Social stratification in ancient Rome was based on wealth, power, and authority. At the top was the royal class, followed by the patricians (upper class). Below them were the equestrians and plebeians (middle class), and at the bottom were the proletariat, freedmen, and slaves (lower class). Greek culture heavily influenced Roman society, with the Romans adopting the Greek alphabet, architecture, gods, and other cultural aspects.

1. 
SOCIAL
STRATIFICATION
OF ROME

2. 
Social class in ancient Rome was hierarchical, but there were multiple and
overlapping social hierarchies.

The social division in Roman Republic society was on the basis of money, power
and authority. The major factor in Roman Republic social hierarchy always remained
the wealth that distinguishes the people of Roman Republic in various classes. The
more a person was wealthier more powers & authorities he & his family could enjoy.
Social Hierarchy

3. 
Social Hierarchy

4. 

The highest social class in the Roman Republic social hierarchy was the
royal class. This class included the royal king and his family. The king was
the supreme head of the people. He was the leader of the war. No one was
allowed to deceive the orders of the mighty king. After the royal king, the
royal family was authorized second utmost power in the kingdom.
Royal Class

5. 
The upper class which was also referred to as the patricians were
second on the hierarchy. They were originally the blood related
relatives of the ancient ‘fathers’ (the heads of the families) of the
ancient Roman tribes. These patricians were provided some
special marriage rituals.
Upper Class/ Patricians

6. 
The middle class further incorporated following two levels:

The Equestrian – The Equestrian formulated the upper middle
level social class. These people were rich Roman knights or
Roman horsemen. Later on this social class formulated the
Rome’s most flourishing & successful businessmen class.

The Roman Plebeian – These people were involved in manual
working for the kingdom.
Middle Class

7. 
EQUESTRIAN

8. 

This was the lowest class in the Roman Republic social
hierarchy. It was further divided in two parts -

The Roman Proletariat – These were wage earners who used
to be involved in manual lower level work for wages.

The Freedman of Roman Republic Society – These were
slaves who got freed by any mean.
Lower Class

9. 
The lowest most level in the Roman Republic social hierarchy. These
were not even considered a part of the social system but they did
formulate a crucial role in this hierarchy. These were actually
powerless people. They were never provided any right or authority.
There were many reasons to be a slave. Some were born slaves while
some were bought or taken possession through a war result.
Slavery

10. 

Greeks had settled in Southern Italy and Sicily since the 8th
century BCE. In this way, Italian tribes came into contact with
Greek culture very early on and were influenced by it. The
alphabet, weights and measures, coinage, many gods and cults as
well as the building of temples were derived from the Greeks.

Roman architecture and Greek architecture are strikingly similar.
The mythology is nearly the same, though the names are different,
both sets of Gods reside on Mount Olympus. Western historians
talk about Magna Grecia, a period beginning in the 8th Century BC
in which the Greeks colonized what is now known as modern day
Sicily, Calabria, Apulia, and Salento. This could account for some
of the similarities. However, we need only look to the pages of
Rome’s own mythology for further insight into the Greek influences
on Rome.
INFLUENCE OF
GREECE ON ROME

11. 

12. In 29 B.C., Publius Vergilius Maro, better known as Virgil, wrote the epic
Aeneid. In the very first stanza, he wrote:
“Expelled and exiled, left the Trojan shore… before he won the Latian realm,
and built the destined town; his banished Gods restored to rites divine and
settled sure succession in his line. From whence the race of Alban fathers
come, and the long glories of majestic Rome.”
The surviving Trojans sailed westward, being told by an oracle to return to
their ancestral home. So, they went to Crete. Finding Crete to inhospitable
for them, they moved further west and settled along the Tiber River in Italy.
This notion is further enforced in a prophecy that foretells that Carthage will
be destroyed by the race descended from the Trojans.
However, the influence doesn’t stop there. At the height of the Roman
Republic and even during the beginning of the Roman Empire under the
Julio-Claudian line (from Octavian/Augustus to Nero), if a Roman
Patrician wished to reach the highest levels of education, they attended
the schools in Greece.

13. Julius Caesar and his general, Mark Antony, were known to have trained
their legions in the Spartan manner; idolizing their fortitude. Caesar and his
nephew/adopted son Augustus revered Alexander the Great and during their
stays in Alexandria, went to the tomb and paid their respects to the Greek
general.
Greeks also helped protect the Roman Empire during its infancy.
Spartan soldiers were often called up to assist Roman legions in their
battles against the Middle-Eastern Parthian Empire.

14. Domestic Architecture
Many Greeks migrated to Rome during the rise of the Roman Empire.
Greek artists designed the homes of prominent Roman citizens.
Greek Architecture.

15. olumns
he Romans modified Grecian Doric columns by adding a separate base and more
rnamentation. The Romans used Corinthian style columns extensively because of their
vish embellishments.
Columns.

16. mples and Basilicas
man temples, unlike Greek temples, were small and varied in their structure.
e Romans incorporated the Greek use of columns on the temple façade and the use an
cement of the triangular pediment. The word “basilica” is Greek for “royal.”
Roman temple

17. heaters
tially, conservative Romans built temporary theatrical structures.
ter on, the Romans modeled their permanent theaters after the Greeks, but built the sta
uilding one story higher and turned the orchestra pit into seating because Roman theate
d not require a chorus.
Colosseum, Rome.

18. aterials
he Romans imported marble from Greece before they discovered extensive Italian marb
eposits. The Romans invented and utilized cement.
Close up of marble

19. 
THANK YOU.