below are Greek and Roman gods except for Romulus and Remus. Those
particular twins do not exist in Greek mythology. They are a Roman invention.
Who's Who - Roman Deities
The world began with …
GAEA - Mother Earth (retired)
URANUS - Father Sky (retired)
SATURN - their son (retired)
The Next Generation
Saturn's Boys
Neptune/Poseidon
God of the Sea
Jupiter/Zeus
God of the Sky
Ruler of the Gods
(elected position)
Sign: The Eagle
Pluto/Hades
God of the Underworld
Saturn's Girls
NO PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Ceres/Demeter
Goddess
Agriculture
NO PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Juno/Hera
Queen of Gods
(Position gained by marriage)
Goddess of Women
Vesta/Hestia
Goddess
Home and Hearth (fire)
Next Generation - Jupiter's Kids
(Jupiter, King of the Gods)
APOLLO & DIANA (twins)
Apollo - god of light and music, in charge of bringing out the sun
Diana - goddess of the hunt, in charge of bringing out the moon
HERCULES - known for his incredible strength.
MERCURY - god of speedy travel, god of omens,
and Messenger of the gods (assigned position)
VENUS - goddess of love
MINERVA - goddess of wisdom (no mother, born directly from Jupiter's brain)
VULCAN - god of the forge, strong weapons (Jupiter and Juno's son)
MARS - god of war (Jupiter and Juno's son)
Next Generation
Twin sons of the war god Mars
Romulus & Remus (Founders of Rome)