THE ROMAN REPUBLIC
ACTIVITY AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
• Greetings citizens! Welcome to the Roman Republic. Today, you have an opportunity to meet
some of the greatest characters of the Roman Republic and learn about their daily lives. Be sure
and answer the guided questions as you go along. The presentation is hyperlinked so click on
the names to navigate. Have fun and enjoy! Be sure and watch the videos as you go through.
• SWBAT (WH1.6c):
• Students will be able to identify the Roman Social structure and explain how that affected the
development of Rome.
• Students will be able explain what a Republic is and identify the right and duties of the Roman
citizenry.
HOME SCREEN
• 1. Introduction and History (with Livy)
• 2. Roman Government (with Cicero)
• 3. Plebian (with Tiberius)
• 4. Patricians (with Plato the Younger)
• 5. Roman Slaves/Gladiator (Spartacus)
• 6. Roman Soldier
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY
• “Hello, my name is Livy and I am one of Rome’s greatest
historians. I have written long, complex histories of Rome
but do not be concerned, I will keep it brief for you.”
• “According to our legends, Rome was founded by Romulus
in 753 B.C. shortly after killing his brother Remus. They
decided to build near the mighty Tiber River in Western
Rome. Here click again and I will show you a picture. The
mighty Alps protected us from invaders in the North and the
Apennine Mountains divided almost in half. Those guys on
the Eastern half are some weird guys! The West had it best!”
• “We were not alone in Italy, however. The Etruscans, the
Latins, and the smelly Greeks were also there. The
Etruscans even ruled Rome for over 100 years. In 509 B.C.
we overthrew the last Etruscan King, Tarquin the Proud. We
vowed that we would never have a king again. We would
murder anyone claiming such a title. “
• Return to Home Screen
ROMAN REPUBLIC
• “Hello, my name is Cicero. I am afraid this must be quick for I am a Senator
and must get to the Forum for debate.”
• “I am kind of a big deal in Rome as a Senator, I am someone who represents
the will of the people. Due to my large land owning and estates, I am high in
society as an aristocrat. The SENATE for the most part is dominated by
wealthy statesmen like myself and we spend a lot of time debating about
government. My friend Plato the Younger once even talked from Sun up to Sun
Down by himself!”
• “This form of government, where the people select their leaders to go make
decisions for them is known as a REPUBLIC. The Greeks were crazy giving
everyone the right to make decisions. What a waste of time! Would you not just
rather choose me to make the decisions for you?”
• “We meet, as I mentioned before, at the FORUM (Click for image). It is an
open public space where we conduct our business. This year I have been
elected Consul with my friend, Gaius. This means that we are in charge of the
army and directing government. It is as close as we come to King for now in
our history. We were chosen by the Centuriate Assembly and only serve one
year. Go ahead and watch this video for more information.
• Roman Republic Video
• Return to Home Screen
PLEBIANS
• “Dogs they call us. Poor and Stupid they say. That simply is not the case.
Hello, my name is Tiberius. The term the wealthy PATRICIANS (aka the
extremely wealthy landowners) gave us is PLEBEIAN. We are not slaves. We
are a group of common artisans, farmers and merchants. They look down at
us and it disgusts me but where else do I go? I need their wealthy support
just to pay the bills and for protection. I just do not know what to do??”
• “We are citizens but poor at that. The social structure of Rome looks like the
image to your right with the wealthy patricians at the top, us in the middle,
and those repulsive slaves at the bottom. I understand in your country
slavery has been based on race throughout your history. In Rome slaves
usually are debtors and war captives. Both women and slaves are not
citizens and believe me are government is better for it! As a citizen, I can
vote and serve in the military so long as I pay my taxes.”
• “We haven’t always had this many rights, I led a rebellion against the
patricians for more rights in 169 B.C.. In order to calms us down, the Senate
allowed us to set up an ASSEMBLY (or group of people who vote). This now
gave us a small say in government. They even let us elect TRIBUNES to
serve as officials to protect the interests of the plebeians. “
• “Before the creation of a law code, PATRICIANS did whatever they wanted
and did not have to answer to anybody. So as you might guess, we were the
ones who got taken advantage of. With the help of the TRIBUNES we were
able to write down a law code that the patricians agreed to, called the
TWELVE TABLES. It is called that because we wrote it on tables (Click for
image). This became the official law code of the Roman Republic.
•
Return to Home Screen
PATRICIAN
• “Hello, my name is Plato the Younger. I am sure you have already heard
from the whiney Tiberius at this point. He is such a nuisance and an
insignificant part of society but what choice do I have? If we take away all
their rights, they will revolt and slaughter our families. I am a PATRICIAN
of the wealthy land class. I am the top of society and am responsible for
taking care of the lower classes. For instance, I have many slaves. Mostly
war captives brought to me by my friend Julius. They work hard enough I
suppose but I always worry that one day they will grow so large in
number that they will take over Rome. As for the plebeians, several work
on my estates and farm my land. I also offer protection to many of them
and their business in exchange for their loyalty and support. Small price
to pay for my business you understand.”
• “I am the hand from which those lowly plebeians feed and they know
better then to irritate or make me angry. Power rests with the Patricians as
it should and I will make the best decisions fro those beneath me. My
wife, Julia is a good wife but often speaks about politics which makes my
head hurt. To think that she actually believes she is capable of governing
Rome…hah! Women are not even citizens in Rome! This is a male
dominated society, as it should be! ”
• Return to Home Screen
ROMAN SLAVES
• “Hello, my name is Spartacus. Unlike everyone you have heard
from today. I am not Roman. In fact, I hate the Roman Republic for
what they did to me and my family. I am actually Thracian (click
for a map) and Rome came through and massacred my land and
took me as a captive. I have not seen my family since the night I
was captured. I do not even know if they are alive.”
• “These Roman pigs throw us in the stadiums for blood sport. The
objective is kill or be killed. I have become quite good at killing
people and I bring quite a crowd for my wealthy patrician who
profits off the sales and the gambling. One day I would gladly
like to slit his throat but I await my moment, for a slave to strike
his master would most assuredly lead to my death. I am
organizing my fellow gladiators, one day we will rise up in
rebellion.”
• “For now, I survive the arena. It could be worse, I could be like
all the other slaves and be whipped everyday while working the
salt mines. See the video below for more information.”
• Gladiators Video
• Return to the Home Screen
ROMAN SOLDIER
• “Hello, my name is Maximus. I am a Centurion in the Roman Legion. As
a landowning citizen I am required with my fellow country men to
serve in the military. Our military is broken down into legions, roughly
about 5,000 soldiers. Within each legion, it is broken down into 80-100
men called a century. So my title as centurion comes from that and I am
responsible fro commanding the men in my unit. We are so well
organized that we operate as those each century is its own army. We are
the most fiercest fighting force the world has ever seen! Go ahead and
watch the video below to learn more about tactics and weapons. Mars
is our guide and we cannot be stopped!”
• Roman Legion Video
• Opening Scene From Gladiator (Warning contains graphic images)
• Return to Home Screen