Daily Life In Ancient Rome
By Claire Schuchard and
Bianca Nistor
What you will learn in this
PowerPoint about daily life Ancient
Rome
What Life Was like if you were a….
Had a good life. If they broke laws the punishments
were not as strict to rich people as they were to poor
people. Could afford expensive goods likes perfumes,
silk, jeweled weapons, and musical instruments.
They decorated their houses with statues, fountains,
and fine pottery. They had slaves. Women and
children in rich families were told to never go
outside alone, even in the day (because of the
crime). They had a religion. Wealthy Roman
women ran their household. Only rich had kitchens
in their household. Had fancy meals. Ate foods
(for dinner) like mice cooked in honey, salted
jellyfish, and snails dipped in milk. Had good big
homes that were airy and made of stone and
marble. They had an indoor pool in their home. Had
fancy dining halls. They had beautiful fountains
and statues. Got a good education. They had a lot
of leisure time. Went to pubic theaters, and musical
performances (for recreation). Wealthy people who
lived in the country lived in houses called villas,
larges houses.
A poor person’s life was not easy, they lived
on dirty streets filled with crime and disease.
A poor person’s child would be lucky to live
past the age of 10. They got their food on the
streets, they called it fast food. They had to
follow the same rules everyone else did, the
punishments were harder for the poor though.
They had a religion. They cooked on small
grills. Had chunks of fish along with some
asparagus for dinner. Had small dark
apartments. Had no kitchens. Had poor
cooked meals. The rooms in their apartment
had smoke. Apartments were noisy, cramped,
and dirty. Were sent to work instead of
school. Did not have much free time/ leisure
time. If they lived in the country they
usually worked as slaves.
Most of the people who lived in the
country were rich. There were also
farmers (who were poor) who lived in
the country. The wealthy lived in
big houses called villas. Many people
hunted in their leisure time. Some
slaves worked for rich people (who
lived in the country).
Law and Order in the Roman Empire
The laws were strict in the Roman Empire
(because there was a lot of crime). They had
police on rich streets, because they did not want
poor people stealing their money/ gold/ riches.
(where rich people live). Most frequent crimes
were stealing, assault, and murder. Some
streets were so dangerous they were closed at
night. Romans tried to protect themselves
against crime. Anyone could accuse someone of
crime (even a poor person). The poor faced harder
punishments (for doing a crime) than wealthy
did.
Recreation in the Roman Empire
The wealthy had more leisure time than
the poor did (the poor were always
working). Some of the recreation the
wealth enjoyed is going to pubic theaters
and musical performances. They also
enjoyed swimming/ relaxing in their
private baths. The Roman Empire let the
poor people have some fun/recreation.
There were gladiator games(where people
fight to the death), which people enjoyed.
Family Life in the Roman Empire
A father was usually the head of the
family. In richer families husbands often
held well-paid political positions. In poor
families both husbands and wives often
had to work in order to feed and take care
of their families. Weddings were held at
a temple. Babies were named in a special
ceremony when they were nine days old.
Between the ages of 14 and 18 a roman
boy celebrated becoming a men.
Religion in the Roman Empire