Roman Life

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Since a Roman's life is very busy and complicated, I picked a couple sub topics

for my report. I picked daily meal routines like breakfast, lunch, and dinner,

the Forum, Roman school, the public baths, and houses.

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Most sources say Romans ate three meals a day. The first two would be very

small.

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The very poor people would be glad to even enjoy one meal a day.

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Breakfast, called ienaculum, would consisit of bread dipped in watered down

wine. Sometimes a little honey would be used or dates and olives.

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Lunch, called prandium, if eaten at all, would be made up of fruits, bread,

cheese, or leftovers from the previous night.

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Dinner, called cena, was the main meal of the day, served in the late afternoon.

For the lower class, cena consisted of vegetables and olive oil. For the high

class, it would be a seven-course meal. The typical dinner had three courses.

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The 1st course, called gustus, was appetizers. Mulsum (MULSUM!!!), wine mixed

with honey, would be served along with salad, eggs, shellfish, mushrooms, etc.

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The 2nd course, the meat course, or called lena, would provide pork, poultry,

fish, animals hunted, or exotic birds served with veggies.

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The final course, called the secundae mensae or second table was given its name

because at dinner parties, the entire table was removed after the first 2

courses, and a new one was put in its place for desert. This course had fruits,

honey cakes, nuts, and wine.

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For my next sub topic is the Forum. The Forum was the main marketplace and the

buisness center, where the ancient Romans went to do their banking, trading,

clothes shopping, and marketing.

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It was also a place for public speaking. The ancient Romans were great speakers

and loved to talk. They thought the job of an orator was not to argue, but to

argue persuasively. People browsing the Forum would stop and listen, then go

back and shop, and maybe leave a sacrifice at a temple or two.

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The Forum was also used for religious

ceremonies and festivals. It was a very

busy place!

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My third topic is Roman school. In school, the goal of education in ancient Rome

was to be an effective speaker. The school day began before sunrise, as did all

work in Rome. Kids brought candles to use until daybreak. There was a rest for

lunch and the afternoon siesta, and then back to school until late afternoon. No

one knows how long the school year actually was; it probably varied from school

to school. However, school began each year on the 24th of March!

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In early Roman days, a Roman boy's education took place at home. If his father

could read and write, he taught his son to do the same. The father instructed

his sons in Roman law, history, customs, and physical training, to prepare for

war. Reverence for the gods, respect for law, obedience to authority, and

truthfulness were the most important lessons to be taught. Girls were taught by

their mother. Girls learned to spin, weave, and sew.

(Home Ec)

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About 200 BC, the Romans borrowed some of the ancient Greek system of education.

Although they did not add many subjects, they did begin sending their boys, and

some of their girls, with their father's permission, to school, outside their

home, at age 6 or 7.

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The children studied reading, writing, and counting. They read scrolls and

books. They wrote on boards covered with wax, and used pebbles to do math

problems. They were taught Roman numerals, and recited lessons they had

memorized. At age 12 or 13, the boys of the upper classes attended "grammar"

school, where they studied Latin, Greek, grammar, and literature. At age 16,

some boys went on to study public speaking at the rhetoric school, to prepare

for a life as an orator.

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Children, educated outside of the home, were sent to the house of a tutor, who

would group-tutor. Children, educated in the home, were taught by intelligent

and gifted