Unit IV
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Latin's migrated into Italy
about 800 BC.
The Romans shared the
Italian peninsula with
Greek colonists.
Etruscans- ruled central
Italy, including Rome.
Romans borrowed their
alphabet from the Etruscans.
Etruscan Gods merged with
Roman deities
PEOPLE:
The Latins
-Rome: “The First Romans”
The Etruscans
-Northern Italy
-Urbanized Rome:
Building Programs (the Forum)
-Influence on Romans:
the arch, alphabet
The Greeks
-Southern Italy and Sicily
-Influence on Romans:
art, architecture, literature,
..government, engineering
GEOGRAPHY:
-Tiber River & Mediterranean Sea
-Fertile Soil & Strategic Location
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Rome began as a small city-state in central
Italy.
Geography of Italy made unifying Italy as one
nation much easier then Greece
Very fertile growing areas
Central Location in the Mediterranean
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509 B.C., Romans rejected Etruscan king (monarchy)
and established a republic.
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Power rests with the citizens who have the right to vote for
their leaders.
In Rome, citizenship with voting rights was granted only
to free-born male citizens.
STRUGGLE FOR POWER: CLASS CONFLICT
 Patricians- wealthy landowners who held
most of the power: inherited power and
social status
 Plebeians- (Plebs) common farmers, artisans
and merchants who made up the majority of
the population: can vote, but can’t rule
 Tribunes- elected representatives who
protect plebeians’ political rights.
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2 Consuls
(Rulers of Rome)
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Senate
(Representative body for patricians)
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Tribal Assembly
(Representative body for plebeians)
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A “Balanced” Government
Rome elects two consuls– one to lead army, one to
direct government
Senate- chosen from patricians (Roman upper class),
make foreign and domestic policy
Popular assemblies elect tribunes, make laws for
plebeians (commoners)
Dictators- leaders appointed briefly in times of crisis
(appt. by consuls and senate) Typical during times of
War
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Plebeians were the lower
class, farmers, merchants,
artisans, and traders.
1st Breakthrough- 12
Tables
2nd Breakthroughtribunes- could veto, or
block those laws that
were harmful to the
Plebeians.
Eventually Plebeians
were elected to offices of
high importance
THE TWELVE TABLES
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451 B.C., officials carve Roman laws on twelve
tablets and hung in Forum.
Laws confirm right of all free citizens to
protection of the law
Become the basis for later Roman law
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Family was the basic
unit of Roman society.
Father had absolute
rule in the family
Women were expected
to follow husbands
authority.
Roman women did
however have a larger
role in society then did
Greek women.
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Girls and boys alike
learned to read and
write.
By the late Republic,
many wealthy Romans
were hiring Greeks as
private tutors for their
children.
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Roman Gods
resembled those of
the Etruscans and
Greeks. Like the
Greek god Zeus,
the Roman god
Jupiter ruled over
the other gods.
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Roman Gods
Jupiter
Mars
Juno
Venus
Diana
Saturn
Minerva
Mercury
Pluto
Neptune
Vesta
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Greek Gods
Zeus
Ares
Hera
Aphrodite
Artemis
Bacchus
Athena
Hermes
Hades
Poseidon
Hestia