Daily Life in Ancient Rome - Research Paper Example

?Ordinary Romans (140 B.C. to 180 A.D Much has been written about the Roman Empire: it’s rise and fall, the conquests and wars, it’s political structure, the lives of Senators, leaders and generals. Yet there is a dearth of information concerning the lives of ordinary people, citizens and non-citizens of the Empire of no renown. This paper will attempt to uncover and explore those lives around the time of the Late Republic (147-30 BC) and into the Early Empire years (30 BC to 180 AD). There are no original sources of ordinary people from that time that survive today, but much can be constructed from Roman law and custom, the Roman Constitution and it’s evolution, and others writing during the period, usually the patricians or aristocracy. According to John R. Clarke in his book “Roman Life,” (S)o much of what we know comes from classical literature, written by elite men. Naturally, the texts give the mindset of the upper classes of Roman society. There's not a single woman writer, nor are there any literary texts written by slaves, former slaves, or freeborn workers.1 It wasn’t until the Fifth Century BC that Romans were divided into classes during the census for the purpose of determining eligibility for military service.2 The lowest classes were slaves seized during conquest and just above them the proletariat or proletarii, the landless and unemployed poor who could not afford military equipment. Proletarii were not considered Roman citizens because of their landless status and thus could not vote or serve in the military. It wasn’t until 212 AD that all free men were counted as citizens, but not women or slaves. The Marian Reforms after 107 BC provided that the proletariat and freed slaves could serve in the military with equipment provided by the state.3 This was mostly out of need, since the ranks of the military, typically drawn from landowners and merchant classes, were stretched thin by foreign wars. Marius changed the structure of the military in revolutionary ways, discarding the Greek-influenced fighting cohort and strategy.4 Marius further granted Roman citizenship to all who served in the military.5 As landless poor, the proletariat class had nothing to return to after a military campaign and often remained in the military as career soldiers for many years. Some became wealthy owing to the spoils of war. Reforms affecting the lower classes were also proposed by the Gracchus brothers, Tiberius and Gaius, between 133-126 BC.6 Their proposed agrarian reforms would give the plebian masses a small parcel of land to work and make them eligible for military service. They were responding to the threat of an uprising among the landless poor who thronged to Rome as slaves now did the work they had once performed and they were thus unemployed with no means of earning a living.7 Where the older brother, Tiberius, failed, the younger brother, Gaius, succeeded. Unfortunately, Gaius was a bit too liberal in his intent to give citizenship to all Italians and the Senate put him down. As the mobs of plebians revolted, over 3000 were executed and Gaius had a slave kill him. The condition of the proletarian plebes hadn’t changed much by the time of Roman satirist Juvenal (55-127 AD). He opined that the masses looked to just two things, bread and circuses.8 This referred to the free grain and the many games and holidays provided by the elites in government to keep the unemployed masses of Rome from rising up and to guarantee their loyalty to their patrons.9 Since most unemployed plebians were illiterate and often uninformed on the issues, they usually sold their vote to the candidate offering the most to them.10 Thus the legislative assembly of the Plebian Council lost much of its populist power and the masses resorted to occasional mobs and violent uprisings to make their voices heard. There were essentially only two political parties. The populares, or people’s party, and the optimates, or senatorial party.11 The populares were for the distribution of land and cancellation of debt. The optimates were the conservative voice and upheld the traditions and existing order of Rome.12 Because of the client system, where the poor landless became clients of a wealthy patron, the system was never truly a democracy. Clients typically voted with their patron.13 The patronless poor were considered rabble and their votes went to whomever promised them the most.14 For a time, between 88-83 BC, the populares controlled Rome and elected Marius consul several times until Sulla, of the optimates, returned to Rome and destroyed Marius’ supporters.15 Daily life for the poor inhabitants of Rome looked much different from the Patrician and Equestrian (or merchant) classes. Their habitation was usually a small, cramped apartment located on a narrow street in a kind of ghetto.16 The apartment buildings that proliferated Rome were owned by wealthy patricians living in the countryside or suburbs. They were not well maintained and many had cracked walls and caved roofs. Most families lived in two rooms. The rooms contained only the barest of rustic furniture and the inhabitants used a public bathroom as well as drawing water from public wells. The close, unclean conditions contributed to sickness among the very poorest of Roman society, though one may be given medical treatment paid for by a wealthy patron.17 In fact, many of the poor relied on their patron to provide even the meanest of support.18 The daily routine of the proletarian was harsh. They awakened early in order to serve their patron at the salutation each morning two hours before dawn.19 Throughout the day they struggled to assist the patron at his job or scrabbled to do odd jobs for little money. They had no permanent employment as most jobs were performed by slaves. They ate what they could get that day, which was sometimes nothing but the State-provided grain or nothing at all. After dinner poor Romans went immediately to bed so they could get up before daawn and start again, meanwhile the wealthy Romans were drinking more wine and socializing at their dinner parties. During the day the average poor men may gather at the Forum to discuss days events. Sometimes these gatherings provoked violence that had to be put down by the Civic Guards. These were also opportunities for garnering support for this or that candidate to the Plebian Council or some elected office. The Forum was central to daily life as it held meeting spaces as well as a large and thriving marketplace. Money-changers had their stands, businessmen made deals and financiers made loans. In the distance, lawyers could be heard discussing affairs of state. Nobles, their clients, charlatans and foreigners roamed the Forum. Fathers often brought their sons to the Forum for the first time they wore their togas. Imagine if you will the sights and sounds when the fictional plebe Antonius brought his sixteen year old son, Blasius, to the Forum for the first time. The shrines on the southeastern edge were some of the oldest, such as the Temple of Vesta. To the northwest lay the Umbilicus Urbas and Shrine of Vulcan. The Senate and the Republican Government began here and their offices were scattered about the area. There was much history to absorb, but for young Blasius it was overshadowed by throngs of people grouped tightly to conduct their business, the voices of the Senate ringing loud from their perch, military Triumphal processions led by victorious generals, lavish public banquets and a plethora of colorful market stalls and their merchant owners crying out the quality of their products. Antonius and Blasius could not afford their wares, however, and had to content themselves with lesser marketplaces in which to purchase their meager fare. After their time at the Forum, Antonius and Blasius would likely go to the baths to socialize, exercise and clean themselves of the grime of the streets. Antonius would proudly introduce his son and speak of the next census when he could enroll Blasius as a citizen. But this was an unconventional day, as the next would bring a return to the search for odd jobs and manual labor by which they might earn their next meal, Blasius now old enough to do a man’s work. Life was not all drudgery, however. Wealthier children went to primary school, though they did not have the Greek tutors as the Patricians. Most poor children had no education but what they received at home. There was no further education available to their station and few learned to read or write. The young engaged in games such as wrestling, boxing and racing.20 Adults played dice and board games, as well as gambling games, at local taverns.21 The thermae, or baths, were also a popular past time and meeting place as admission was inexpensive. The baths, popular among all classes, consisted of a cool bath (the fridgidarium), the warm bath (tepidarium) and hot bath (caldarium).22 There was also a pool and exercise room. A typical visitor spent time in each one, the idea being that working up a sweat then scraping it off would cleanse the body’s dirt. Women had their own separate bath houses.23 There was time set aside for a siesta in the afternoon heat. While a wealthy Roman might repair to his townhouse to wait out the heat of the day, ordinary Romans had no place but their cramped apartment or the Forum. Eating habits were simple and depended on what the family obtained that day. The main meal was typically had at around 11:00 a.m. and consisted of bread and cheese and perhaps some meat, while the Patricians dined on that plus salad, fruits, nuts, meats and olives. The family dined together around a simple table, using their fingers to scoop the food into their mouths.24 Wine was a table staple among all classes at all meals and was rather inexpensive. Clothing also marked the lower from the upper classes. The plebians wore a simple tunic of coarse, dark material while the patricians wore togas of linen or white wool.25 A citizen over age 16 wore a simple form of the toga.26 Unlike the footwear of patricians and politicians, who wore different types and colors of sandals to indicate their rank, the poor were most often unshod. Children were given a necklace, called a bulla, with a pouch containing a charm. Boys dispensed with the bulla once they came of age but a girl wore hers until marriage.27 Roman law, the ideal of the Republic, and the concept of the ordinary proletarian remain part of modern thought. Rome continues to have a strong influence many centuries after its power and domination have disappeared. Bibliography Casson, Lionel. Everyday Life in Ancient Rome. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. Clarke, John R. Roman Life 100 BC to AD 200. New York: Abrams, 2007. Clayton, Edward. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Cicero. July 14, 2005. ep.utm.edu/cicero/ (accessed December 4, 2011). D'Arms, Edward F. "The Classes of the Servian Constitution." The American Journal of Philology (Johns Hopkins Universty Press) 64, no. 4 (1943): 424-426. Ferrero, Guglielmo. The Greatness and Decline of Rome. Vol. 1. New York, NY: G.P.Putnam's Sons, 1907. Martin, Thomas James. Bread and Circuses. August 2003. http://thomasjamesmartin.com (accessed December 4, 2011). Scullard, H.H. A History of the Roman World, 753-146 B.C. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1980. Secundus, Gaius Plinius. The Natural History. Translated by H. Rackham. Vol. III. Loeb Classical Library, 1940. The End of the Roman Republic. September 11, 2007. caius-ebook.com/TheEndofTrust.htm (accessed December 4, 2011). The Roman Day. library.thinkquest.org/22866/English/Romday/Dagin.html (accessed December 4, 2011). Toynbee, Arnold J. A Study of History: Disintegration of Civilizations. Vol. V. 12 vols. London: Oxford University Press, 1939. Trevelyan, R.C. Translations from Horace, Juvenal and Montaigne. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1941. University of Dallas. "The Gracchi Brothers." Fall of Republic. http://dante.udallas.edu/hutchison/Fall_of_Republic/gracchi_brothers.htm (accessed December 4, 2011). UNRV History. "Marius Reforms the Legions." Roman History. http://www.unrv.com/empire/marius-reforms-legions.php. April 26, 2011. (accessed December 5, 2011) Wolff, Hans Julius. Roman Law: An Historical Introduction. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma Press, 1951. Read More