shelton as romans did r9

Apartments
  • Living Arrangements in Ancient Rome
    • Most Romans could not afford a house; they lived in rooms or apartments.
    • Types of Apartments:
    • Located in apartment buildings, parts of a private house, above shops/factories, or within converted houses.
    • Small size with shared cooking and bathroom facilities.
    • Communal Life: Apartment life encouraged open and communal interactions, differing significantly from today's urban living conditions.
    • Living space influenced family dynamics and relationships with neighbors.
    • Many ancient apartments were poorly designed and inexpensive.
Complaints from an Apartment Dweller
  • Juvenal's Satirical Insights:
    • Excerpt from Juvenal, Satires 3 (193-202):
    • Describes the precarious living conditions in Rome, emphasizing flimsy constructions and fire hazards.
    • Illustrates a fire breaking out: some residents panic while others remain oblivious to danger.
  • Martial's Experience:
    • Excerpt from Martial, Epigrams 8 (14.5-6):
    • Complains about inadequate living conditions like a poorly fitting window, rendering the space undesirable even to Boreas, the North Wind.
A Landlord's Problems
  • Cicero's Property Woes:
    • Describes buildings with significant structural failures, representing the unstable nature of urban rental properties.
    • Urban rental property was a substantial income source for many senators.
House Prices
  • High Cost of Living in Rome:
    • Rent and housing costs in Rome were higher than in towns or rural areas.
    • Many citi­zens preferred the urban experience despite the expense.
    • Excerpt from Juvenal, Satires 3 (223-225):
    • Emphasizes the relative affordability of better housing options outside of Rome compared to the expensive rents for substandard living conditions.
Rental Advertisements
  • Romans advertised rentals by painting 'For Rent' notices on building exteriors.
  • Example from Pompeii:
    • The Arrius Pollio Apartment Complex:
    • For Rent: Available shops and luxurious second-story apartments.
    • From Julia Felix:
    • Elegantly appointed Venus Baths and apartment space available with a lease agreement.
Homeowner's Insurance
  • Risk of Fire:
    • Fire was a significant hazard due to prevalent open flames and wooden buildings.
    • Context: An A.D. 64 fire destroyed or damaged a third of central Rome's buildings.
    • Martial's observation:
    • Suggests fraudulent behavior where owners might burn properties for insurance claims.
  • Example from Martial, Epigrams 3 (52):
    • The wealthy Tongilianus benefits from a substantial insurance payout after a fire, raising questions about his involvement.
The Benefits of City Life
  • Urban living offered various social services unavailable in rural settings, yet involved noise and congestion.
  • Aqueducts:
    • Romans engineered aqueducts to transport water, crucial for urban sanitation and lifestyle.
    • Aqueducts were durable and well-maintained, with some still visible today.
Meals and Dining Culture
  • Senatorial gatherings: Luxurious meals, described as extravagant and catered but also highlighting complex social dynamics.
  • Popular ingredients: Fish sauce known as garum, indicative of Roman culinary practices and trade.
  • Garum Production:
    • Ingredients and methods listed for making garum, including various fish and lengthy fermentation processes.
  • Recipe dissemination:
    • Cookbooks were available, detailing popular dishes of the time, emphasizing sweet and sour flavors common in Roman cuisine.
Illnesses and Medical Care in Rome
  • Common Ailments:
    • Cicero describes struggles with dysentery and medical responses.
    • Seneca describes his asthma, articulating the distress and societal view of ailments as 'rehearsals for death'.
  • Medical Treatments:
    • Remedies described by Pliny the Elder, covering jaundice and fractures with suggestions for cures using animal products and earth-derived substances.
Teachers and Schools
  • Education structure in Rome was tiered:
    • Litteratoren at the lowest level, focusing on basic education; the grammaticus refining writing; and the rhetor for advanced public speaking.
  • Orbilius, a notable teacher with a temperate reputation, embodied educator struggles.
Corporal Punishment and Teacher's Authority
  • Corporal punishment was common, debated by Quintilian, advocating for less violent strategies in education.
  • Teachers had long hours with minimal pay and often operated in makeshift locations and conditions.
  • Martial complains about teachers disturbing neighbors before dawn, showcasing public sentiment against harsh teaching practices.
Working For A Living
  • Majority of Romans engaged in labor for sustaining families, with disdain from aristocrats towards working-class professions.
  • Thesis by Cicero:
    • Enumerates 'vulgar' occupations poorly suited for gentlemen, favoring esteemed professions like teaching, architecture, and medicine rather than trade.
Roman Attitudes Toward Freedmen
  • Freedmen had voting rights but were denied public office, and their social status carried stigma.
  • Trimalchio's Portrayal:
    • The wealthy freedman stereotype depicts vulgarity but mirrors the complexities of social mobility and aspiration in Roman society, as satirized by Petronius.
  • Juvenal's Critique of Foreigners:
    • Expresses resentment against Greeks in Rome, emphasizing cultural concerns and competition for social status.