7.3 History Flashcards

Pax Romana

Economy in the Roman Empire

• Farming-based society 

• Rome became wealthy because of trade 

• Large separation between the rich and the poor 

• Large population of enslaved people

Impact of Greece on Roman art, architecture, religion

• Adopted the Greek style of sculpture

  • Difference: Roman sculptors made their statues realistic (with wrinkles and scars) not perfect like the Greeks 

• Used Greek-style columns and buildings 

• Adopted Greek gods and gave them new names (Ex: Zeus → Jupiter) 

Cicero, Virgil, and Livy

• Cicero - greatest Roman orator (public speaker) 

• Virgil - Poet

• Livy - Historian 

Paterfamilias - the dominant male of the household 

• They had absolute authority over their families 

  • Wives, sons and their wives and children, unmarried daughters, and enslaved people 

Women in the Roman Empire

• Patriarchy 

  • Women needed male guardians 

  • Arranged marriages

  • However - divorce was legal and easy to obtain for both partners

• Upper Class Women had rights

  • Right to inherit, own, and sell property 

  • Could attend chariot races, the theater, and the amphitheatre 

  • Couldn’t participate in politics, but they could influence their husbands 

Enslaved people in the Roman Empire

• Relied heavily on slave labor to farm large estates and build roads  

• Used enslaved Greeks as tutors, musicians, and artists 

• Others were household servants 

• Slave revolts - Spartacus was a gladiator that led a revolt