Latin Civilisation

Who was the litterator, what did they teach, and to whom?

They were the primary school teacher.

They taught ages of approximately 7-11 years old.

Who was the grammaticus, what did they teach, and to whom?

A secondary school teacher

Taught Greek and Latin literature

Focused on:

• Grammar

• Figures of speech

• Mythology

Pupils analysed texts and memorised passages

Students moved on to the grammaticus around age 12–15, if affordable for the family

Who was the rhetor, what did they teach, and to whom?

The rhetor was a teacher who provided tertiary education and trained students in rhetoric, the art of public speaking, including history, law, music, philosophy, and geometry. Pupils learnt to compose speeches and focused on pronunciation, emphasis, facial expression, and hand gestures. Students typically moved on to the rhetor at the age of 16.

How were science and technical skills acquired?

Technical skills were learned through apprenticeships in a trade or business, while science and advanced mathematics were taught to a few students whose parents were interested and wealthy enough to pay the fees of a specialist teacher.

What was the age at which Roman boys reached adulthood?

Roman boys typically reached adulthood around the age of fifteen.

What happened when a boy reached the coming of age?

Upon reaching adulthood, a Roman boy would dedicate his boyhood toga, known as the toga praetexta, which had a purple border, and the bulla, a lucky charm worn since infancy, to the household gods.

The Roman boy would put on a plain white toga called the toga virilis. Accompanied by family and friends, the boy was escorted to the forum, where he was formally registered as a citizen.

His name was then recorded on the roll of his family's tribe.

A sacrifice was offered at the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill, after which the day was devoted to celebrations and a banquet.

What was the bulla?

The bulla was a special amulet given to Roman boys, both rich and poor, to protect them until they safely reached adulthood.

It may have been given as early as the dies lustricus, about nine days after birth, to mark the child's entry into the family.

What materials were bullas made of?

A rich child may have had a bulla made of gold, while a poorer child's bulla would be made of leather or a less precious material.

What did the dedication of the bulla signify?

When a boy reached adulthood, he would take off his bulla and lay it aside in a rite of passage that symbolised his safe passing into adulthood. Along with the toga praetexta, it was symbolic of youth.

What rituals were associated with funerals in ancient Rome?

At the point of death, a close relative would attempt to catch the dying person’s last breath with a kiss and then close their eyes and mouth.

All those present would call out the name of the deceased.

Following this, the body was washed and anointed to delay decay and dressed in their finest clothes.

A small coin was placed in the mouth to pay Charon, the ferryman of the underworld in Graeco-Roman myth.

For a wealthy man, the body would be displayed for eight days on a couch in the atrium, adorned with flowers, wreaths, and candles, while women lamented, and visitors paid respects.

Cypress or pine branches outside the house indicated the loss.

The funeral procession for the wealthy included flute and horn players, hired mourners, actors, and any slaves freed by the deceased.

The relatives of the dead would walk behind the corpse in mourning.

Burial or cremation took place outside the city.

Following the ceremony, the spirit of the dead was believed to descend to the underworld and was worshipped as a member of the family's Lares.

There were also festivals to commemorate the dead, such as the Parentalia and Lemuria.

How was a Roman day structured?

• Early Morning (1-2): Clients attend the patron’s morning salutation (salutatio) seeking gifts or favors.

• Late Morning (3-5): Busy period for legal work and commercial activities.

• Midday (6): Time for a light meal (prandium) and rest; note that school days were also short.

• Afternoon (7-9): Activity resumes with exercise (e.g., wrestling) and anticipation of the main meal (cena), which by the early Empire was eaten late afternoon while reclining.

• Evening (9-10): Relaxation on dinner couches; Martial noted writing poetry around the tenth hour.

How might a Roman man's day be structured, and what clothing might he wear?

He likely slept in a loincloth and tunic, so dressing was quick. He would wash his eyes, mouth, and hands in cold water.

The emperor Augustus started the fashion of attending public bathhouses, and from that day all classes went to them.

A simple breakfast may have consisted of water, bread and honey, or leftovers. Then the man would put on his day’s attire, which would vary based on his standing in society.

How might a Roman woman's day be structured, and what clothing might she wear?

• Women likely slept in a loincloth, brassiere or corset, and a tunic.

• Wealthy women relied on a maid for their toilet.

• Hair would be dressed, often in the chignon style, revived by Claudius.

• The final garment was the stola, a fuller version of the tunic made from fine linen or wool, and lighter fabrics like cotton or silks in summer.

• The stola was vibrant and often embroidered.

• Scarves and parasols provided protection from the sun.

• Women wore cheerful clothes when possible.

What was a toga made from and its shape and size?

• The toga was a distinctive Roman garment made of fine wool.

• Its shape was a segment of a circle, approx. 16 feet wide and 7 feet deep.

• Worn under the right arm, draped around the body, with both ends on the right shoulder.

• Statues show men in togas, but exact methods of fastening and folding are unknown.

What were the three main types of slaves in the Roman world, and what duties did they perform?

Domestic: slaves lived with the family and carried out all household-related tasks, with wealthier households employing slaves as nurses, teachers (paedagogi), cooks, gardeners, hairdressers, secretaries, and cleaners.

Industrial: slaves were employed in mines, factories, and large farming estates (latifundia) and often lived and worked in harsh conditions under an overseer.

Public: slaves were owned by the state and performed various roles in the city, such as construction, cleaning, and maintaining public buildings.

What was the treatment of slaves in ancient Rome?

In Roman law, slaves were regarded as the property of their owner and had no legal rights. They could be subjected to abuse, including flogging, branding, and sexual assault. However, household slaves living with a sympathetic master might have a good relationship with his family, while those working on latifundia or in mines faced terrible conditions. Some masters took sadistic pleasure in watching their slaves suffer. Conversely, some masters had good and appreciative relationships with their slaves.

What determined the value of a slave in ancient Rome?

The value of slaves in ancient Rome varied greatly depending on their age, health, and skill level. Skilled craftsmen who could read and write would have cost a large sum of money.

What rights did slaves have in Roman law, and how did this change as the empire developed?

In Roman law, slaves had no legal rights and were considered the property of their owner.

As the empire developed, laws about the treatment of slaves became progressively more humane.

In the 2nd century CE, Emperor Hadrian passed laws forbidding masters from killing their slaves or selling them as prostitutes or gladiators without court approval.

What rules existed regarding the freeing of slaves in ancient Rome?

Maximum 100 slaves can be freed in a will.

Slave has to be at least 30 years old.

How might a slave be freed (manumitted) in ancient Rome?

A slave could be legally freed if the slave and master appeared before a magistrate, who would touch the slave with a rod or wand to signify freedom. Manumission could also occur if a master stated in their will that they wished to free some or all of their slaves. Some slaves were allowed to earn a small sum of money (peculium) to eventually buy their freedom.

What rights were given to the freedman and their children in ancient Rome?

Upon being freed, a freedman was permitted to wear the pileus, a felt cap symbolising liberty.

Freedmen were Roman citizens, but they were not allowed to run for public office or become members of the senatorial or equestrian classes.

However, their descendants had full rights of citizenship.

If freed, how might a freedman choose their new name to honour their former master?

After manumission, a freedman would often take some of the names of his former master to show the connection between them. For example, if a slave named Felix was owned by Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, he might take the name Lucius Caecilius Felix upon being freed.

Why might a slave be freed in ancient Rome?

Health: Slave with bad health is too expensive to keep as they make no profit, so many masters just free them for them to die on the streets.

Love: Masters may free their slave girls to marry them or to get heirs

Court: Any evidence given by a slave at court has to be under torture, so by freeing slaves they are less likely to reveal incriminating information.

Flex: To show off your wealth was you can free slaves, without feeling the economic cost

Good Act: A slave may be freed for good service as a reward to drive the other slaves to work harder.

Change in the leisure time?

Wealthy women had more free time due to an increase in the number of slaves in Roman cities, and they used this time for education and leisure.

Who was Vesta in Roman family religion?

She was the goddess of the hearth so was responsible for:

• Food

• Light

• Warmth

• Comfort

Who were the Lares and Penates?

The Lares were believed to be the protective spirits of the family's ancestors, watching over the entire household, property, and fields.

The Penates were believed to be spirits that protected the larder or storehouse of the family.

What was the difference between the Lares and Penates?

The Lares protected the family's ancestors, while the Penates protected the family's food stores, ensuring the family would not run out of food.

Lares did not move when the family moved but the Penates did.

Lares protected the entire family including slaves but the Penates only protected the family.

Who was the Genius in Roman family religion?

The Genius was the guardian spirit of the pater familias, representing the head of the household and was often depicted as a snake, symbolising health and prosperity.

Who was Janus in Roman family religion?

Janus was the god of the doorway,

protecting the entrance of the Roman house.

What was the Lemuria festival?

• Aimed to appease restless or vengeful spirits

• Private, silent rituals held in the home

• Celebrated on three alternate nights in May

• Householders performed rituals to prevent hauntings

• Temples closed and no marriages allowed during this time

What was the Parentalia festival?

• The Parentalia was a Roman religious festival honouring the dead.

• Families visited ancestors' tombs, decorated them with garlands, and left food and drink offerings.

• It ran from February 13th to 21st.

• During this period, temples were closed and marriages were forbidden.

• The first eight days focused on private remembrance.

• On February 21st, a public festival of remembrance was held.

What kind of religious offerings were left at tombs?

Religious offerings included garlands of flowers, food and drink such as wheat, salt, wine, and milk.

Blood was the favourite food of the dead.

Tombs often had holes which led to a pip into the tomb or urn to pour in offerings.

Where were tombs located?

Why?

Tombs were outside the city walls, and near roads.

So that the spirits of the dead could not haunt the living.

How common was dying young in Roman society?

Dying young was very common in the Roman world, with some estimates suggesting that more than half of children did not live until their fifth birthday.

What were the Roman burial practices, and when was each used?

Both burial and cremation were practised by the Romans.

Early Roman times saw burial as common, but by the end of the 1st century BCE, most people were cremated. Cremation was cheaper than burial as less space & a smaller tomb was needed.

What was done with a dead person's belongings?

It was believed that the dead continued their life in some way, so they were supplied with things they would need like tools, jewellery or toys that were burnt or buried with them.

What was the triclinium?

The triclinium was the dining room. By the early Empire, most people dined in the late afternoon - their first solid meal of the day - and did so reclining on a couch propped by pillows on their left side. The meal itself had three courses; each course, however, might have several dishes. The triclinium might contain decorations of painted plaster panels with scenes from Greek myths.

What was the purpose of the ianua?

The ianua was the main entrance to a Roman house, consisting of a tall double door that faced the street.

What were the features of the fauces?

The fauces was the entrance passage into the house. In the House of the Tragic Poet, a mosaic depicting a dog with the inscription 'cave canem' (beware of the dog) is located in the fauces.

What were the features of the atrium?

The atrium was an impressive main room used for important family occasions and for receiving visitors. It was large, high, and contained little furniture. The roof sloped down slightly towards a large square opening in the middle, allowing light to stream in. One of the most striking things about the atrium was the sense of space. It may have also been used as a space where women set up looms to weave.

What might be found within the atrium?

Inside the atrium would be a bronze or marble table, a couch, and perhaps a strong-box for family valuables.

The floor was paved with marble slabs or mosaics. In the centre of the room was the impluvium, a shallow rectangular pool lined with marble to collect rainwater.

What was the tablinum?

The tablinum was the master's study. The more important visitors would be invited into the tablinum.

How was the tablinum decorated?

The tablinum of Caecilius was decorated with a particularly expensive shade of red paint.

What were the cubicula?

Arranged around the atrium were the bedrooms (cubicula). A cubiculum was small- perhaps just big enough for a bed and chair, and sometimes it could also double up as a general store room or family room.

What was the purpose of the impluvium?

The impluvium was a shallow rectangular pool in the atrium, lined with marble that collected rainwater.

What was the culina?

The culina was the kitchen. The kitchen was small and located next to the toilet. Because it was so small, slaves might have used the peristylium to prepare food for large dinner parties.

What was the tablinum?

The tablinum was the master's study. The more important visitors would be invited into the tablinum.

What was the in the tablinum?

Family records were stored & the chest containing family finances.

The tablinum (study) of Caecilius was decorated with a particularly expensive shade of red paint.

What was the peristylium?

The peristylium was a colonnaded garden that family members enjoyed for sunshine, shade, relaxation, and entertaining guests. The kitchen could be too small for large dinner parties so slaves may have prepared food in the peristylium.

How were the entrances to rooms arranged?

The entrances to these rooms were usually provided not with a wooden door but with a heavy curtain.

What were some common colours used to decorate a domus?

Vivid wall paintings were typical in houses of Pompeii, in red, orange, blue-green, yellows, purples and black.

These paintings frequently depicted mythological scenes or country landscapes.

What were some of the features of a Roman domus?

Roman houses (domūs) had upper floors (though not always preserved), which may have been used for sleeping or storage and rented out as living accommodation.

The houses also included the familia (nuclear family, relatives, slaves, and freedmen).

Wealthy men used their houses to work, greet friends and clients, and conduct politics.

The houses came right up to the pavement with

Few, small, high windows intended to let in enough light but keep out the heat of the sun.

From the outside, with its few windows and high walls stretching all the way round, the house did not look very attractive or inviting.

What furniture was common in a Roman home?

Items generally made of wood, such as tables, chairs, beds, screens, shelves, chests, and cupboards, were common in Roman homes.

What was the Patron-Client system?

The Patron-Client system was an aspect of Roman society where a patron (patronus) gave help and protection to others less rich or powerful than himself, and they performed various services for him in return.

What was the role of the Patron?

The patron would provide various services such as nominating a senator, introducing a merchant to useful contacts, arranging for a poet to recite his work, or providing money or presents.

What was the role of the Client?

In return for help, the client would be expected to show gratitude and service.

A poet, for example, would praise the patron in his poetry.

The client was expected to attend the salutatio or early morning ceremony of greeting, dress formally in a toga, and address his patron as domine.

Clients would also perform various tasks and errands for the patron.

What were the benefits for the Patron?

The main advantage for the patron was that he was able to call on the services of his clients when he needed them, and to have a large number of clients was good for his prestige and status.

What were the benefits for the Client in the Patronage system?

A patron might be a client's chief means of support as the government didn't provide any state assistance apart from distributions of free grain or occasionally money to a limited number of citizens.

The patron usually gave a daily basket the sportula, earlier this comprised of food but later it moved onto being money.

When did Patrons and Clients meet?

Clients were expected to present themselves at their patron's house each day for the salutatio or early morning ceremony of greeting.

Were clients invited to dinner with their Patron?

Occasionally clients might be invited to dinner at their patron's house.

What are the implications of clients being invited to dinner with their Patron?

Clients could get invited to dine with the Patrons. This could implicate that they saw each other as closer to equal, however…

At these dinners, some patrons served two different qualities of food and wine:

• A superior quality for themselves and their close friends

• A poor one for the clients

Indicating that patrons regarded their clients as inferiors.

How old were Roman men and women usually when they got married?

Women: Usually around 13-14

Men: Usually around late teens or early twenties, unless this was not their 1st marriage, then the age gap could be up to 30-40 years.

What were the different types of Roman marriage and what were the differences between them?

Under Roman law, there were two different sorts of marriage

Which type of marriage granted women greater freedom and how?

Sine manu marriage granted women greater freedom. This was because a woman remained a member of her father's family, retained control of her own property, and could initiate divorce. Also, the increase of sine manu marriages gave women greater freedom from their husbands in their financial affairs.

What was the sponsalia?

This was the engagement ceremony.

The future husband and bride’s father would agree to the marriage.

Then:

• Gifts were exchanged

• A ring was placed on the third finger of the girl's left hand…

• …because it was thought that a vein ran from there to the heart.

• Family and friends were present as witnesses

• The ceremony would be followed by a party.

Would a marriage be forced on a girl?

The husband was normally chosen for the girl by her father or guardian.

The law laid down that if the girl did not agree to the marriage, it could not take place.

However, few daughters would have found it very easy to defy their father’s wishes.

Even though the law stated the girl had to agree to the marriage, the reality was that few daughters would defy their father's wishes.

What date would the superstitious Romans choose for a marriage?

The superstitious Romans took great care over picking a well-omened date, with the second half of June being particularly popular because Juno was the goddess of marriage.

How did marriage ceremonies begin?

The ceremonies started the night before the wedding, when a bride dedicated her childhood toys to the Lares. That night, she also wore a special dress the white “tunica recta” (straight tunic, so called because it was woven on an upright loom), and a yellow hairnet , both of which she had woven herself. She slept in these clothes.

What happened on the morning of the wedding?

• Tunic girdled with ewe’s wool belt – symbol of fertility

• 'Knot of Hercules' tied tightly – groom unties it at night; Hercules = symbol of fertility (70 children)

• Bride’s friends helped with dressing, offering advice and support

• Hair: parted with a bent spear (that had been used to kill a gladiator), styled in six tresses (origin unclear)

• Garland of flowers: picked by the bride herself

• Yellow wedding veil: symbolized adulthood and modesty, being an adult a veil was to be worn in public

When did the main religious element of the marriage ceremony happen?

Why?

What was it?

When the groom arrived at the bride's house, which had been decorated with garlands, the main religious element took place.

To ensure the favour of the gods, the auspices were taken:

• Either a pig or a sheep was sacrificed,

• An auspex inspected its insides to look for omens.

• If they were declared to be good…

The marriage would proceed.

Who was the Pronuba and what was her role in the wedding?

A married woman, called a Pronuba, would join the couple's right hands (this was a common sign of good faith in the Roman world, especially in business dealings).

What happened after the wedding ceremony?

A feast was held at the bride’s house.

(Before the procession to the groom’s house; the brides new place of residence)

What did the wedding procession entail?

After the ceremony came the procession of the bride to her new home, an event full of symbolism.

She would act out being torn from the arms of her mother (to commemorate the seizing of the Sabine women), and was then led by torchlight through the streets by three boys with living parents.

One of these would carry a torch lit from the bride's hearth, the other two would lead the way; the bride herself carried a distaff and spindle to signify her new domestic role, while a noisy crowd would also shout fortuna or talassio ('good luck') and tell rude jokes or sing obscene songs.

What was a funeral club?

The cost and benefit?

Other functions?

Why was this done?

A funeral club was a type of Roman society that poorer Romans joined as a form of funeral insurance policy.

Members would pay a joining fee and a monthly subscription. When a member died, the club would cover their funeral expenses, ensuring they received a proper burial.

Additionally, fellow members would attend the funerals. These clubs also served a social function, holding monthly meals that allowed poorer people to make friends and connections.

The purpose of joining such a club was rooted in the Roman belief that a proper burial was important for the soul to pass into the Underworld and find rest. Romans believed that a body that was not properly disposed of could lead to the deceased's ghost haunting the living. However, the very poorest citizens and most slaves could not afford membership in these funeral clubs.

Evidence used legally for a marriage?

The marriage contract was signed in the presence of ten witnesses, who ensured that the union had legal validity.

The husband and wife agreed that they were married.