Roman society was stratified between the wealthy, who lived in large homes with amenities, and the poor, who lived in crowded apartment buildings. Entertainment like gladiator battles and chariot races were popular among all classes. Rome developed technologies like concrete and aqueducts, and architectural styles like arches and vaults that still influence buildings today. Roman influences also extended to areas like language, literature, science, and law, as civil law systems based on Roman code were adopted around the world.

1. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Roman Society and Culture
Preview
• Main Idea / Reading Focus
• Life in Imperial Rome
• Quick Facts: Roman Society
• Rome’s Cultural Legacy

2. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Roman Society and Culture
Main Idea
1. The Romans developed a complex society and pioneered
cultural advances that, even today, affect life all over the world.
Reading Focus
• What social and cultural factors influenced life in imperial
Rome?
• What achievements shaped Rome’s cultural legacy to the
modern world?

3. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Life in Imperial Rome
Images of Rome from movies and stories: Gladiators in combat,
temples of marble, soldiers marching to war. What was life really like?
Life for the Rich
• Pax Romana provided
prosperity for many
• Rich citizens
– Had both city, country homes
– Homes had conveniences like
running water, baths
• Wealthy men spent much time
in politics
Public Life
• Public officials not paid; only
wealthy could afford to hold
office
• Roman politicians worked to
perfect public-speaking skills
• Ties of marriage, friendship,
family alliances as important
as common interests for public
officials, political groups

4. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Life for the Poor
• Nearly 1 million Romans lived in crowded three- or
four-story apartment buildings
• Fire a constant threat
– Torches used for light
– Charcoal used for cooking
• To keep poor from rebelling
– Free food, public entertainment offered
– Two things interested public—bread, circuses

5. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Public Entertainment
Entertainments
• Romans of all classes enjoyed circus, chariot races
• Held in Circus Maximus—racetrack could hold 250,000 spectators
• Also liked theater, mimes, jugglers, dancers, acrobats, clowns
2. Bloody Spectacles
• Romans enjoyed spectacles in amphitheaters
• Wild animals battled each other and professional fighters
• Gladiator contests most popular, performed in Colosseum for 50,000 people
Public Baths
• Popular places for entertainment
• Romans well aware of importance of bathing, hygiene for health
• Many public baths had steam rooms, meeting rooms, and pools for
socializing

6. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Family
Education and Religion
• Upper class Romans placed
great value on education
• Parents taught children at
home; wealthy families hired
tutors or sent sons to exclusive
schools to learn Latin, Greek,
law, math, public speaking
• Romans adopted much from
Greek mythology, also from
Egyptians, others
• Each family worshipped local
household gods, penates
• Many worshipped emperor
Patriarchal Structure
• Head of family—paterfamilias,
family father—oldest living male
• Had extensive powers over
other members of family
• Within family structure, virtues
of simplicity, religious devotion,
obedience emphasized
• Adoption important in Roman
society, a way to ensure family
name would be carried on
• Women could do little without
intervention of male guardian,
more freedom in lower classes

7. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Signs and Augurs
Worshipping the gods
• Romans believed gods sent signs, warnings
– Came in form of natural phenomena
– Flight of birds, arrangement of entrails of sacrificial animals
• Paid respect to augurs
– Priests who specialized in interpreting signs
– Nothing important undertaken without first consulting augurs

8. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3

9. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Contrast
How was life different for rich and poor
citizens in Rome?
Answer(s): Rich—often had two homes and
spent time in politics, women's lives controlled by
guardians; Poor—lived in crowded conditions,
lower-class women had more freedom, often
worked outside the home

10. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Rome’s Cultural Legacy
3. Although the Western Roman Empire fell in 476, much of Roman
culture continued to influence life for centuries. In fact, we can still see
many of the legacies of the great empire today.
Science and
Engineering • Physician, AD 100s
• Romans less
interested in
original scientific
research than in
collecting and
organizing
information
Galen
• Wrote volumes
summarizing all
medical knowledge
of his day
• Greatest authority
in medicine for
centuries
Other Thinkers
• Ptolemy stated
knowledge of
others as single
theory in astronomy
• Pliny the Elder
wrote about Mount
Vesuvius

11. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Practical Knowledge
• Romans practical, tried to apply knowledge gained from science to
planning cities, building water, sewage systems, improving farming
• Roman engineers constructed roads, bridges, amphitheaters, public
buildings, aqueducts to bring water to cities
• Without aqueducts, cities would not have grown as large
Concrete
• Romans developed concrete, with which they built amazing
structures that still stand today
• Roman bridges still span French, German, Spanish rivers
• Roads that connected Rome with provinces still survive today
• Added urban plan to every city they conquered; many still seen today

12. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Architecture and Language
Locations
• Many examples still seen
throughout southern Europe,
northern Africa, Southwest Asia
• Dominant advances—round
arch and the vault
Ruins
• Ruins of buildings inspired
generations of architects
• Michelangelo, Thomas
Jefferson, others
Advances
• Arch, vault allowed Romans to
construct larger buildings than
earlier societies
• Have been used for centuries,
still seen in many countries
Beyond Latin
• Romance languages developed
from Latin
• Spanish, French, Italian,
Portuguese, Romanian

13. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
English
Legacies
• English owes much vocabulary
to Latin
• Examples: et cetera, veto,
curriculum
Law
• Romans used system called
civil law, based on written code
• Adopted by many countries in
Europe after empire fell
Literature
• Technique of satire derived
from Roman authors
• For centuries, writers have
borrowed from authors like
Virgil
Civil Law Systems
• Systems carried to Asian,
African, American colonies
• Roman influence still seen in
today’s legal system worldwide

14. Rome and Early Christianity Section 3
Summarize
What are some areas in which Rome’s
influence is still seen?
Answer(s): science, engineering, architecture,
language, literature, and law