ThE RoMaNs

By AnNa-MaY

The Romans ate food that they could grow such as vegetables.

They used cereals they grew to make bread.

They also ate meat from animals and birds.

The Romans brought food over from other countries in their empire (imported food). These 'new' foods included many vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, cabbages, radishes, broad beans and celery.

Men wore a knee-length tunic (chilton), either sleeveless or short-sleeved. Roman men wore a cloak over their tunic, which was like a wide shawl that was draped over the shoulder and carefully wrapped around the body. Important Romans dressed in a long robe called a toga.

Women wore a longer tunic which was often ankle-length. Over this the women wore a stola which was a full length from neck to ankle, high- waisted and fastened at the shoulders with clasps Rich women wore long tunics made from expensive cotton or silk. They also wore lots of jewellery and make-up, strong scent and elaborate hairstyles. They had specially trained slaves to help them dress. arrange their hair and put make up on their faces

Boys wore a tunic down to their knees and a cloak if it was cold. Rich boy's wore a toga which had a purple border. Girls wore a tunic with a woolen belt tied around their waists. Children wore a special charm around their neck called a bulla. It was given to them when they were a few days old.

Children liked to play ball games, and boys in particular liked playing with marbles, and a game called “knuckleboard”, which is similar to the modern game of “jacks”.

Other pastimes included playing with kites and ball games.

Girls had dolls made from wood, ivory or clay. 

Most of the Roman gods and goddesses were a blend of several religious influences. Many were introduced via the Greek colonies of southern Italy. Many also had their roots in old religions of the Etruscans or Latin tribes.

goddess Diana to whom the Roman king Servius Tullius built the temple on the Aventine Hill. Essentially she was an old Latin goddess from the earliest of times. Before Servius Tullius moved the center of her worship to Rome, it was based at Aricia. There in Aricia it was always a runaway slave who would act as her priest. From such obscure beginnings Diana was moved to Rome, where she then gradually became identified with the Greek goddess Artemis.

The average Roman family consisted of father, mother, children, married sons, their family, and slaves. If you didn't get married by the age of 15-16, you were punished. The person who decided who his children marry was the head of the house, the father. The family was very important to the Romans. Women were under control of their husbands but controlled how the house was run and were known as.

 

Rome didn't have any public schools. Most children  went to private school or studied at home. Their subjects  were reading, writing, and arithmetic. In many homes,  the slaves taught the children.

The Romans used only 7 letters to represent all numbers . . .

I = 1   V = 5    X = 10    L = 50    C = 100    D = 500    M = 1000

Letters are placed before or after each other to lower or increase their value.

IX = 9   MXI = 1011    MCMLXXXVIII = 1988  IIMM = 1998 

The Romans were the first civilization to introduce a public health system. They had to do this because Rome had grown in size and it was impossible to find a natural source of fresh water in the city. It was also necessary to find a way of disposing of the rubbish to prevent pollution causing health problem.

The ancient Romans communicated by speaking and writing. The army had signal fires. Imperial messengers could travel relatively quickly on Rome's roads to deliver messages of importance.

The Romans communicated in Latin. They don't communicate far away they communicate while they are together.

The First Punic War was fought against the people of Carthage. This war was fought from 264-241 BC. The Punic War was fought in order for whichever army one would gain control of Sicily. In order to get to Sicily to fight the Carthaginians, the Romans had to cross the straites of Messina on two legions. When the Romans got to Sicily they had to fight off Syracuse and easily won but in order to keep Sicily the Romans still had to fight the Carthaginians.

The second Punic War was fought from 218-201 BC.  In the war General Hannibal was Rome’s greatest enemy because he was the leader of the Carthaginians. General Hannibal was probably one of the greatest leaders of all time. The Carthaginians surprised Rome when they decided to cross the Alps. The only setback for Carthage was when Hannibal decided to cross the Alps with forty thousand men and thirty-seven elephants, they lost nearly one-third of their army from cold and avalanches. Instead of marching his men into Rome, Hannibal decided to march into Southern Italy because he thought his army might be too weak to attack Rome. The Roman general at the time, Fabius Maximus, discovered what Hannibal was doing and decided to burn all of the crops around that area so Hannibal’s army would starve.