2. Introduction
Ancient Rome is a civilization that lasted from 753 B.C ~ 476 A.D..
It was located along the Mediterranean Sea and was extremely
powerful. The Romans left many great legacies through their
architecture and beliefs.

3. Structure of Society
In ancient Rome, society was divided into large families from
different backgrounds. The Romans thought that all families
should work and live together, sharing the same jobs and wealth.
Partricians (rich families) were the most powerful and they owned
land and many slaves. Equites (middle-rank) were rich, too. They
ran big business and owned buildings. On the other hand,
Plebeiuins (ordinary people) sold things to make money. Slaves
did the hardest and dirtiest work. They belonged to their owners
and wore tags. They were treated just like dogs or horses.
However, slaves could doctors or teachers and some of the best
teachers in Rome were slaves. (These slaves had often been
captured from Greece). Slaves could be free if they had enough
money to pay, then their sons could become citizens. In any
family, the father had the most power in the family. He was the
only citizen. Roman citizens had to be born in Rome, have Roman
parents (both born in Rome) , and be male adults . Roman soldiers
were the best and strongest in Europe. Most of them were
plebians and they won most of the wars they fought. As you can
see, there were many different roles and levels of society in
ancient Roman.

4. Beliefs & Religion
Romans worshipped many gods and their gods
were similar to the Greek gods. The most
important god was Jupiter, the king of the gods
and Juno was the queen. Also, there was Mercury
the messanger god, Neptune the god of the sea,
Diana the goddess of the moon and hunting,
Minerva the goddess of war, Venus the goddess of
love, Mars the god of war and Dis(Pluto) the god of
the underworld. All of the planets’ name have come
from the ancient Roman gods. The Romans built
many temples and each temple had statue of its
god. People could also ask the gods to curse their
enemies and they made offerings to the gods every
day. However, not all the people worshipped their
gods. Some of them believed in Christianity. These
people needed to meet secretly in the under
ground passages, named catacombs. They also
used catacombs as burial places. After many years,
Christianity spread more widely and many Romans
started to let go of their earlier beliefs. This was a
big change in society during the later part of the
Roman Empire.

5. Architecture
Romans built a lot of amazing architecture
and lots of structures are still standing
today. For example, Romans built the
world’s first high rise apartments and just
like today, their cities were noisy and busy
as many people went to work. Wealthy
Romans lived in beautiful, large and private
houses. They usually built their houses
around airy courtyards. These were
decorated with lots of statues and they had
their own water so they didn’t need to go
outside to get water. On the other hand,
poor people’s houses were very different.
They lived in cramped blocks of flats and
taverns on the ground floor. These houses
were badly built so they often burned down.
Most public buildings were paid for by the
emperor to show their wealth and power.
For example, the Colosseum was built by
Emperors Vespasian and Titus. The
Colosseum was the huge amphitheater
where gladiators fought. About 50,000
people could go inside the Colosseum and
there were many arches to let people exit
quickly. As you can see, the Romans were
great architects and many of their public
buildings are still famous today.

6. Legacies
Romans left many great legacies that we still use in modern life. For example,
the Romans built excellent roads. Roads made their journeys easier and
faster. So they built a network of roads that were strong. In fact, we still use
some of them today. They built roads in straight lines, taking the shortest
route between cities. The first road the Romans made was called ‘Via Appia’.
They also used roads for war. Solders built thousands of kilometres of roads.
In addition, the Romans built amazing aqueducts. They needed them to
transport water around the city. They were very long so many people had
access to water. Roman buildings were important because a lot of later
architects followed the Romans’ designs. Their language ‘Latin’ is also very
important in the modern world. European language like Italian, French,
Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian are based in Latin (but English is not so
closely related). We still use thousands of Latin words today. Therefore, the
Romans architecture and language has had a great influence on the modern
world.

7. Conclusion
In conclusion, the Romans worshipped many gods and there were
many levels in society. They were the most powerful empire for
many years. The Romans left many legacies such as their building
skills and structures that we see even today.

8. Reference List
Author Date Title
Anita Ganeri 1999 The Ancient Romans
Anita Ganeri 1999 Legacies from Ancient Rome
Miles Kelly 1993 100 things you should know about Ancient Rome
Fiona Macdonald 2004 Who were the Romans?
Date Accessed Website
25/10/12 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/
25/10/12 http://www.ancientcivilizations.co.uk/home_set.html