Culture of ancient Rome

“Roman society” redirects here. For the learned society,see Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies.The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the

Wall painting (1st century AD) from Pompeii depicting a multi-generational banquet

almost 1200-year history of the civilization of AncientRome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Re-public, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak cov-ered an area from Lowland Scotland and Morocco to theEuphrates.Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome,its famed seven hills, and its monumental architec-ture such as the Flavian Amphitheatre (now called theColosseum), the Forum of Trajan, and the Pantheon.The city also had several theaters, gymnasia, and manytaverns, baths, and brothels. Throughout the territoryunder ancient Rome’s control, residential architectureranged from very modest houses to country villas, and inthe capital city of Rome, there were imperial residenceson the elegant Palatine Hill, from which the word palaceis derived. The vast majority of the population lived inthe city center, packed into insulae (apartment blocks).The city of Romewas the largestmegalopolis of that time,with a population that may well have exceeded one mil-lion people, with a high end estimate of 3.6 million and alow end estimate of 450,000. A substantial proportion ofthe population under the city’s jurisdiction lived in innu-merable urban centers, with population of at least 10,000and several military settlements, a very high rate of ur-banization by pre-industrial standards. The most urban-ized part of the Empire was Italy, which had an estimated

rate of urbanization of 32%, the same rate of urbaniza-tion of England in 1800. Most Roman towns and citieshad a forum, temples and the same type of buildings, ona smaller scale, as found in Rome. The large urban pop-ulation required an endless supply of food which was acomplex logistical task, including acquiring, transporting,storing and distribution of food for Rome and other ur-ban centers. Italian farms supplied vegetables and fruits,but fish and meat were luxuries. Aqueducts were built tobring water to urban centers and wine and oil were im-ported from Hispania, Gaul and Africa.There was a very large amount of commerce betweenthe provinces of the Roman Empire, since its transporta-tion technology was very efficient. The average costs oftransport and the technology were comparable with 18th-century Europe. The later city of Rome did not fill thespace within its ancient Aurelian walls until after 1870.The majority of the population under the jurisdictionof ancient Rome lived in the countryside in settlementswith less than 10 thousand inhabitants. Landlords gen-erally resided in cities and their estates were left in thecare of farm managers. The plight of rural slaves wasgenerally worse than their counterparts working in urbanaristocratic households. To stimulate a higher labor pro-ductivity most landlords freed a large number of slavesand many received wages. Some records indicate that “asmany as 42 people lived in one small farm hut in Egypt,while six families owned a single olive tree.” Such a ruralenvironment continued to induce migration of populationto urban centers until the early 2nd century when the ur-ban population stopped growing and started to decline.Starting in the middle of the 2nd century BC, privateGreek culture was increasingly in ascendancy, in spiteof tirades against the “softening” effects of Hellenizedculture from the conservative moralists. By the time ofAugustus, cultured Greek household slaves taught the Ro-man young (sometimes even the girls); chefs, decorators,secretaries, doctors, and hairdressers all came from theGreek East. Greek sculptures adorned Hellenistic land-scape gardening on the Palatine or in the villas, or wereimitated in Roman sculpture yards by Greek slaves. TheRoman cuisine preserved in the cookery books ascribedto Apicius is essentially Greek. Roman writers disdainedLatin for a cultured Greek style. Only in law and gov-ernance was the Italic nature of Rome’s accretive culturesupreme.Against this human background, both the urban and ruralsetting, one of history’s most influential civilizations took

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2 1 SOCIAL STRUCTURE

shape, leaving behind a cultural legacy that survives inpart today.

1 Social structure

Main article: Social class in ancient Rome

The center of the early social structure, dating from thetime of the agricultural tribal city state, was the family,which was not only marked by blood relations but also bythe legally constructed relation of patria potestas. ThePater familias was the absolute head of the family; hewas the master over his wife (if she was given to himsub manu, otherwise the father of the wife retained pa-tria potestas), his children, the wives of his sons (again ifmarried sub manuwhich became rarer towards the end ofthe Republic), the nephews, the slaves and the freedmen(liberated slaves, the first generation still legally inferiorto the freeborn), disposing of them and of their goods atwill, even having them put to death.Slavery and slaves were part of the social order. Theslaves were mostly prisoners of war. There were slavemarkets where they could be bought and sold. Roman lawwas not consistent about the status of slaves, except thatthey were considered like any other moveable property.Many slaves were freed by the masters for fine servicesrendered; some slaves could save money to buy their free-dom. Generally mutilation and murder of slaves was pro-hibited by legislation, although outrageous cruelty contin-ued.Apart from these families (called gentes) and the slaves(legally objects, mancipia i.e. “kept in the [master’s]hand”) there were Plebeians that did not exist from a legalperspective. They had no legal capacity and were not ableto make contracts, even though they were not slaves. Todeal with this problem, the so-called clientelawas created.By this institution, a plebeian joined the family of a patri-cian (in a legal sense) and could close contracts by medi-ation of his patrician pater familias. Everything the ple-beian possessed or acquired legally belonged to the gens.He was not allowed to form his own gens.The authority of the pater familias was unlimited, be it incivil rights as well as in criminal law. The king’s duty wasto be head over the military, to deal with foreign politicsand also to decide on controversies between the gentes.The patricians were divided into three tribes (Ramnenses,Titientes, Luceres).During the time of the Roman Republic (founded in 509BC)Roman citizens were allowed to vote. These includedpatricians and plebeians. Women, slaves, and childrenwere not allowed to vote.There were two assemblies, the assembly of centuries(comitia centuriata) and the assembly of tribes (comitiatributa), which were made up of all the citizens of Rome.

In the comitia centuriata the Romans were divided ac-cording to age, wealth and residence. The citizens ineach tribe were divided into five classes based on propertyand then each group was subdivided into two centuries byage. All in all, there were 373 centuries. Like the assem-bly of tribes, each century had one vote. The ComitiaCenturiata elected the praetors (judicial magistrates), thecensors, and the consuls.The comitia tributa comprised thirty-five tribes fromRome and the country. Each tribe had a single vote. TheComitia Tributa elected the Quaestors (financial magis-trates) and the patrician Curule Aedile.Over time, Roman law evolved considerably, as well associal views, emancipating (to increasing degrees) familymembers. Justice greatly increased, as well. The Romansbecame more efficient at considering laws and punish-ments.Life in the ancient Roman cities revolved around theForum, the central business district, where most ofthe Romans would go for marketing, shopping, trading,banking, and for participating in festivities and cere-monies. The Forum was also a place where orators wouldexpress themselves to mould public opinion, and elicitsupport for any particular issue of interest to them or oth-ers. Before sunrise, children would go to schools or tutor-ing them at home would commence. Elders would dress,take a breakfast by 11 o'clock, have a nap and in the after-noon or evening would generally go to the Forum. Goingto a public bath at least once daily was a habit with mostRoman citizens. There were separate baths for men andwomen. The main difference was that the women’s bathswere smaller than the men’s, and did not have a frigidar-ium (cold room) or a palaestra (exercise area).Different types of outdoor and indoor entertainment, freeof cost, were available in ancient Rome. Depending onthe nature of the events, they were scheduled during day-time, afternoons, evenings, or late nights. Huge crowdsgathered at the Colosseum to watch events like gladiators,combats between men, or fights between men and wildanimals. The Circus Maximus was used for chariot rac-ing.Life in the countryside was slow but lively, with numerouslocal festivals and social events. Farms were run by thefarm managers, but estate owners would sometimes takea retreat to the countryside for rest, enjoying the splendorof nature and the sunshine, including activities like fish-ing, hunting, and riding. On the other hand, slave laborslogged on continuously, for long hours and all seven days,and ensuring comforts and creating wealth for their mas-ters. The average farm owners were better off, spendingevenings in economic and social interactions at the villagemarkets. The day ended with a meal, generally left overfrom the noontime preparations.

1.2 Food 3

1.1 Clothing

Main article: Clothing in ancient RomeIn ancient Rome, the cloth and the dress distinguished

Toga-clad statue, restored with the head of the emperor Nerva

one class of people from the other class. The tunic wornby plebeians (common people) like shepherds was madefrom coarse and dark material, whereas the tunic wornby patricians was of linen or white wool. A magistratewould wear the tunica angusticlavi; senators wore tunicswith purple stripes (clavi), called tunica laticlavi. Militarytunics were shorter than the ones worn by civilians.The many types of togas were also named. Boys, up untilthe festival of Liberalia, wore the toga praetexta, whichwas a toga with a crimson or purple border, also worn bymagistrates in office. The toga virilis, (or toga pura) orman’s toga was worn by men over the age of 16 to signifytheir citizenship in Rome. The toga pictawas worn by tri-umphant generals and had embroidery of their skill on thebattlefield. The toga pulla was worn when in mourning.Even footwear indicated a person’s social status. Patri-cians wore red and orange sandals, senators had brown

footwear, consuls had white shoes, and soldiers woreheavy boots. Women wore closed shoes of colors suchas white, yellow, or green.The bulla was a locket-like amulet worn by children.When about to marry, the woman would donate her bulla(sometimes called partha) to the household gods, alongwith her toys, to signify maturity and womanhood.Men typically wore a toga, and women wore a stola.The woman’s stola was a dress worn over a tunic, and wasusually brightly colored. A fibula (or brooch) would beused as ornamentation or to hold the stola in place. Apalla, or shawl, was often worn with the stola.

1.2 Food

Main articles: Ancient Roman cuisine and Grain supplyto the city of Rome

Since the beginning of the Republic until 200 BC, ancientRomans had very simple food habits. Simple food wasgenerally consumed at around 11 o’clock, and consistedof bread, salad, olives, cheese, fruits, nuts, and cold meatleft over from the dinner the night before. Breakfast wascalled ientaculum, lunch was prandium, and dinner wascalled cena. Appetizers were called gustatio, and dessertwas called secunda mensa (or second table). Usually, anap or rest followed this.The family ate together, sitting on stools around a table.Later on, a separate dining room with dining couches wasdesigned, called a triclinium. Fingers were used to takefoods which were prepared beforehand and brought to thediners. Spoons were used for soups.

Eggs, thrushes, napkin, and vessels (wall painting from the Houseof Julia Felix, Pompeii)

Wine in Rome did not become common or mass-produced until around 250 B.C. It was more commonlyproduced around the time of Cato the Elder who men-tions in his book De Agri Cultura that the vineyard wasthe most important aspect of a good farm.[1] Wine wasconsidered a staple drink, consumed at all meals and oc-casions by all classes and was quite cheap; however, it wasalways mixed with water. This was the case even dur-

4 2 LANGUAGE

ing explicit evening drinking events (comissatio) wherean important part of the festivity was choosing an ar-biter bibendi (Judge of Drinking) who was, among otherthings, responsible for deciding the ratio of wine to waterin the drinking wine. Wine to water ratios of 1:2, 1:3, or1:4 were commonly used. Many types of drinks involvinggrapes and honey were consumed as well. Mulsum washoneyed wine, mustum was grape juice, mulsa was hon-eyed water. The per-person-consumption of wine per dayin the city of Rome has been estimated at 0.8 to 1.1 gal-lons for males, and about 0.5 gallons for females. Eventhe notoriously strict Cato the Elder recommended dis-tributing a daily ration of low quality wine of more than0.5 gallons among the slaves forced to work on farms.Drinking non-watered wine on an empty stomach was re-garded as boorish and a sure sign of alcoholism whosedebilitating physical and psychological effects were al-ready recognized in ancient Rome. An accurate accusa-tion of being an alcoholic—in the gossip-crazy society ofthe city bound to come to light and easily verified—wasa favorite and damaging way to discredit political rivalsemployed by some of Rome’s greatest orators like Ciceroand Julius Caesar. Prominent Roman alcoholics includeMark Antony, Cicero’s own son Marcus (Cicero Mi-nor) and the emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero whose sol-diers gave him the unflattering nicknameBiberius CaldiusMero (lit. boozer of pure wine, Sueton Tib. 42,1). Catothe Younger was also known as a heavy drinker, fre-quently found stumbling home disoriented and the worsefor wear in the early hours of morning by fellow citizens.During the Imperial period, staple food of the lower classRomans (plebeians) was vegetable porridge and bread,and occasionally fish, meat, olives and fruits. Sometimes,subsidized or free foods were distributed in cities. Thepatrician’s aristocracy had elaborate dinners, with partiesandwines and a variety of comestibles. Sometimes, danc-ing girls would entertain the diners. Women and childrenate separately, but in the later Empire period, with per-missiveness creeping in, even decent women would attendsuch dinner parties.

1.3 Education

Main article: Roman school

Schooling in a more formal sense was begun around 200BC. Education began at the age of around six, and in thenext six to seven years, boys and girls were expected tolearn the basics of reading, writing and counting. Bythe age of twelve, they would be learning Latin, Greek,grammar and literature, followed by training for publicspeaking. Oratory was an art to be practiced and learntand good orators commanded respect; to become an ef-fective orator was one of the objectives of education andlearning. Poor children could not afford education. Insome cases, services of gifted slaves were utilized for im-

parting education. School was mostly for boys, howeversome wealthy girls were tutored at home, but could stillgo to school sometimes.

2 Language

Main articles: Latin and Languages of the Roman Em-pireThe native language of the Romans was Latin, an Italic

Fragmentary military diploma from Carnuntum; Latin was thelanguage of the military throughout the Empire

language in the Indo-European family. Several forms ofLatin existed, and the language evolved considerably overtime, eventually becoming the Romance languages spo-ken today.Initially a highly inflectional and synthetic language, olderforms of Latin rely little on word order, conveying mean-ing through a system of affixes attached to word stems.Like other Indo-European languages, Latin gradually be-camemuchmore analytic over time and acquired conven-tionalized word orders as it lost more and more of its casesystem and associated inflections. Its alphabet, the Latinalphabet, is based on the Old Italic alphabet, which is inturn derived from the Greek alphabet. The Latin alpha-bet is still used today to write most European and manyother languages.Most of the surviving Latin literature consists almost en-tirely of Classical Latin. In the eastern half of the RomanEmpire, which became the Byzantine Empire; Greek wasthe main lingua franca as it had been since the time ofAlexander the Great, while Latin was mostly used by theRoman administration and its soldiers. Eventually Greekwould supplant Latin as both the official written and spo-ken language of the Eastern Roman Empire, while thevarious dialects of Vulgar Latin used in the Western Ro-man Empire evolved into themodern Romance languagesstill used today.The expansion of the Roman Empire spread Latinthroughout Europe, and over time Vulgar Latin evolvedand dialectized in different locations, gradually shifting

3.1 Literature 5

into a number of distinct Romance languages beginningin around the 9th century. Many of these languages,including French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, andSpanish, flourished, the differences between them grow-ing greater over time.Although English is Germanic rather than Romanic inorigin—Britannia was a Roman province, but the Ro-man presence in Britain had effectively disappeared bythe time of the Anglo-Saxon invasions—English todayborrows heavily from Latin and Latin-derived words.Old English borrowings were relatively sparse and drewmainly from ecclesiastical usage after the Christianiza-tion of England. When William the Conqueror invadedEngland from Normandy in 1066, he brought with hima considerable number of retainers who spoke Anglo-Norman French, a Romance language derived fromLatin. Anglo-Norman French remained the language ofthe English upper classes for centuries, and the number ofLatinate words in English increased immensely throughborrowing during this Middle English period. More re-cently, during the Modern English period, the revival ofinterest in classical culture during the Renaissance led toa great deal of conscious adaptation of words from Clas-sical Latin authors into English.Although Latin is an extinct language with very fewcontemporary fluent speakers, it remains in use inmany ways. In particular, Latin has survived throughEcclesiastical Latin, the traditional language of theRoman Catholic Church and one of the official lan-guages of the Vatican City. Although distinct from bothClassical and Vulgar Latin in a number of ways, Ec-clesiastical Latin was more stable than typical MedievalLatin. More Classical sensibilities eventually re-emergedin the Renaissance with Humanist Latin. Due to both theprevalence of Christianity and the enduring influence ofthe Roman civilization, Latin became western Europe’slingua franca, a language used to cross international bor-ders, such as for academic and diplomatic usage. A deepknowledge of classical Latin was a standard part of theeducational curriculum in many western countries untilwell into the 20th century, and is still taught in manyschools today. Although it was eventually supplanted inthis respect by French in the 19th century and English inthe 20th, Latin continues to see heavy use in religious,legal, and scientific terminology, and in academia in gen-eral.

3 The Arts

3.1 Literature

Main article: Roman literatureRoman literature was from its very inception influencedheavily by Greek authors. Some of the earliest works cur-rently discovered are of historical epics telling the earlymilitary history of Rome. As the Republic expanded,

Mosaic depicting a theatrical troupe preparing for a performance

authors began to produce poetry, comedy, history, andtragedy.During the reign of the early emperors of Rome therewas a golden age of historical literature. Works suchas the 'Histories' of Tacitus, the 'Gallic Wars' by JuliusCaesar and 'History of Rome' by Livy have been passeddown through generations. Unfortunately, in the case ofLivy, much of the script has been lost and it is left with afew specific areas: the founding of the city, the war withHannibal, and its aftermath.Virgil represents the pinnacle of Roman epic poetry. HisAeneidwas produced at the request of Maecenas and tellsthe story of flight of Aeneas from Troy and his settle-ment of the city that would become Rome. Lucretius,in his On the Nature of Things, attempted to explicatescience in an epic poem. Some of his science seems re-markably modern, but other ideas, especially his theoryof light, are no longer accepted. Later Ovid producedhis Metamorphoses, written in dactylic hexameter verse,the meter of epic, attempting a complete mythology fromthe creation of the earth to his own time. He unifies hissubject matter through the theme of metamorphosis. Itwas noted in classical times that Ovid’s work lacked thegravitas possessed by traditional epic poetry.Catullus and the associated group of neoteric poets pro-duced poetry following the Alexandrian model, which ex-perimented with poetic forms challenging tradition. Cat-ullus was also the first Roman poet to produce love poetry,seemingly autobiographical, which depicts an affair witha woman called Lesbia. Under the reign of the EmperorAugustus, Horace continued the tradition of shorter po-ems, with his Odes and Epodes. Martial, writing underthe Emperor Domitian, was a famed author of epigrams,poems which were often abusive and censured public fig-ures.The genre of satire was traditionally regarded as a Ro-

6 3 THE ARTS

man innovation, and satires were written by, among oth-ers, Juvenal and Persius. Some of the most popular playsof the early Republic were comedies, especially those ofTerence, a freed Roman slave captured during the FirstPunic War.A great deal of the literary work produced by Roman au-thors in the early Republic was political or satirical in na-ture. The rhetorical works of Cicero, a self-distinguishedlinguist, translator, and philosopher, in particular, werepopular. In addition, Cicero’s personal letters are con-sidered to be one of the best bodies of correspondencerecorded in antiquity.

3.2 Visual art

Main article: Roman art

Most early Roman painting styles show Etruscan influ-ences, particularly in the practice of political painting.In the 3rd century BCE, Greek art taken as booty fromwars became popular, and many Roman homes were dec-orated with landscapes by Greek artists. Evidence fromthe remains at Pompeii shows diverse influence from cul-tures spanning the Roman world.

The so-called Primavera of Stabiae, perhaps the goddess Flora

An early Roman style of note was “Incrustation”, in whichthe interior walls of houses were painted to resemble col-ored marble. Another style consisted of painting interiorsas open landscapes, with highly detailed scenes of plants,animals, and buildings.

Portrait sculpture during the period utilized youthful andclassical proportions, evolving later into a mixture of real-ism and idealism. During the Antonine and Severan pe-riods, more ornate hair and bearding became prevalent,created with deeper cutting and drilling. Advancementswere also made in relief sculptures, usually depicting Ro-man victories.

3.3 Music

Main article: Music of ancient Rome

Music was a major part everyday life in ancient Rome.Many private and public events were accompanied bymusic, ranging from nightly dining to military paradesand manoeuvres. In a discussion of any ancient music,however, non-specialists and even many musicians haveto be reminded that much of what makes our modern mu-sic familiar to us is the result of developments only withinthe last 1000 years; thus, our ideas of melody, scales, har-mony, and even the instruments we use would not be fa-miliar to Romans who made and listened to music manycenturies earlier.Some of the instruments used in Roman music are theTuba, Cornu, Aulos, Askaules, Flute, Panpipes, Lyre,Lute, Cithara, Timpani, Aulos, Auloi, Drums, Hydraulisand the Sistrum.

3.4 Architecture

Main article: Roman architectureIn its initial stages, the ancient Roman architecture re-

The Colosseum in Rome

flected elements of architectural styles of the Etruscansand the Greeks. Over a period of time, the style wasmod-ified in tune with their urban requirements, and civil engi-neering and building construction technology became de-veloped and refined. The Roman concrete has remaineda riddle,[2] and even after more than two thousand yearssome ancient Roman structures still stand magnificently,like the Pantheon (with one of the largest single spandomes in the world) located in the business district of to-day’s Rome.

7

The architectural style of the capital city of ancient Romewas emulated by other urban centers under Roman con-trol and influence,[3] like the Verona Arena, Verona, Italy;Arch of Hadrian, Athens, Greece; Temple of Hadrian,Ephesos, Turkey; a Theatre at Orange, France; and atseveral other locations, for example, Lepcis Magna, lo-cated in Libya.[4] Roman cities were well planned, effi-ciently managed and neatly maintained. Palaces, privatedwellings and villas, were elaborately designed and townplanning was comprehensive with provisions for differ-ent activities by the urban resident population, and forcountless migratory population of travelers, traders andvisitors passing through their cities. Marcus VitruviusPollio, a 1st-century BCE Roman architect’s treatise “Dearchitectura,” with various sections, dealing with urbanplanning, building materials, temple construction, publicand private buildings, and hydraulics, remained a classictext until the Renaissance.

4 Sports and entertainment

The ancient city of Rome had a place called the Cam-pus, a sort of drill ground for Roman soldiers, whichwas located near the Tiber river. Later, the Campusbecame Rome’s track and field playground, which evenJulius Caesar and Augustus were said to have frequented.Imitating the Campus in Rome, similar grounds were de-veloped in several other urban centers and military settle-ments.In the campus, the youth assembled to play, exercise, andindulge in appropriate sports, which included jumping,wrestling, boxing and racing. Riding, throwing, andswimming were also preferred physical activities. In thecountryside, pastimes also included fishing and hunting.Females did not participate in these activities. Ball play-ing was a popular sport and ancient Romans had severalball games, which included Handball (Expulsim Ludere),field hockey, catch, and some form of Football.Board games played in ancient Rome included dice(Tesserae or tali), Roman chess (Latrunculi), Ro-man Checkers (Calculi), tic-tac-toe (Terni Lapilli), andludus duodecim scriptorum and tabula, predecessors ofbackgammon.There were several other activities to keep people en-gaged like chariot races, musical and theatrical perfor-mances, public executions and gladiatorial combat. In theColosseum, Rome’s amphitheatre, 60,000 persons couldbe accommodated. There are also accounts of the Colos-seum’s floor being flooded to hold mock naval battles forthe public to watch.In addition to these, Romans also spent their share of timein bars and brothels, and graffiti[5] carved into the wallsof these buildings was common. Based on the numberof messages found on bars, brothels, and bathhouses, it’sclear that they were popular places of leisure and people

spent a deal of time there.

5 Religion

Main article: Religion in ancient Rome

The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious,and attributed their success as a world power to their col-lective piety (pietas) in maintaining good relations withthe gods. According to legendary history, most of Rome’sreligious institutions could be traced to its founders, par-ticularly Numa Pompilius, the Sabine second king ofRome, who negotiated directly with the gods. This ar-chaic religion was the foundation of the mos maiorum,“the way of the ancestors” or simply “tradition”, viewedas central to Roman identity.The priesthoods of public religion were held by membersof the elite classes. There was no principle analogous to"separation of church and state" in ancient Rome. Dur-ing the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC), the same menwho were elected public officials served as augurs andpontiffs. Priests married, raised families, and led polit-ically active lives. Julius Caesar became Pontifex Max-imus before he was elected consul. The augurs read thewill of the gods and supervised themarking of boundariesas a reflection of universal order, thus sanctioning Romanexpansionism as a matter of divine destiny. The Romantriumph was at its core a religious procession in which thevictorious general displayed his piety and his willingnessto serve the public good by dedicating a portion of hisspoils to the gods, especially Jupiter, who embodied justrule. As a result of the Punic Wars (264–146 BC), whenRome struggled to establish itself as a dominant power,many new temples were built by magistrates in fulfillmentof a vow to a deity for assuring their military success.Roman religion was thus practical and contractual, basedon the principle of do ut des, “I give that you might give.”Religion depended on knowledge and the correct practiceof prayer, ritual, and sacrifice, not on faith or dogma, al-though Latin literature preserves learned speculation onthe nature of the divine and its relation to human affairs.Even the most skeptical among Rome’s intellectual elitesuch as Cicero, who was an augur, saw religion as a sourceof social order.For ordinary Romans, religion was a part of daily life.[6]Each home had a household shrine at which prayers andlibations to the family’s domestic deities were offered.Neighborhood shrines and sacred places such as springsand groves dotted the city. The Roman calendar wasstructured around religious observances. In the Imperialera, as many as 135 days of the year were devoted toreligious festivals and games (ludi).[7] Women, slaves,and children all participated in a range of religious ac-tivities. Some public rituals could be conducted onlyby women, and women formed what is perhaps Rome’s

8 6 PHILOSOPHY

most famous priesthood, the state-supported Vestal Vir-gins, who tended Rome’s sacred hearth for centuries, untildisbanded under Christian domination.The Romans are known for the great number of deitiesthey honored. The presence of Greeks on the Italianpeninsula from the beginning of the historical period in-fluenced Roman culture, introducing some religious prac-tices that became as fundamental as the cult of Apollo.The Romans looked for common ground between theirmajor gods and those of the Greeks, adapting Greekmyths and iconography for Latin literature and Romanart. Etruscan religion was also a major influence, par-ticularly on the practice of augury, since Rome had oncebeen ruled by Etruscan kings.Imported mystery religions, which offered initiates sal-vation in the afterlife, were a matter of personal choicefor an individual, practiced in addition to carrying onone’s family rites and participating in public religion. Themysteries, however, involved exclusive oaths and secrecy,conditions that conservative Romans viewed with suspi-cion as characteristic of "magic", conspiracy (coniura-tio), and subversive activity. Sporadic and sometimesbrutal attempts were made to suppress religionists whoseemed to threaten traditional morality and unity, as withthe senate's efforts to restrict the Bacchanals in 186 BC.As the Romans extended their dominance throughout theMediterranean world, their policy in general was to ab-sorb the deities and cults of other peoples rather thantry to eradicate them,[8] since they believed that preserv-ing tradition promoted social stability.[9] One way thatRome incorporated diverse peoples was by supportingtheir religious heritage, building temples to local deitiesthat framed their theology within the hierarchy of Ro-man religion. Inscriptions throughout the Empire recordthe side-by-side worship of local and Roman deities, in-cluding dedications made by Romans to local gods.[10] Bythe height of the Empire, numerous international deitieswere cultivated at Rome and had been carried to eventhe most remote provinces, among them Cybele, Isis,Epona, and gods of solar monism such as Mithras andSol Invictus, found as far north as Roman Britain. Be-cause Romans had never been obligated to cultivate onegod or one cult only, religious tolerance was not an is-sue in the sense that it is for competing monotheisticsystems.[11] The monotheistic rigor of Judaism posed dif-ficulties for Roman policy that led at times to compromiseand the granting of special exemptions, but sometimes tointractable conflict.In the wake of the Republic’s collapse, state religionhad adapted to support the new regime of the emperors.Augustus, the first Roman emperor, justified the noveltyof one-man rule with a vast program of religious revival-ism and reform. Public vows formerly made for the secu-rity of the republic now were directed at the wellbeing ofthe emperor. So-called “emperor worship” expanded ona grand scale the traditional Roman veneration of the an-

cestral dead and of theGenius, the divine tutelary of everyindividual. Imperial cult became one of the major waysRome advertised its presence in the provinces and culti-vated shared cultural identity and loyalty throughout theEmpire. Rejection of the state religion was tantamountto treason. This was the context for Rome’s conflict withChristianity, which Romans variously regarded as a formof atheism and novel superstitio.From the 2nd century onward, the Church Fathers beganto condemn the diverse religions practiced throughout theEmpire collectively as “pagan.”[12] In the early 4th cen-tury, Constantine I became the first emperor to convertto Christianity, launching the era of Christian hegemony.The emperor Julian made a short-lived attempt to revivetraditional and Hellenistic religion and to affirm the spe-cial status of Judaism, but in 391 under Theodosius INicene Christianity became the official state church ofthe Roman Empire, to the exclusion of all others. Pleasfor religious tolerance from traditionalists such as the sen-ator Symmachus (d. 402) were rejected, and Christianmonotheism became a feature of imperial domination.Heretics as well as non-Christians were subject to exclu-sion from public life or persecution, but Rome’s originalreligious hierarchy and many aspects of its ritual influ-enced Christian forms,[13] and many pre-Christian beliefsand practices survived in Christian festivals and local tra-ditions.

6 Philosophy

Mosaic from Pompeii depicting the Academy of Plato

Two major philosophical schools of thought that de-rived from Greek religion and philosophy that becameprominent in Rome in the 1st and 2nd century AD wasCynicism and Stoicism which, according to Cora Lutzwere “fairly well merged” in the early years of the Roman

9

Empire. Cynicism taught that civilization was corruptand people needed to break away from it and its trap-pings and Stoicism taught that one must give up all earthlygoods by remaining detached from civilization and helpothers. Because of their negative views on civilizationand of their way of life, in where many of them just worea dirty cloak, carried a staff, and a coin purse, and sleptoutdoors, they were the targets of the Roman aristocracyand of the emperor and many were persecuted by the Ro-man government for being “subversive”. The philosopherLucian attacked the Cynics in his book “The Philoso-phies for Sale” in which he mocked the Cynics by stating“First...stripping you of your luxury...I will put a cloak onyou...Next I will compel you to undergo pains and hard-ships, sleeping on the ground, drinking nothing but wa-ter...Leading this life you will say that you are happierthan the Great King...Frequent the most crowded marketplace...and in [it] desire to be solitary and uncommunica-tive...”

7 See also• Ancient Rome

• Classical antiquity

• Gallo-Roman culture

• Mos maiorum

• Roman Britain

• Romanization

• Romanization of Hispania

• Sexuality in ancient Rome

• Social class in ancient Rome

• Theatre of ancient Rome

• Roman graffiti

8 References[1] E.M. Jellinek, Drinkers and Alcoholics in Ancient Rome.

[2] The Riddle of Ancient Roman Concrete, By DavidMoore, P.E., 1995, Retired Professional Engineer, Bu-reau of Reclamation (This article first appeared in “TheSpillway” a newsletter of the US Dept. of the Interior,Bureau of Reclamation, Upper Colorado Region, Febru-ary, 1993)

[3] “Roman Art and Architecture”. UCCS.edu. Archivedfrom the original on September 8, 2006. Retrieved July14, 2013.

[4] Lepcis Magna - Window on the Roman World in NorthAfrica

[5] Harvey, Brian. “Graffiti from Pompeii”. Graffiti fromPompeii. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

[6] Jörg Rüpke, “Roman Religion – Religions of Rome,” in ACompanion to Roman Religion (Blackwell, 2007), p. 4.

[7] Matthew Bunson, ADictionary of the Roman Empire (Ox-ford University Press, 1995), p. 246.

[8] “This mentality,” notes John T. Koch, “lay at the core ofthe genius of cultural assimilation which made the Ro-man Empire possible"; entry on “Interpretatio romana,”in Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia (ABC-Clio,2006), p. 974.

[9] Rüpke, “Roman Religion – Religions of Rome,” p. 4;Benjamin H. Isaac, The Invention of Racism in Classi-cal Antiquity (Princeton University Press, 2004, 2006),p. 449; W.H.C. Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in theEarly Church: A Study of Conflict from the Maccabees toDonatus (Doubleday, 1967), p. 106.

[10] Janet Huskinson, Experiencing Rome: Culture, Identityand Power in the Roman Empire (Routledge, 2000), p.261.

[11] A classic essay on this topic is Arnaldo Momigliano, “TheDisadvantages of Monotheism for a Universal State,”Classical Philology 81.4 (1986) 285–297.

[12] See Peter Brown, in Bowersock et al, Late antiquity: aguide to the postclassical world, Harvard University Press,(1999), for “pagan” as amark of socio-religious inferiorityin Latin Christian polemic:

[13] Stefan Heid, “The Romanness of Roman Christianity,” inA Companion to Roman Religion (Blackwell, 2007), pp.406–426; on vocabulary in particular, Robert Schilling,“The Decline and Survival of Roman Religion”, Romanand European Mythologies (University of Chicago Press,1992, from the French edition of 1981), p. 110.

9 Bibliography• Elizabeth S. Cohen, Honor and Gender in the Streetsof Early Modern Rome, The Journal of Interdisci-plinary History, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Spring, 1992), pp.597-625

• Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the RomanEmpire

• TomHolland, The Last Years of the Roman RepublicISBN 0-385-50313-X

• Ramsay MacMullen, 2000. Romanization in theTime of Augustus (Yale University Press)

• Paul Veyne, editor, 1992. A History of Private Life:I From Pagan Rome to Byzantium (Belknap Press ofHarvard University Press)

• Karl Wilhelm Weeber, 2008. Nachtleben im AltenRom (Primusverlag)

10 10 EXTERNAL LINKS

• Karl Wilhelm Weeber, 2005. Die Weinkultur derRömer

• J.H. D'Arms, 1995. Heavy drinking and drunken-ness in the Roman world, in O.Murray In Vino Ver-itas

10 External links• An interactive Roman map

• Rome Reborn − A Video Tour through AncientRome based on a digital model

11

11 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

11.1 Text• Culture of ancient Rome Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_ancient_Rome?oldid=728963947 Contributors: Olivier,

Rickyrab, Edward, Zocky, Kwertii, JakeVortex, Liftarn, Sannse, Ihcoyc, Ahoerstemeier, Muriel Gottrop~enwiki, Den fjättradeankan~enwiki, FQuist~enwiki, Bogdangiusca, Djnjwd, Junesun, Alex S, Charles Matthews, Adam Bishop, Stone, Sarrazip, Haukurth,Wetman, Owen, Carlossuarez46, Dimadick, Vincent Gray, AlainV, Altenmann, Academic Challenger, Nikitadanilov, GreatWhiteNorth-erner, Jsan, Jyril, Peruvianllama, Everyking, Rick Block, T0pem0, OldakQuill, Antandrus, Mihoshi, Icairns, Neutrality, Klemen Kocjancic,Stephensj74, Lacrimosus, Cun, Freakofnurture, Gobnuts, CALR, Discospinster, Silence, Paul August, Bender235, Alex3917, Fenice, Just-Phil, Bletch, Bobo192, Babomb, Denorris, Alarm, Sentience, Smalljim, Flxmghvgvk, ZayZayEM, Zoso~enwiki, Blotwell, Cyrillic, StephenBain, Espoo, StormRider,Wendell, Alansohn, Chino, Mo0, Conocimiento, ChristopherWillis, 119,Wtmitchell, EAi, Jguk, Bloody~enwiki,Fdewaele, Kelly Martin, Pekinensis, Simetrical, Woohookitty, Camw, PoccilScript, Jacobolus, Thomas Ruefner, Clemmy, Bkwillwm, Cb-dorsett, Steinbach, EvilOverlordX, Wayward, Tslocum, Frostyservant, Gladmax, BD2412, Josh Parris, P3Pp3r, NatusRoma, ElKevbo,Bhadani, Matt Deres, Falphin, Nivix, Flowerparty, RexNL, Ewlyahoocom, Codex Sinaiticus, Ben Babcock, Chobot, Lang Thompson, Mhk-ing, Gdrbot, Skoosh, Gwernol, Roboto de Ajvol, YurikBot, Phantomsteve, RussBot, Crazytales, Sinecostan, Charlene.vickers, Gaius Cor-nelius, Wimt, Nogood, NawlinWiki, Magicmonster, The Ogre, Grafen, Clashfrankcastle, Dureo, Mlouns, JHCaufield, Rwalker, Elkman,Dna-webmaster, Igiffin, Deville, PTSE, TheMadBaron, KGasso, JLaTondre, Bluezy, NeilN, Hiddekel, Sardanaphalus, Amalthea, Smack-Bot, KnowledgeOfSelf, Hydrogen Iodide, David.Mestel, Rokfaith, NickShaforostoff, Commander Keane bot, Srkris, Gilliam, Hmains,Chris the speller, TDS, Persian Poet Gal, Tree Biting Conspiracy, Miquonranger03, Isison, William Allen Simpson, Marco79, Errans, Can'tsleep, clown will eat me, Fiziker, Awh, KaiserbBot, JonHarder, Rrburke, Addshore, Kcordina, Khoikhoi, Retinarow, RafaelG, BinaryTed,BryanG, Mitsuki152, Missamo80, AlanD, Kuru, Hawjam, BurnDownBabylon, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, Accurizer, JohnWit-tle, Ocatecir, Ckatz, MarkSutton, Kyoko, Neddyseagoon, H, DabMachine, Pauric, Iridescent, Alessandro57, Zmmz, Igoldste, Shoshonna,Courcelles, Tawkerbot2, Threadnecromancer, Switchercat, SkyWalker, Nunquam Dormio, Bakanov, Cassmus, Cydebot, Gonefishingfor-good, Agne27, Mikewax, Epbr123, Barticus88, Brain control, Marek69, A3RO, James086, RickinBaltimore, Inner Earth, Matthew Proctor,Dermo69, PhiLiP, Mentifisto, AntiVandalBot, Gioto, Seaphoto, Jj137, Modernist, Insane99, Myanw, JAnDbot, Bakasuprman, Lawilkin,Cynwolfe, Acroterion, Freshacconci, Bongwarrior, VoABot II, JNW, Mbc362, Bubba hotep, ClovisPt, Trisar, Allstarecho, Glen, Der-Hexer, JaGa, Edward321, BaldClarke, Hbent, TheRanger, Xoxi, Patstuart, Flami72, Kornfan71, MartinBot, Arjun01, Keith D, Berenz001,CommonsDelinker, DavidSTaylor, Lilac Soul, Ssolbergj, J.delanoy, Nev1, Rgoodermote, Psycho Kirby, Silverxxx, Nigholith, Shimmer-ingtilly, Alsandair, Elistir, Bobapplescheese, BrokenSphere, NewEnglandYankee, SJP, Entropy, Cometstyles, Beast10125, SixteenBitJorge,Gtg204y, Bonadea, SkyBoxx, Ja 62, JimGettys, Lights, Deor, ABF, Macedonian, Philip Trueman, Butseriouslyfolks, Malinaccier, Anony-mous Dissident, Crohnie, Sintaku, LeaveSleaves, Bob f it, Madhero88, Wenli, RandomXYZb, Fflefever, Enviroboy, Insanity Incarnate,Spitfire8520, Pjoef, Quantpole, Megadane529, Sfmammamia, Randula~enwiki, Theoneintraining, EJF, SieBot, NATO.Caliber, Caltas,Keilana, Bentogoa, Flyer22 Reborn, Radon210, Oda Mari, Hxhbot, Oxymoron83, Vericuester, AlexHOUSE, Poindexter Propellerhead,Macy, La Parka Your Car, Cyfal, ImageRemovalBot, Granite07, Loren.wilton, ClueBot, The Thing That Should Not Be, Rjd0060, Dr-mies, Cp111, Boing! 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