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OUR STORY © Mario Ellul, De La Salle Junior Section 2013

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Dear Friends Welcome to the fourth book in this series! We hope that you have enjoyed the other books. This booklet is designed to help you ENJOY history and to learn many interesting things about OUR STORY. History is fun and that is the most important thing in our lessons. We want you to enjoy them. We would also like you to TAKE PART by sharing your knowledge with your friends and your teachers. Do not be afraid to discuss and share your opinions about the information in this booklet in class and at home. Throughout the booklet, you will also be asked to perform some tasks and jobs. We would like you to put in your best effort and also to do that little something extra which will enrich your knowledge. Enjoy OUR STORY and make sure that you ask your teacher for help if you cannot perform any of the tasks or if you cannot understand any parts.

To the parents:

This booklet aims at helping your children acquire some important skills in the study of history and to

think critically about the material presented. Only A VERY SMALL fraction of the material has to be

memorised (this will be pointed out by the class teachers). DO NOT make the children memorise any

passages or answers to given questions. Our main aim at this stage is to build the foundations which later

on will help the children to acquire a love for the subject and to develop a critical mind set. Your

children may need some help in some tasks presented in this booklet, however do not let them become

too dependent on your input – in some cases adequate supervision/ monitoring may be enough. Make

sure that you take all the safety precautions if your children are surfing the net to help them with any of

the tasks. Should you have any queries or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact the class teacher.

On completion of this booklet, the children should have achieved these targets:

1. Know something about the main Roman sites in our island.

2. Know something basic about the Roman way of life.

3. Appreciate the role of Rome in the history of civilization.

4. Know some basic facts about Roman gods and religion.

5. Know what went on inside a Roman Bath

6. Know something basic about domestic life and industry in Roman Malta.

7. Know the difference between a Domus and a Villa.

8. Know basic information about life in the city of Rome.

9. Be familiar and understand the meaning of these terms:

Galley

Gladiators

Villa

Plebeian, Patrician, Slave

Ideally, this booklet should be complemented with visits to the Roman Domus in Rabat and some other

sites mentioned in these pages. Visits to all these sites cannot be fitted in the school calendar, so parents

are encouraged to take the children on visits for them to appreciate and understand better what they have

learnt in class.

OUR STORY

© Mario Ellul, De La Salle College Junior Section 2013

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It is the feast of Ambarvalia today … In your calendar this day falls on the 29th of May. It is a holiday for us Romans and we celebrate a feast to honour the goddess Ceres. Ceres is the goddess of plants and agriculture. We look forward to this festival because we always travel to our villa near the sea in the south of the island. You call this place Birżebbuġa nowadays.

We have travelled all the way from our house in Melite to Birżebbuġa in LITTERS. Mum and Dad were carried in separate litters carried by strong slaves. I rode for part of the way in mother’s litter, but I walked a lot too. At times, I even hitched a ride on one of the carts in our party. Luckily the weather was fine for most of the way. We had to leave early and there was hardly any time for a quick meal but we had a little picnic on the way. It was fun!

On our arrival at the villa, we were welcomed by the servants and the slaves. Then, we went straight outside to honour Ceres. We walked around the fields to pray the gods to bless the growing plants, crops and animals. After that we burnt some incense in front of a little statue of Ceres on the Lalarium – or the little altar in our villa. We also put some fruit and seeds on the altar as an offering to the goddess. I love to hear stories about the gods. Father told me that Ceres is the daughter of Saturn and sister of Jupiter. In Rome, they hold a big festival in her honour. We will have another festival in honour of Ceres in October when we collect the grain and fruit from the fields to thank her.

The goddess Ceres

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The Romans believed in many different gods and goddesses. These gods were like people, but with magical powers. The Roman gods were part of a family. People told stories or myths about them. Each god or goddess looked after different people or things.

These are a few of the old Roman gods:

During the festival of

Saturnalia, rich Romans were

supposed to serve their

slaves

The Romans believed that you could tell

the future by cutting open dead animals and looking at their insides.

It is time to use modern tools to learn more about Marcus’s religion and the gods of ancient Rome and then we will go back with Marcus to their villa and farm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/religion/

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GOOGLE IMAGE RESULT ROMAN GODS

Saturn: he was once the king of gods. His place was taken by his son (Jupiter). A merry Roman holiday or festival, the Saturnalia, was named for him. Jupiter: god of the sky, he was the most important god. Juno: Jupiter’s wife. Neptune: Jupiter’s brother, he was god of the sea. Minerva: goddess of wisdom and women’s work. Mars: god of war. Venus: goddess of love

Saturn was replaced by his son as king of the gods

Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods

People worshipped the gods in

temples. Inside the temple was a statue of a god. Priests looked after

the temple. People went there to make sacrifices or offerings of food,

flowers or money. Sometimes the priest killed an animal, such as a

bull, as part of the sacrifice

ceremony. Some Emperors said they were gods too, so everyone had to

make a sacrifice to the Emperor.

Fun Facts

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Archaeologists have found the remains of what seems to be a temple dedicated to the god Apollo in the city of Melite (modern Mdina). Let’s find some information about this god. Fill in the missing information in this fact sheet. Here are some other Roman gods: Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Neptune, Bacchus, Vulcan, Aphrodite, Pluto Draw up more fact sheets for some of these other gods. Each Roman family would have had a little shrine in their house in which they worshipped the family gods. In this shrine they also remembered their ancestors. This shrine was called a Lalarium. However for important celebrations the Romans went to temples. Some of these temples became really famous and rich with the offerings which the people left. In the temple there would have been a statue of the god it was dedicated to and many priests (including women) took care of the temple.

Name Apollo

Parents

Symbols

Powers

Famous temples

Visit this website to check out some more information about Roman gods and Roman mythology

http://rome.mrdonn.org/romangods/index.html

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Here is what most Roman temples looked like. The temples were covered in a special expensive stone called marble. The Romans introduced many important things in the art of building. Some of them are still in use today. The Romans perfected the arch and invented concrete. Use the words in the first column to label this picture of a Roman temple.

Column The columns supported the roof and created a grand effect

Base The temples were raised on a platform to mark them out as important buildings

Capital The top part of the column. The capital was decorated and carved in stone.

Pediment The triangular front of the roof. This would have been decorated with a carving showing gods and goddesses

Frieze The frieze went all around the temple just below the sloping roof. It was decorated with sculpture too

I wonder what Marcus is doing. Let us go round the villa, maybe we will manage to find him.

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Room for pressing grapes

We have vineyards in which we grow grapes in our estate. The grapes are pressed to make wine.

The fermenting yard The juice of the pressed grapes is put in big pottery jars and left to ferment to become wine.

Oil pressing room We have olive trees too growing in the fields around our villa. Olives are pressed for oil – which is very important for us.

Threshing floor Animals are used to walk on the wheat to separate the grain from the stalk. The stalk is used as animal fodder and the wheat is taken to the mill to make flour

Barn We keep animals here – the goats are milked every day. I really like goats’ milk. We also have donkeys, chickens and a couple of oxen.

Mill and Bakery Workers crush wheat to make flour with the mills and they bake our own bread in the ovens.

Triclinium

Sometimes we have guests at our country villa – my parents entertain them here. The servants’ rooms are on the ground floor while we sleep in the rooms on the upper floor.

Grapes are crushed to make wine towards the end of August

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Slaves turning the mills. First, the grain from the threshing floor is sifted out in the open. This is done to separate the actual grains of wheat from bits and pieces of unwanted rubbish. Then, the grains of wheat are put under the heavy mill stones. Slaves turn the stones and the grains are crushed to make flour.

Here you can see some scenes of every day activity at our Villa. The first picture is described for you. Try to guess what is happening in the second picture on the next page.

The flour is collected and taken to the kitchens to make the dough.

The dough is baked in wood fired ovens – special tools are used to put the bread in and out of the oven.

Bread has always been very important in history. For many people, it made up the main meal of the day. The main ingredient in bread is flour. Flour is made from the seeds of grain which is grown in fields. The seeds are crushed to make flour and then it is mixed with water and yeast and left to stand for some time. Then it is baked in the oven to give you delicious fresh bread.

The loaves of bread are rather big and they last for several days till the next baking day.

Bread was very important for the Romans – it was an essential part of their diet. They had brown, white and flat bread. Flat bread was commonly used to scoop up food and sauces instead of forks and spoons. Bread was eaten with cheese, meat and vegetables. The rich ate white bread – which was rather expensive while the poorer people ate brown bread – which was cheaper.

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The ancient Romans called olive oil LIQUID GOLD. For the People around the Mediterranean Sea, olive oil was extremely important.

The olive tree is extremely strong and it lives for many years. Some olive trees can grow to be over hundreds of years old. Its roots can go really deep into the ground, so olive trees do not need a lot of watering. It can live on the salty shores of the Mediterranean. It does not need a lot of care by humans to grow.

Olive oil was extremely important for the Romans. For them it was not just something to add to your food or to cook with. Which of these uses did olive oil have in Roman times? It was used as a kind of liquid soap to wash the body

It was used in making soap

It was used as a fuel to burn in a lamp

It was used to cure certain illnesses

It was believed that it had magical powers

It was used in making paint Another advantage of olive oil was that it did not go bad easily. It could be stored for about a year. It was stored in amphorae.

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Fill in the blanks in the boxes to describe what is happening in the picture. Use the pictures to get hints. Your teacher will help you too.

Most of the products from the farm were stored in big pottery jars. There were no freezers or fridges – so salt was used a lot to preserve meat and fish.

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It is time to meet some people at the villa. We have some plebeians working for us. These are ordinary poor people. They live and work on the farm and they are paid a salary. You can easily recognize them from the clothes they wear. People in the richer, more important classes are known as Patricians. Mine is a Patrician family.

Women comb their hair and wear it in bun or pony tail

Men cut their hair short with a fringe

Plebeians wear a tunic made of rough material (such as wool – the tunic is dyed in dark colours such as brown or grey

Plebeian women wear a long tunic and a cloak. The cloth is rough and dark like the men’s.

We wear sandals all year round – they are knows as Caligae

Roman men belonging to Patrician families wear tunics and a toga. The clothes of rich people are made of light material such as linen or cotton. The preferred colour is white but public officials in government wear a toga with a purple stripe. Both men and women wear Caligae. Men and boys wear a Bulla – a necklace which was meant to bring good luck.

Women wear their hair in very elaborate hairstyles. They also wear perfume, make up and jewellery.

A Toga worn over the tunic

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Here are some hairstyles for Roman women. Women spent a lot of time making themselves beautiful. They wore make up and jewellery. They also had perfumes stored in different glass bottles.

Which of these fashion accessories would a Roman lady have used?

The rich and important ladies would have slaves to help them wash and dress and to put on their make up.

Slaves are very important for us Romans. They perform a lot of manual work everywhere. Slaves are either prisoners of war or criminals. They can be bought at the slave market and they belong to their owners. They are not paid for the work they do but they are fed and clothed by their masters. Slaves wear a simple tunic and do not have many possessions. Some clever ones could be made to work as teachers, doctors and secretaries.

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A: The FRIGIDARIUM or the cold room. You go into the baths, undress, have a dip in a cold bath and get prepared. You wear a pair of wooden sandals here. You will need these in the other rooms because the floors are heated.

B: The TEPIDARIUM or the warm room. Here you may get a massage,

rubbed with oil and get cleaned C: The CALDARIUM or the hot room. Here you get into a sauna and have a

hot bath D: You end the cycle by going into a cold bath to close your pores and feel

refreshed.

We Romans like our baths! Our baths are not something private which you have in your house like you do in 2012. Our baths are a public structure – very much like one of your large sports complexes. Let me tell you what went on inside a Roman bath.

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Going to the baths, was not just about getting cleaned. At the baths you met friends, talked, discussed politics, struck business deals, etc.

Here is how the Romans heated their baths.

Slaves kept the fire burning underneath the floor of the baths. The warm air travelling under the floor and up the walls, kept the rooms warm and also heated the water for the hot baths. The Roman bath complex at Għajn Tuffieħa in Malta was a unique find in our island. The rooms were decorated with mosaics and there were also hot and cold rooms. At Għajn Tuffieħa, archaeologists have also found bedrooms around the baths, leading them to conclude that people may have come here for a short stay out in the country to enjoy the baths.

This is the design of the mosaic floor found at Għajn Tuffieħa baths.

The strigil was essential in a Roman Bath. It was made of metal and shaped like a hook. What was it used for? To hang your clothes on while you took a bath

To help you put on your shoes

To scrape the dirt from your body

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We travelled to Rome on a war galley. This is a ship equipped for war, but sometimes it can carry passengers too. At first I was a bit scared about pirates. I remember Philip, our teacher telling us the story of when Julius Caesar was captured by pirates. Father laughed at me and told me that no one dares to attack a Roman ship! Rome has a very strong navy and its ships control the Mediterranean Sea. No pirate would dare to attack us! That put my mind at rest. Let me explain some things about a Roman galley.

It’s me again friends. I have some very exciting news to share with you. Father is taking me with him on a business trip to Rome. He says that I am old enough now and he wants me to go with him to learn the ropes. He wants me to keep a journal about my trip. I will share it with you when I’m back.

A big square sail moves the ship forward

The eagle standard of the ship hands at the stern

A big ram at the bow is used to sink enemy ships

Oars pulled by slaves give the ship greater power when more speed is needed

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We made our trip in August when the weather was nice and sunny. We stayed on deck most of the time – even sleeping outside in the fresh air. However I went below decks to look at the oarsmen.

The ship we travelled on was a TRIREME – that is it had three rows of oarsmen pulling at the big oars. Some of the oars are so big that they need two strong men to pull them. The rowers are tied with chains to the benches and they eat and sleep there too.

We landed at the main harbour near Rome – Ostia and then father hired some horses to travel to the city. In Rome, we stayed with Uncle Faustus and we went round to see places. Here are some of the places we visited

The Pantheon This is a temple dedicated to all the gods of Rome. It is unique as it is circular and it has a huge dome for a roof. A hole in the middle of the dome lets light and air in.

The Circus Maximus This is a huge stadium which is used for horseracing. It is a longish structure and it can take thousands of spectators. Chariot races take place in the middle and they can be very exciting. Uncle Faustus took us to see a race.

The Amphitheatre This is a grand arena which can take thousands of people. Gladiator fights and other shows are held here. We went to see a gladiator fight while we were at Rome. I will tell you about it later.

The great aqueduct I saw this when we went out for a trip in the countryside outside Rome. It looks a bit like a huge bridge, but in reality it is used to get water from the hills to the city.

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The Great Baths Roman men meet here to relax, swim, exercise and sometimes even do business. It is a grand building with many domes and columns. Quite unlike the baths we have in Melita.

The Temple of Jupiter Is the most important temple in Rome. It honours the king of the gods – Jupiter together with the gods Juno, his wife and Minerva. On the roof there is a statue of Jupiter riding a chariot drawn by four horses.

Now use Marcus’s notes to label these drawings of the places he visited. He sketched the drawings himself – as you can see, he is quite a good artist.

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The horse races are really fun. I have never seen anything like this! The riders ride four wheeled chariots and they drive the horses really fast.

It can be quite dangerous for the riders, especially if they fall off.

Here are some other things which struck me during our visit to Rome.

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The forum is a very busy place. It contains the most important palaces, temples, courts of law, government offices, etc. A lot of business is carried out here.

Some busy street scenes. There are some very high buildings in Rome. On the ground floor one finds shops and stores. All the streets are paved and they are usually very busy.

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The Romans liked to watch gladiator fights – very much like the way we enjoy watching sports today. The fights were held in an arena – and the programme could last for a whole day. Some of the games were held to honour the gods or to celebrate some holiday or great event. The gladiators were slaves who were trained to fight at special gladiator schools. The very best of them became superstars in their own right and they were very famous. All shows started with a grand parade which went around the arena. The parade included musicians, the guest of honour and the gladiators who were going to take part. A special person was hired to organize the show and to lead the events. The show was prepared very carefully to the least detail.

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There were different types of gladiators. Here are just six different types. Write the correct name of each gladiator in the box. Use the table below to help you.

Retiarii Carried a trident, a dagger and a fisherman’s net. Retiarii did not wear any protection and they had to be quick and agile

Essedarii War chariot fighters. It is probable that these fighters were brought over to Romeby Julius Caesar from Britain.

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Equites Horsemen. They wore a helmet and carried a small round shield. They started on horseback but once they had thrown their spear, they had to get off the horse and fight on foot.

Velite These gladiators were very fast. They were trained to throw javelins or spears on the run and then carry on fighting with their sword. They wore a helmet under an animal skin.

Thraeces They wore a helmet which closed the whole head. They carried a curved sword and a shield and wore protection for their shoulder and hand.

Dimachaerii They fought with two swords – one in each hand!

Here is a programme of a typical day at the arena: Which of these facts about the gladiator games are true?

They trained at special schools for gladiators

They were considered to bring good luck by rich Roman women

Their sweat was collected and sold as a powerful charm

Some gladiators fought with their eyes covered

Few gladiators passed the age of 30

A grand parade to open the games

The first item on the programme was some comedy

Then there were fights in which gladiators fought against wild animals

Then came the proper gladiator fights

The games might end with the execution of criminals

Victorious gladiators were given laurel wreaths and cash prizes. If a gladiator went on winning fights for a long time, he might even be given his freedom

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The gladiator games were banned by Emperor Constantine in the year 325 A.D Archaeologists have found that a lot of advertising went on to encourage people to go to Gladiator Games. Posters were found painted on walls in the Roman city of Pompei. Design a poster for gladiator games. Do not forget to tell the people why the games are being organised, who will be the guest of honour, which gladiator types will be taking part and which facilities will be offered to the spectators (eg. Shelter from the sun, snacks, drinks, etc)

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Here are two carvings from Ancient Rome showing scenes of Roman life. Describe what is happening on the lines below.

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Finish this crossword puzzle about Ancient Rome. The clues are on the next page.

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Across 3. Who commanded a Legion? 4. How were sandals known in Roman times? 5. What was the name of the means of transport carried by slaves? 11. What title did the Senate give to Octavian when he became ruler of Rome? 13. How were the poor people known in Roman times? 16. What did the Romans call the little altar shrine inside their house? 18. What was the name of the picture which was made of many tiny coloured tiles? 20. What was the formation in which Roman soldiers protected each other with their

shields called? 22. What were the big jars used to store olives in called? 24. What was the name of the recipe which used rotten fish as its main ingredient? 25. What name did the Romans use for a big house in the countryside? 26. How were the rich and important people known in Roman times? Down 1. Who was the Roman goddess of agriculture? 2. Which gladiator threw javelins and wore animal skins? 4. What was the hot room in a Roman bath called? 6. Who commanded a Century? 7. What was the name of the king of the gods? 8. What was the name of the circular temple in Rome dedicated to all the gods? 9. What was the name for the short Roman sword carried by a legionary? 10. What was a Roman war ship called? 12. What was the group of important politicians who helped the emperor rule called? 14. What was the Roman word for salt? 15. Who was the god who had a temple dedicated to him in Melite? 17. Which gladiators used fishing nets and tridents for their main weapons? 19. What did Roman boys wear around their neck to bring them luck? 21. What was a Roman town house called? 23. What is 1560 in Roman numerals? 25. Who was the Roman goddess of love?

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Make your own fashion doll to show the dress of a Roman woman and a Roman man. Photocopy the drawings and paste on kartonċin. Colour in and then cut carefully along the outline.

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