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Geography and Physical
Characteristics
Built on many hills
Had limited rich soil
Next to Tiber River
Surrounded Mediterranean Sea
Ancient Rome covered parts of Europe, Asia, and
Africa
Today, Rome is a city in Italy (a boot-shaped
peninsula) found in Europe
Roles of Men, Women, and Children
 Men:
were citizens
could vote
 Women: took care of house
did cooking, cleaning, & weaving
did the shopping
Human Characteristics and
Adaptations
 Farmers
 Traders
 Road builders
 Built many of their farms on terraced hillsides
 Traded along the Mediterranean Sea
Architecture
 Romans used arches to create strong
supports for their buildings
 Domes were used in their buildings--especially
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 Children: boys went to school
girls learned to cook and weave (some
wealthy girls went to school)
Arts & Entertainment
 Mosaics were pictures using small tiles to create
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the image
Romans created sculptures to honor their gods
and goddesses
Romans painted beautiful scenes including skies
in the domes of their buildings
Watched theater, gladiator fights, and chariot
races
Sports
 Chariot racing at Circus Maximus
 Gladiators fought to their death in the Colosseum
 Sea battles and animal fights took place at the
Colosseum
 Exercised at public bath houses
 Sent athletes to the Olympic Games in Greece
those used for religious purposes
Bathhouses were a social gathering place
Famous structures – Colosseum
aqueducts
Pantheon
Circus Maximus
Government
 Representative Democracy
(also called Republic)
 A type of government in which a small group of
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people are elected to make rules and laws for
everyone
Only men were citizens
Senate
Religion
Believed in many gods and goddesses
Jupiter was the king of the gods
Built temples to honor gods and goddesses
Offered gifts to the gods and goddesses to make
them happy