Every Day Life in Ancient Rome

Name: ____________________________________________
Fast Fact: Wealthy Romans could afford magnificent villas complete with an atrium, or central hall, a kitchen, and artwork.

Life at Home
Few ancient Romans who lived in cities could afford their own homes, so most lived in
apartments. The city of Rome itself had more than 45,000 blocks of apartment buildings. Many were
four or five stories tall and were crowded, noisy, and dirty. People threw their garbage out of their
windows into the streets below. It was common for roofs or walls to cave in and for whole buildings
to collapse. Fire was a constant danger, since many buildings were made at least partly of wood.
The apartments did not have running water, kitchens, or heat. People carried water from public
fountains and bought their meals from food vendors on the street or cooked outdoors on small grills.
People ate mostly bread, vegetables, fruit, and cheese. Meat was a luxury that people rarely ate.
Many wealthy families had large homes in the city and the country. These homes usually had
many rooms built around a central courtyard, with running water and private gardens. Slaves did the
cooking and other chores. Wealthy people ate foods imported from all over the empire, including
deer, pork, ostrich, and flamingo.
Rich people entertained their friends at banquets, or feasts. Slaves prepared and served
expensive foods and drinks. Often, the hosts hired professional musicians, singers, and dancers to
entertain their guests.

1. How did living in a large empire affect the home life of wealthy Romans?

2. How did the economic situation of poor Romans affect how they lived?

Children in History
Roman education stated at home when the children were very young. Women taught small
boys and girls. When a boy was old enough, he spent time with his father and learned to do his
father’s job. A girl would remain in the home, where she learned crafts and household chores from
her mother. As Rome’s power and wealth grew, tutors became more common, especially among the
richer families.
Children also like to play games. They played with toys including balls, dolls, marbles, stilts,
and kites. They built models, and they played board games such as tic-tac-toe. Dogs and birds were
the most common pets.
1. How were the lives of Roman children similar to the lives of children in the United States?

City Life and Country Life

At the time of Augustus, Rome was the largest city in the empire. The Roman census show that
about 1 million people lived there at that time. A census is a count of the people in a certain place.
The empire’s other large cities—Athens, Antioch, Alexandria, and Carthage—had populations of
about 100,000 to 200,000 people
 Many cities in the empire were modeled after Rome. Each one had a forum, which served as a
marketplace and meeting place. Public buildings lined the forum. A building called the basilica (buh-
sil=h-lik-kuh) held government offices and courtrooms. A town’s most important temples were also
located near the forum.
Large cities and towns had streets and sidewalks paved with stone while smaller towns had
roads of gravel or dirt. Cities also had public baths. Since most people did not have running water at
home, these were an important public service. The baths were also important areas for conducting
business and exchanging ideas.
Water came from well or aqueducts. An aqueduct is a system of bridges and canals that carries
water from a natural source, such as a river, to a town. The well-built Roman aqueducts supplied
water for public baths and drinking fountains. For a fee, wealthy Romans could pipe water from the
aqueducts into their homes.
Across the empire, life in the countryside was simple and often hard. People farmed with only
simple tools, such as shovels and hoes, and used oxen to pull their plows. People grew or made
nearly everything they needed.

1. How did public building projects benefit the lives of city people?

2. Why did Roman cities have public baths?

Slavery
In the countryside and the cities, the day-to-day running of the Roman Empire depended on
slavery. Historians estimate that during the time of Augustus, about 3 million slaves and about 5
million free people lived on the Italian Peninsula.
The Twelve Tables offer clues about slavery in Rome’s early days. They state that a person who
failed to pay a debt could be sold into slavery. This practice was later outlawed, but prisoners of war
could be enslaved and many were. The Romans also bought some of their slaves from traders and
pirates.
Slaves did many different kinds of jobs in Roman society. Many worked on farms, in mines,
and as household servants. Towns and cities owned slaves and put them to work on public building
projects. Some slaves even worked as doctors, teachers, and architects, and these slaves often lived
better than many free citizens.
Slaves had few rights, and their treatment varied. Sometimes slaves were chained in the fields
while others were lived in prisons at night. Yet some slave owners treated their slaves well because
they risked losing money if the slave could not work. Some slaves were freed upon their owner’s
death. Others earned enough money to buy freedom.

1. How was daily life in the Roman Empire dependent on slavery?

2. How did the treatment of slaves vary in ancient Rome?

 Entertainment
Roman rulers had a long tradition of providing “bread and circuses” for the people. The
phrase refers to free grain for the poor and free entertainment for all. Rulers knew they could count
on these gifts to help win the people’s support.
In ancient Rome, the word circus referred to a building in which sports events were held.
Rome’s first circus was a huge stadium called the Circus Maximus. It was about 2,000 feet long and
600 feet wide.
The most popular event was the dangerous sport of chariot racing. Chariots crashed into each
other as they jockeyed for the winning position. Drivers could be thrown onto the track and trampled
by the horses. Winning drivers became wealthy and were heroes. Other sporting events at the circus
included footraces, boxing, wrestling, and javelin throwing.
Gladiators provided another popular form of entertainment. Gladiators were trained at special
schools and then forced to fight to the death. They fought each other, and they fought wild animals.
Most gladiators were criminals, slaves, or prisoners of war. A few were women.
A gladiator show lasted all day and had many events. Often, several battles were fought at
once. It was common for criminals to be killed as part of the show. The largest arena for these
“games” was the Colosseum.
Some Romans preferred theater. The Romans learned about theater from the Greeks and
enjoyed Greek plays. Most actors were slaves, and all were men. Women’s roles were played by men.
Fast Facts: In Rome, thousands of spectators packed the Circus Maximus to watch thrilling and
dangerous events such as the chariot races. The Romans enjoyed music and dance. They also liked to
laugh.

1. How did Greek theater influence Roman theater?

2. Why do you think some Romans were tempted to move from the country to the city?

Review:
1. What was everyday life like in the Roman Empire?

2. Describe the role of gladiators in ancient Rome?

1. 3. Why were aqueducts important to the people of Rome?

2. 4. How might life in ancient Rome been different if slavery had not existed?
 Everyday Life in Ancient Rome
Directions: Write T next to the statements that are true and F next to the statements that are false. Then
answer the questions that follow.

1. _________ Most gladiators in ancient Rome were military heroes.

2. _________ Most people in ancient Rome lived in apartment buildings that were
crowded noisy, dirty, and often unsafe.

3. _________ The population of Rome was about the same as that of other cities in the
Roman Empire, such as Athens and Alexandria.

4. _________ Aqueducts were built to supply water from a natural source to the cities
and towns in the Roman Empire.

5. _________ The phrase “bread and circuses” refers to how rulers of ancient Rome
supplied free food and entertainment to people in order to win
their support.

6. _________ Wealthy citizens had to use public baths and fountains to get fresh water.

7. _________ Nearly all Roman citizens enjoyed the many meats and special foods that
were imported from different parts of the empire.

8. _________ Rome served as the model for other cities in the Roman Empire.

9. How was the Roman Empire dependent on slavery?

10. If you had been an ordinary citizen in the Roman Empire, would you have preferred to live in
the city or in the country? Tell why.