1
ROMAN LIFE 2
Urban Life for the Ancient Romans: Living in the city of Rome
Ancient Rome is known for its ability to construct massive
infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, aqueducts, coliseums,
theaters, baths, temples, and dome-shaped basilicas. Romans were
indefatigable builders, and the number of structures surviving attest to this.
Some of these ancient buildings are still used today. Making use of the arch
and vault allowed the Romans to build much taller buildings. Aiding Romans
was the invention of concrete, but they did not leave concrete exposed. It
was only the structural core, and it was faced with thin flat Roman firedbricks and these were covered with plaster or stucco. So much of Roman
civilization ultimately meant city life. While 90% of the Roman population
was rural, civilization for the Romans meant living in the city. Their
government and cultural aspects were based in cities, and the city of Rome
epitomized this. Rome at the height of its power had a population of one
million people, more than many modern cities. At the center of the city was
the Forum where the public buildings were located. A large basilica was at
the center where the government was located with market places, religious
temples, and law courts. Today much remains of the Forum in Rome even
after much destruction by the barbarian tribes. To the south of The Forum
lay the Circus Maximus, one of five that was built in ancient Rome. This is
where the chariot races were held, and the main Circus Maximus could seat
2
250,000 spectators. To the East of the Forum was the Coliseum, offering
space for 50,000 people. Sprinkled around the city were about 170 public
baths. There is a scale model of Rome at its height at the museum built by
Benito Mussolini.
Urban Problems & Advantages
Ancient Rome was burdened by all the recognizable urban problems
that are still present in large cities today. There was street crime, housing
shortages, soaring rents, congested traffic, polluted air, high cost of living,
unemployment, and rioting. Enormous gaps between the rich and poor were
evident, but city dwellers felt that they were at the center of everything, and
willing to put up with the multiple problems. Rome’s public administration
had tax collectors, police, fire wardens, building inspectors, and public health
officials. As Rome was so huge, the surrounding countryside could not feed
it adequately, which meant that much of the grain came from Egypt and
North Africa. These ships were as heavily guarded as our oil shipments
today. Many displaced farmers lived in Rome when their small farms were
purchased by large land-owners, so subsidies were necessary to keep much
of the population from starvation. Following practices inaugurated by the
Gracchi reforms in the 2nd century B.C.E., the government provided citizens
with free grain and later free olive oil and wine to prevent bread riots caused
by shortages and high prices. For the rest of the non-citizens, grain was
provided at low prices. Masses of people lived in the world’s first tenement
3
blocks, where some of the apartment houses were four or more stories high.
Shops were on the ground floor of these structures. Most of them had no
kitchen or bathroom facilities, but located on the streets were “fast food”
places where their meals could be bought. Bakeries and brothels were also
part of the accommodations for the people. Many of these tenements were
badly built, but the ancient Romans loved them, and their major complaint
was that the rent was too high. Housing for the wealthy was built similar to
the ones for the ancient Greeks. In Rome itself, the rich lived on Palatine
Hill, the fashionable residential area during the Republic and into the Empire.
Many famous Romans lived on Palatine Hill: Cicero, Mark Antony, and Nero.
These villas had their own water supply, bathrooms, and individuallydesigned mosaic floors. It is possible to picture how these dwellings looked
by visiting Hadrian’s Villa outside Rome, and elsewhere in the empire, and
the seaside resort cities that were buried by Mt. Vesuvius, and discovered in
the eighteenth century. Artifacts have attested to the sophistication of their
glassware, furniture, décor, and artwork.
Roman Public Baths
Probably the plumbing aspects of Roman’s buildings were the most
astonishing. There is even an ancient metaphor for the Romans “drains not
brains.” During the second century B.C.E. the Greek custom of bathing
4
became a Roman passion and important part of the day. In the early
Republic Romans had bathed infrequently, but now every city built central
baths. The city of Bath in England was named for its Roman baths. All
Roman residents could bathe for a nominal fee. Pools of water ranged from
cold to tepid to hot. There were even hot-air rooms to induce a good sweat.
Men and women’s time at the baths were segregated. Baths were more
than a place to get clean. You could lift weights, get a massage, buy food,
and the fancier ones even had a sitting and disrobing area equivalent to our
modern locker rooms. In Rome the largest complex of Baths were called
Caracalla built by the Emperor of the same name in the early third century
C.E. This gigantic place could have 3000 bathers simultaneously. Since
1937 on a huge stage built on the ruins of these baths, the opera Aida has
been performed. The venue is so large that there is enough room for
elephants, horses, camels, and replicas of the famous pyramids and Sphinx
in Egypt. Men went to barbers for their daily shave at these baths. Most
things we do in our home bathrooms Romans did in public facilities. What
about the toilet facilities? Each city had public lavatories with flushing
provided by a continuous flow of water under the seats. One of the famous
Roman public toilet facilities had seats for twenty-four to use at the same
time. Toilet paper was a natural sponge and water was provided in front of
the toilets to cleanse them or in a private rich’ man’s home, a small waterfilled pot was available. These wealthy residents also had their private
5
toilets that were built as a backed-chair. Bathtubs out of marble were raised
on four-legged platforms for these private bathrooms.
Romans as “Waterworks” Engineers
How were such baths possible? Romans were excellent waterworks
engineers. While a few were built over thermal springs, most of the water
for these impressive public and private baths had to be piped in with a
system of lead or clay pipes. The city of Rome was served by eleven
principal aqueducts and many smaller ones from as much as fifty miles away
that provided Rome with three million gallons of water daily. Segovia’s
aqueduct in Spain built by the Romans is still in use today. Probably the
most impressive one is Pont du Gard near Nimes, France. It is 180 feet
above the river bed.
Roman Coliseums and Circus Maxima: Gladiators and Charioteers
Ancient Rome is famous for the gladiatorial games that were popular
with the Ancient Romans. Gladiatorial contests occurred from the third
century B.C.E. to the fifth century C.E., six hundred plus years, and long
after the Empire was officially Christian. Originally gladiatorial activities
were an Etruscan funerary custom that offered blood to appease the gods
for the deceased. For the Romans the games became a violent form of
entertainment. Gladiatorial fights could be between important prisoners of
war, people accused of major crimes against the state, and slave-warriors
6
specially trained in schools for fighting. These slaves learned how to fight
with a variety of weapons and to die with dignity. Training schools even
hired doctors to tend to the wounded. As the training became more
sophisticated, even the Roman Army adopted some of the schools’
techniques. Theoretically a gladiator who survived for three years was given
his freedom, but rarely did they survive that long. A normal life span for
gladiators was a few months. They demonstrated great pride and an esprit
de corps, reflected in the traditional greeting to emperors: “We who are
about to die salute you.” Even free men enrolled at gladiatorial schools, and
the Emperor Nero to prove his manliness fought in the Coliseum. Fights
were not just contests between men, but between different forms of
weaponry or between men and animals. There are even primary records
that attest that women were gladiators. Gladiators fought to where
eventually one would incapacitate the other and the fighting then stopped
while the crowd yelled for the defeated man’s death, of it he fought
exceptionally well for him to be spared. After a few tense moments the
emperor gave his verdict, thumbs up to save him and thumbs down to
execute him. The loser was expected to sit still while the victor slit his
throat. The word for arena comes from the Latin word Harena, which means
the sand that was spread after each event to soak up the blood. Emperors
would compete with previous emperors to see who could have the most
bloody and deadly fights. According to some ancient documents the
7
Emperor Trajan over one hundred and twenty-two days of games, eleven
thousand people died and twenty thousand animals were killed. Supposedly,
in one day five thousand exotic animals such as tigers, bears, elephants,
buffalo, and rhinoceros were slaughtered. There were three hundred and
fifty pairs of gladiators fighting too. Since the spectators wanted not just
someone meekly killed, but fights to the death, it meant that Christians
made very poor viewing as they meekly went to their death. Only rarely
then were Christians sent into the Coliseum. In a satirical commentary, the
famous Roman writer, Seneca had some choice words to describe what he
considered the debacle of the games: “. . . kill him lash him burn him why
does he meet the sword so timidly? Why doesn’t he kill boldly? Why doesn’t
he die gamely? Whip him to meet his wounds. Let them trade blow for blow
. . . and when the show stops for intermission, let’s have men killed
meanwhile. Let’s not have nothing going on. . . “
At the end of the day for
spectators, it was common for an emperor to distribute free gifts to the
crowd. A system of machines spewed tallies into the seats, which were
marked with a prize, and could be loaves of bread, a chicken, even a ship or
country house. It was said that the poor came for the distribution of prizes
more than the gladiatorial contests. Over at the Circus Maximus were the
chariot races. They were less violent and some historians relate they were
more popular than the gladiators. Even though the professional charioteers
8
were usually low born men or slaves, they felt themselves better than
gladiators as their purpose was not to be killed, but to win a race.
Roman Religious Practices & Beliefs
Rome’s religious practices were multi-faceted, and religion
played an important part in the life of the Romans.
They were polytheistic
believers, and as they conquered, they would add their conquered foes’
religious customs to their own. The ancient Romans were proud of their
religiously tolerant attitudes. In the early days of the Monarchy and the
Republic, Roman deities were invisible, shapeless natural forces, a form of
what is today referred to as primitive animism. There were deities for every
stream, mountain, trees, etc. Separate gods were worshiped for plowing,
sowing, manuring, etc. Only through Etruscan and Greek influence did the
Roman deities take on anthropomorphic or human form. Rome even took
over the Greek Olympus gods and goddesses, but gave them new names.
The Greek father god Zeus became for the Romans Jupiter and his wife was
Juno. Aphrodite became Venus, Ares’ name was changed to Mars, but
Apollo’s name did not change. By the third century B.C.E. Roman gods were
imbued with high moral qualities compared to what they considered was
more licentious behavior for the Greek deities. The Paterfamilias of the
family supervised morning prayers and offerings to the family ancestral
spirits or Lars familiaris. At the family altar a sacred flame was kept
perpetually burning by the women to honor their ancestors. Worshipping
9
Janus, god of the doorways was important to the Romans, and whenever
Rome was at war, the doors of the Temple of Janus were kept closed.
January comes from Janus. Daughters of the family were especially taught
reverence for Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. Six young girls were chosen
between the ages of six to ten, to spend thirty years of their lives guarding
the sacred flame inside the Temple to Vesta. These girls were sworn to
perpetual chastity, and it was their primary duty to keep the flame burning
eternally. If the flame went out, it was then usually suspected that one of
the Vestal Virgins lost her virginity. If this was proven, then the woman was
entombed alive. This shows that the Romans identified the well-being of the
state with womens’ chastity. Apparently, ten women suffered burial while
still alive in the course of many centuries of this belief. Important papers
such as wills were kept at the Temple. A Vestal Virgin could marry when her
thirty years of service were done, but most chose to remain at the home
provided for the residency of these women. Later on when the practice of
nunneries developed, it is thought that the nuns’ chastity vows were based
on the rituals connected with the Goddess Vesta.
The Romans paid reverence to the Goddess of Chance and Fate.
Chance was “luck of the draw”, but fate or fortune was a goddess who
predetermined what was to happen to you. Like Greek religion the Romans
had no dogmas or sacraments. In the carrying out of their religious tenets,
the client/patronage system was utilized by the Romans. If the gods are
10
patrons, then one can offer them gifts and receive gifts in return. “Help me
Jupiter because it is in your power” was a common prayer request, or “Make
me richer than my neighbor.” “Cure me and I will give you an offering” is
another plea. The mark of an impious man was one that never made a
solemn vow to any god and never went to a temple. Belief in the rewards
and punishments of an afterlife were also not important to the Romans.
What was important to them was to celebrate the various festivals in honor
of the deities. All important turning points in life like marriage and childbirth
also had a deity. An integral part of these festivals were sacrifices followed
by feasting. Large temples even had kitchens and offered the services of
their cooks to worshipers who came with sacrifices. Scraps were left on the
altar for beggars and to pay for the services of the priests. One of the most
impressive reminders of the Romans’ religious practices is the still-standing
Pantheon in Rome that was a grand temple dedicated to all the deities.
Divination and Prophecy
Divination and prophecy were also practiced by the Romans, using a
flight of birds or internal organs of a sacrificed animal to determine the
future. Similar to the Greeks’ Delphi Oracle was the Sibylline Oracle for the
Romans. Sibyls were wise priestesses and prophetesses of the god Apollo.
Over the years, the Romans had collected answers to inquiries and these
answers in book-form were searched when a similar request surfaced. The
cult of Cybele, the great mother goddess from Anatolia was worshipped,
11
especially after the Punic Wars, when the Sibyls were consulted on how to
beat Hannibal in the Second Punic War, they instructed Rome to bring the
icon representing Cybele to Rome. It was a black meteorite stone said to be
the reincarnation of the Great Mother. Consequently the Romans were
victorious. Augustus and Claudius both embraced Cybele, and she was
worshiped at Rome until 268 C.E.
Mystery Religions Practiced by the Romans
Another fascinating part of religion that was common in the Near East
and Ancient Greece, and developed greater adherents during the Roman
Empire, was the mystery religions that seemed to meet a deep need for an
emotional connection. The religious practices previously mentioned were
more ritualistic, but the mystery religions promised personal salvation.
These mystery religions had some basic tenets or axioms in common. All
shared the ritual purification of initiates, that might include eating a special
meal or fasting, flagellation or orgies where the worshiper hoped to be in
some way united with the deity. The hero-figure was usually half human
and half divine who died and was reborn again. Worshipers wanted to share
in the death and rebirth, and eventual immortality of these deities. Many
followers of mystery religions joined as many as possible. Monday a person
could follow the rites of Mithras, Tuesday worship Isis from Egypt, Serapis or
Osiris also from Egypt on Wednesday, maybe Apollo on Thursday. Was this
what today we would call an insurance policy to feel secure? The worship of
12
Isis and Mithras will be explored as they were two of the most popular.
Once Rome conquered the Near East and Egypt, the spread of the cult or
worship of Isis was remarkable. She was very prominent in the Hellenistic
era, but was initially officially resisted by the Roman emperors. Isis
promised resurrection and immortality to her devotees after their death.
Followers of Isis had unlimited flexibility. Where others had rigidly
prescribed rules, Isis appealed to both genders, but probably more to
women. In Ancient Egypt she was the ideal mother and wife of Horus and
Osiris, and the iconography of her with the infant Horus is carried forth into
Christianity with the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Time and again Roman decrees
passed banning her worship, but it always returned. By 200 C.E. Isis
temples had spread from Rome to Western and Northern Europe. In the
Hellenistic and Roman periods, she became the sky goddess, had dominion
over lightning, thunder, and the winds, and she was the creator that divided
the earth from the heavens. She assigned languages to nations, invented
the alphabet, astronomy, and was the giver of health, beauty, love,
abundance, and wisdom. Thus, Isis could be all things to all people. In the
story of the spiritual conversion of Lucius told by the Roman writer Apuleius
in his novel The Golden Ass or Metamorphoses that was written in the
second century C.E., is the theme that when man serves his lusts he
becomes a brute animal like the ass, but when man turns towards
spirituality represented by Isis, he achieves his truly human form.
13
As an offshoot of the Persian religion Zoroastrianism, Mithraicism was
the most popular for men of Roman society. Women could not even
participate in its rituals. Mithras’ greatest following was among the soldiers
on the frontiers of the Empire. When Rome conquered the east, the soldiers
became aware of this religion. Mithras was originally a lieutenant of AhuraMazda, but became the chief Persian god in the fifth century B.C.E. Mithras
was a hero who overcame a bull, dragged it to a cave, and killed it, and
watered the earth with its blood so life could grow. When the Emperor
Aurelian decided to find a religion that would unify the Empire by replacing
the divergent religious practices with a single imperial cult in the late third
century C.E., Aurelian decided on Apollo, who quickly became identified for
the soldiers with Mithras. Remarkably, both Apollo’s and Mithras’ feast days
was December 25th. Christianity followed this date as well. Mithraicism also
took Sunday as their god’s day of worship with ceremonies including baptism
in holy water and a sacred meal of bread and wine. His followers also had
the concept of ascension into heaven, and a second coming of Mithras for
everlasting life.
Politicalization of Roman Religion: Divination of the Emperor
Unlike the Greeks, Roman religion over the years became more
political. Religious observance became more a matter of public ritual.
Respected leaders and priests known as pontiffs presided over public
sacrifices. They were guardians of the sacred Roman traditions, not priests
14
in a religious sense. An honor for a Roman boy was to be chosen as a
priest’s attendant, an acolyte.
Worshiping the Emperor as a god began with
Julius Caesar. Supposedly the Emperor became a god when he died like the
Pharaoh in Egypt. Julius Caesar was the first to be deified after his murder,
and Caesar Augustus continued this practice. As the self-appointed Pontifex
Maximus, the emperors organized the imperial cult as part of the state’s
worship practices. Thus the emperor was the princeps or first prince or
citizen to the state, the emperor or imperator to the army and people, and
the King and god to subject peoples of the Empire. This could be compared
psychologically to the awe we might feel for our president.
Roman Customs of Burial and Tombstones with Epitaphs
When Romans died, they wanted to be commemorated by stone
monuments. Epitaphs were carved on the stone, and many times if finances
allowed, realistic bas relief portraits of the deceased were done including his
family, and sometimes displayed his occupation with tools of his trade.
Romans did not want their dead buried inside the city, so along the roads
leading out of the city, especially the Appian Way, thousands of monuments
were erected, and people traveling were encouraged to stop and read them.
These epitaphs have assisted historians in the reconstruction of these times.
There are a wide variety of sayings from the concise or pithy saying to
lengthy or verbose, but they definitely give us insights into their thoughts
and beliefs.
15
“Laturnia Januaria, lime burner, lived 45 years.” “Do not pass by my
epitaph, traveler, but having stopped, listen and learn. Then go your way.
There is no boat in Hades, no ferryman Charon, no caretaker Aiakos, no dog
Cerberus. All we who are dead below have become bones and ashes, but
nothing else. I have spoken to you honestly. Go on traveler, lest even while
dead I seem loquacious to you.”
“You see me a corpse, passers-by . . . the thread of destiny spun by
the fates holds me fast to the ground. Eight times he won in athletic games,
but in the ninth boxing match he met his fated end. Play laugh, passer-by,
knowing that you too must die. His wife Alexandria erected this memorial
out of his money as a remembrance. If anyone dares to disturb this
monument he shall pay a fine of 2500 denarii to the fisc. “
“. . . Furia, freedwoman to Sempronius Firmus, husband most dear to
me. As boy and girl we were bound by mutual love at first sight. I lived
with him but a very short time, and during the time we should have lived
[together] we were separated by an evil hand. I beg of you, most holy spirit
of the departed, take good care of my dear one, and please be most kind to
him in the hours of the night, so that I may see him and he may wish me
too to persuade fate to let me come and be with him tenderly and speedily.”
16
This is a final tribute of a patron to his ex-slave: “To Grania Clara,
freedwoman of Aulus, a temperate freedwoman. She lived 23 yrs. She was
never vexatious to me except when she died.”
Another person stated it succinctly and clearly: “I was, I am not, I
don’t care.”
1
1
These epitaphs were from lecture notes on Roman History from Dr. John Nicols, Emeritus Professor at the
University of Oregon