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History Review
Periods in Roman History:
MONARCHY
753 B.C. – 509 B.C. Seven kings: Romulus was the first king
Some of the kings after Romulus were Etruscan kings (tribes north of Rome), not Romans.
The Etruscan influence on Rome was enormous, especially in matters of religion.
Tarquinius Superbus was the last king
The SYMBOL OF THE MONARCHY was a bundle of rods tied to an axe, called the FASCES.
(We get the word “fascism” from it). The fasces continued to be the symbol of Roman authority long
after the monarchy was overthrown. The eagle (in Latin, aquila) was another symbol of power.
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Tarquinius was cruel and unjust, so the Romans threw him out of office and established the:
REPUBLIC 509 B.C. – 27 B.C.: Period of expansion, conquest of Italy and consolidating empire
The Carthaginian Wars:
(Carthage is in North Africa) There were 3 Carthaginian Wars.
Rome finally defeats the great Carthaginian general, Hannibal
Rome destroys the City of Carthage after the third war.
Hispania (Spain) becomes a Roman province. Julius Caesar conquers Gaul (France) &
invades Germany (Germania) and Britannia (England).
Julius Caesar assassinated, stabbed by Brutus and others, in 44 B.C. on the Ides of March
(March 15). Caesar was assassinated because the senators did not want to have a king or
emperor. They wanted to continue as a republic. Period of civil war follows.
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Civil war ends with the defeat of Mark Anthony by Octavian, who became the first emperor
and took the name Augustus.
EMPIRE
27 B.C. - 476 A.D. , the date that officially marks the collapse of the Roman empire.
79 A.D.: The volcano at Pompeii erupts, destroying both Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum
Government Review
Who ran Rome during the Republic?
The SENATE . “ Senatus populusque Romanus ”: SPQR , means:
“The Senate and the Roman People.” Laws were issued in the name of SPQR.
The legal rights of Roman citizens were spelled out in The Twelve Tables , a law code.
Who was in the Senate?
Prominent, wealthy citizens, mostly patricians (aristocrats)
(and they held the position for life)
However, a TRIBUNE of the people could veto any decree or law passed by the Senate.
Why? To give some power to the lower classes.
Politically ambitious Roman citizens had to hold posts in a certain order. That order was known as:
the CURSUS HONORUM .
Highest position in the cursus honorum:
CONSUL : two men, co-chief executives.
Classes of Society (from highest to lowest):
Senators
patricians (the nobility)
in Latin, optimates (“the best men”)
Equestrians well-to-do citizens
in Latin, equites (they could afford
the price of a horse, equus)
Plebians
working class
in Latin, plebs
Slaves
no rights at all
in Latin, servi
During the ceremony in which a slave (servus) became a freedman (liberus), he wore a pilleus ,
or “cap of freedom” to symbolize his new status.
(There were also freedmen, or former slaves, (a “libertus)”
Spartacus, a Roman slave who was a famous
gladiator, organized a slave revolt in 73-71 B.C.
Geography and Physical Structures Review
According to legend, Romulus, the son of Mars, founded the city of Rome in 753 B.C. It is located on
the Tiber River near the west central coast of Italy.
The ancient city of Rome was situated among seven hills. The most famous is the Capitoline Hill (site
of the Temple of Jupiter).
Wealthy Romans lived on the Palatine Hill (“palace” comes from
“Palatine”).
Italy’s major mountain range is the Appenines. Rome’s access to the sea was the port of Ostia.
The Forum was the place where everyone came to shop, talk, plead legal matters, and to participate in
public life. (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum….)
The Romans were great builders and engineers. They constructed paved roads wherever they expanded
their empire. The most famous road was the Via Appia (The Appian Way), which connected Rome to
the cities in the south of Italy. They also built bridges and a sewer system, the Cloaca Maxima .
They also built aqueducts (aqua + ducere, to lead),
which brought water into Rome
Many aqueducts are still standing after 2,000 years.
Romans perfected the use of the arch in architecture.
The Romans invented concrete.
Chariot races were held in the Circus Maximus . Gladiatorial games were held in the Colosseum ,
(also called the Flavian Amphiteater).
panem et circenses: “bread and circuses,” refers to the free bread and the many public games that
were meant to keep the lower classes happy and quiet!
The Romans bathed in huge public bath complexes, like spas or health clubs, called thermae or
balnae. At the thermae, a Roman could exercise, eat, drink, shop, bathe, get a massage, or talk politics.
Military training and athletic events took place in the Campus Martius, a large plain.
The Family, The House Review
Familia in Latin means more than “family.” It refers to the entire household, including slaves. The
father (pater) was the supreme law in his household. He was called the paterfamilias (father of the
household). The paterfamilias had absolute power over everyone in the familia. This absolute power is
called patria potestas (the power of the father) and it included the power to sell or kill slaves, choosing
marriage partners for his children, and even in some extreme cases to kill his own children.
(first)
(clan)
(nickname)
A Roman citizen had three names: praenomen, a nomen, and a cognomen.
e.g.,
Gaius Julius Caesar:
Marcus Tullius Cicero:
First name, Gaius, from the Julian clan, nickname: Caesar (ruler)
First name, Marcus, from the Tullian clan, nickname: chickpea
Girls used the feminized form of their fathers’ “nomen,” or clan name:
e.g.,
Julius Caesar’s daughter was named Iulia (after the Julian clan)
Cicero’s daughter was named Tullia (after the Tullian clan)
A second daughter would be Iulia Secunda (Julia the second), Iulia Tertia (Julia the third), etc.
Rooms in a Roman House:
atrium:
compluvium:
impluvium:
tablinum:
peristylium:
triclinium:
entry hall, very spacious, used as reception area.
opening in the ceiling of the atrium to admit light, air, and rainwater
the pool directly underneath the compluvium. It caught the water.
the study or office of the master (to read: legere)
open courtyard with garden and columns, center of family living
dining room (to eat and drink: edere et bibere) The main meals were:
breakfast
ientaculum (the lightest meal)
lunch
prandium
dinner
cena (the main meal)
bedroom (to sleep: dormire)
cubiculum:
kitchen (to cook, coquere)
culina:
Most Romans lived in insulae (from the word for “island”), apartments buildings several
stories high.
Roman men wore: a tunic (tunica). Only Roman citizens could wear a toga over the tunic. If you
were seeking public office, you would wear a toga candida, or white toga, from which we derive the
word “candidate.”
Romen women wore: a tunic (tunica), over which she placed a long dress (stola). When travelling,
she wore a long wrap (a palla), which could be pulled up over her head as a cloak and hood.
A boy wore a toga praetexta with a thin purple stripe, until he turned sixteen, when he was given his
toga virilis (man’s toga). Boys wore bullae, good luck charms, around their necks until 16 years old.
Religion Review
You Must Know the ROMAN AND GREEK NAMES of the Gods
Plus Attributes (Their Symbols)
e.g., Juno/Hera, wife of Jupiter/Zeus, attribute is the peacock
The Temple of Vesta: Home of the sacred flame, which had to burn constantly. Vestal Virgins,
unmarried women of noble birth who took a vow of chastity, tended the flames. They were greatly
honored at Rome. If a Vestal Virgin broke her oath of chastity, she was buried alive.
The Temple of Janus always kept its doors open in times of war. Since Rome was almost always at
war, the doors were rarely shut. However, Augustus, the first emperor, closed the doors of the temple
and they remained closed during his reign. (Augustus restored peace after the Civil Wars.) This period
is known as the Pax Augustus, (Peace of Augustus), or the Pax Romana (Roman peace).
The Lares and the Penates were the household gods of individual Roman families who watched over
them. Each household had its own Lares and Penates.
Templum: Latin word for “temple”
Pontifex Maximus: Chief priest. During the empire, the emperor was the Pontifex Maximus. We
derive our English word, “pontiff,” or pope, from Latin pontifex.
Capitoline Triad:
Jupiter, Juno and Minerva: (the three gods most highly venerated by the Romans)
Sybilline Books:
Ancient books containing oracles (advice about the future). The Romans relied
on them in times of trouble (plagues, earthquakes, etc.). The books explained
which religious rituals should be used to end the calamity. During the Roman
Empire, the books were located in the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline
Hill. In ancient times, they were guarded in a town called Cumae by the Sibyl
(prophetess) of Cumae.
Augur:
The Roman priests who were in charge of observing the flight pattern of birds,
and reporting on what they meant, were called augurs. We derive our English
word, augury, or telling the future, from this. Romans placed a lot of faith in the
omens of bird behavior! Augury was considered an important science. Here are
the words which describe the outcome of the augury:
Fas:
Favorable omens. GREEN LIGHT = lawful action.
Nefas:
Very unfavorable omens. RED LIGHT! Unlawful action.
Haruspex:
The Roman priest in charge of observing the entrails (body organs) of sacrificial
animals.
Saturnalia:
Great Feast of Saturn at the end of December, characterized by feasting, revelry,
and role reversal: slaves were waited on by their masters, and were relatively free
to speak their minds.