Ancient Rme. When in Rome... Clthing, Sprts And Government - Essay Example

Running Head: When in Rme. When in Rme. f the f the institutin] When in Rme..... In the Italian peninsula ithas the same climate as the Mediterranean climate. Mild, rainy, winters and ht, dry summers. The climate in the nrth is cler, rain is plentiful. Italian peninsula is an ideal place fr farming. Rmans grew lives, grapes and wheat. The city f Rme has tremendus envirnmental advantages, because f that it made it easier fr Rme t becme an imprtant city. The city f Rme is lcated the first place peple culd cme when they crssed the Tiger river, s it is the natural lcatin f the main nrth-suth rad in Italy. There are imprtant salt flats near the city f Rme, because salt is s imprtant in the ancient wrld. As Rmans expanded their empire they encuntered many different envirnments. The Rman army had t learn different ways f fighting ways f cnquering different areas. During the perid f the Rman Empire (100 B.C. t 500 A.D.) Rmans had envirnmental advantage f cntrlling the Mediterranean Sea. Als anther advantage is getting fds and materials frm lts f different envirnments. Yu culd get tin frm England, wd frm Germany, cttn frm Egypt, and silver frm Spain. Rmans have many advantages as I listed abve that is why the lived fr many years. ccupatin Rmans started ff as farmers and shepherds. They never lst the lve f "simple"cuntry life. In the spring farmers prepared field strips using heavy flws pulled by an xen. They planted by seeds by hand. They tls farmers used were irn spades, hes, wden rakes fr cutting grass, they have knifes fr cutting wheat called sickles and scythes. Even thugh they have knifes they invented a wheat cutting machine called Vallus. A vallus is a 2-weeled cart pushed by a hrse r mule. Farmers tk crps frm Asia and the Mediterranean all ver Eurpe. They were als Rman dctrs. They relied n a mixture f cmmn sense, superstitin and what had wrked befre. They didn't understand the causes f disease. Dctrs were usually men. Sme medicines are based n plants. Pppy seed is ne f the main seed medicines. Pppy seed juice is given t crying babies because it helped them t sleep. The mdern pain-killing drug mrphine is made frm pppy seed. Clthing Ancient Rman wmen wre lse tunics. The main garment is an ankle length stla tied at the waist belw their breast. A brch at the shulder fastened the stla. ver it, a rectangle clth usually drpped ver ne shulder, arund back. They usually wre sandals. At hme they wre elegant slippers. Wmen wh culd nt affrd shes went bareft. The material that rman wmen used was linen. Wealthy wmen wre silk imprted frm India r China. Pr wmen were fashined with curse brwn and grey clth. In the cld weather wmen wre crapes, shawls and scarfs. Als they wre wlen scks, stckings, and prbably mittens. British wmen wre a Gallic cat which is a wide lse tunic with sleeves. Sprts In the city Rme there is a place called campus. It was an ld drill grund fr sldiers. It was a large sectin f plain near the Tiber River. vertime campus became Rme's track and field playgrund. Even famus peple such as Caesar and Augustus exercised in campus. Peple might jump in the Tiber River t have a swim r wander ff and relax by taking a bath. Men practice riding, fencing, wrestling, thrwing, swimming, hunting and fishing. At hme men play ball befre they have dinner. A ppular ball game is t thrw the ball as high as pssible and catch it befre it hit the grund. Wmen didn't jin these games. Rmans played many ball games, but nt all f them had specific names. Sme f them were difficult. nly a few games that culd be frmulated with a ball and a circle. Defense And War Rman armr is usually made ut f irn r steel and had wden r bne hand grips. The leginnaire was usually armed with a dagger r swrd. The leginnaire's favrite was a shrt-bladed duble-edged stabbing weapn. Ft sldiers had thrwing spears, shrt bws r javelins. There are tw main artillery machines t thrw missiles. Catapult and, a cmmn siege weapn called ballista. It was military equipment that culd hurl a large bulder up t 600 ft. Gvernment The emperr is the mst imprtant rman citizen. The first emperr, Augustus, called himself "First amng equals". Cnsuls and senatrs were next in imprtant citizens. They were very rich and pwerful. The tw tp senatrs became cnsuls. Usually the cnsuls, senatrs and the emperr met. After cnsuls and senatrs came the knights (equities). They were rich citizens and had imprtant jbs, like wrking in the gvernment army. Then came alng rdinary citizens much prer than the senatrs r knights. Many were shpkeepers r farmers. After the rdinary citizens came freed men and wmen. ften shpkeepers, t. Then were the slaves. The slaves were mstly freign prisners wh were bught and sld. Sme slaves had terrible jbs such as wrking in mines. A few skilled slaves became actrs and cks. They became rich and famus. Discipline is very imprtant in the rman gvernment. It is nt wise t break a rule in Rme. Minr crime punishment is beatings. Thieves are banded. The wrst ffences culd be fr a slave is executin. Influences There are many ancient civilizatins, but nne like Rme. American and Eurpean gvernment wrks similar t the Rman gvernment. The city and art f Rme had an enrmus impact n the French Barque Classical artist Niclas Pussin and thrugh him an effect n French art and artists in the fllwing centuries. Pussin gt influenced by classical Italian art and flurished art. Rme encuraged a yung artist t explre his wn abilities. He spent mst f his artistic life in Rme and ver half his life in the ancient city. The Rman republic established in 509 B.C. after rman nbles verthrew their king. The new gvernment wrks different. They keep many new features f the earlier system. ur prblem is different in nature. The U.S. will remain strng, and nt take the same path as the Rmans did. The path that led t dwnfall. They influenced us in many ways that imprved the mdern gvernment. Bibligraphy Bks: Ancient Rman Jbs, Chicag Illinis, Heinemann Library, 2003. Ancient Rman Wmen, Chicag Illinis, Heinemann Library, 2003. Ancient Rman War And Weapns, Chicag Illinis, Heinemann Library, 2003. Ancient Rman Wmen, Chicag Illinis, Heinemann Library, 2003 Ancient Rme, New Yrk, King Fisher 2000 Ancient Rman War And Weapns, Chicag Illinis, Heinemann Library, 2003 Early Civilizatins, Trnt nt. xfrd, 2002 Internet: Melchiseder, Rman Sprts, www.cmputerclubhuse.rg/peple/Mel/therSites/Latin_Rman_Sprts/summary.htm, Wednesday May 12, 2004 www.crystalinks.cm/rmanrecreatin.html, Thursday May 13, 2004 www.persnal.psu.edu/users/w/x/wxk112/rmball.html, Thursday May 13, 2004 www.histryfrkids.rg/learn/rmans/games/index.htm, Thursday May 13, 2004 Read More